Quote:
Originally Posted by teh603
They're still lauded as writers of classics, and usually on most schools' reading lists.
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Interesting observation.
I come from Europe and I had never heard of Ayn Rand until I came to India where you will find all of Rand's books prominently displayed in bookshops. When I asked about Rand, my Indian friends were astonished I have never heard of her, recommended reading of Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and to make it more interesting for me told me that Fountainhead has long been on the list of forbidden books in the libraries of architecture colleges across India. Supposedly, the reason was that people used to read Fountainhead and just drop out from the college...I also have a friend here who was an army officer with a great career ahead of him and who left the Army (which in India is a very respected institution) since he thought he can't act against his own principles which he thinks Rand articulated perfectly.
Anyway, I guess there are some thoughts and ideas which - straw opponents or not - survive be they on the school reading list or not. As for straw opponents, I think it depends on the perspective you are reading it from, to me they do not appear to be straw at all...