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She is a highly political author, with her novels often serving as political messages. She advocated minimal government interference (known by the name Minarchism) in business and strongly objected to socialism and nationalism. Combined, more than twelve million copies of her two best-known novels have been sold in the U.S. alone. Despite her anti-Christian and liberal views on social issues, whilst her opposition to state economic intervention has made her works and philosophy popular with the [[TEA Party]] movement.<ref>''Ayn Rand stars at Denver stimulus ‘tea party’ protest'', Colorado Independent, Wendy Norris - 2/28/09 - [http://coloradoindependent.com/23026/ayn-rand-stars-at-denver-stimulus-tea-party-protest] </ref>

==PhilosophyAyn Rand as an American =={{Main|Objectivism}}Though she grew up in Russia, Rand was a true American, and firm believer in the fundamental goodness of [America], it's place in the world, and the [American Dream].<br><br>''"I can say—not as a patriotic bromide, but with full knowledge of the necessary metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, political and esthetic roots—that the United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the '''only''' moral country in the history of the world."'' - Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It<br><br>''"To the glory of mankind, there was, for the first and only time in history, '''a country of money'''—and I have no higher, more reverent tribute to pay to America, for this means: a country of reason, justice, freedom, production, achievement. For the first time, man’s mind and money were set free, and there were no fortunes-by-conquest, but only fortunes-by-work, and instead of swordsmen and slaves, there appeared the real maker of wealth, the greatest worker, the highest type of human being—the self-made man—the American industrialist."'' - Ayn Rand, For The New Intellectual<br><br>''"A European is disarmed in the face of a dictatorship: he may hate it, but he feels that he is wrong and, metaphysically, the State is right. An American would rebel to the bottom of his soul. . . . Defiance, not obedience, is the American’s answer to overbearing authority."'' - Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It<br><br>''"If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose—because it contains all the others—the fact that they were the people who created the phrase “to '''make''' money.” No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity—to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created."'' - Ayn Rand, For The New Intellectual

Ayn ==Philosophy=={{Main|Objectivism}}<br><br>Following the publishing of Atlas Shrugged, Rand attracted immediately attract a strong following based on her opposition to [[collectivism]], as articulated in and reasoned support for freedom, liberty and the free market, and many of her novels, particularly ''Atlas Shrugged''. Her followers today tend to be are avowed [[libertariansLibertarians]] and predominantly unmarried men, many of whom are drawn to a self-indulgent lifestyle consistent with Rand's philosophy. Rand often called herself a "radical for capitalism," by which she meant the pure, true ''laissez-faire'' variety. Rand had very little in common with , rather than [[conservativesSocialist]] except for a mutual opposition to communism and socialism. Rand has also been accused of being a rape apologist for her rape scene in ''The Fountainhead''"mixed economies".

Doubtless, Rand's most famous and powerful influential follower was is [[Alan Greenspan]] (b. 1926), longthe longer-time serving head of the [[Federal Researve System (Reserve]] from 1987-2006), as well as a great economic thinker.

Rand's philosophy was anti-Christian to the point objectivism is critical of even declaring that "faithreligion, regarding it as such, is extremely detrimental existing in opposition to human life: it is the negation of reason."<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_religion%</ref> Such an anti-faith perspective [[atheism and morality|necessarily led]] to the [[moral relativism]] seen among her followersobjective thinking. For exampleNonetheless, the movement she founded supports an "absolute right" to [[abortion]] at any time during pregnancy,<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5105</ref> including partial-birth abortion. Ayn Rand's philosophy and followers also support acknowledged a "right" huge debt to have same-sex marriagereligious practice, and opposed California's [[Proposition 8]] defining marriage recognised religious thought as between one man the forerunner of modern philosophy and woman.<ref>http://www.aynrandscience.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=21821</ref>

Rand was ''"You must remember that religion is an [[atheism|atheist]] early form of philosophy, that the first attempts to explain the universe, to give a coherent frame of reference to man’s life and opponent a code of traditional family moral values, who personally adhered more were made by religion, before men graduated or developed enough to [[Hollywood Values]] than conservative oneshave philosophy."'' - Ayn Rand<ref>http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html</ref> She was a strident opponent of altruism. As far back as 1957, [[Whittaker Chambers]] denounced the “wickedness” of ''Atlas Shrugged'' Interview in ''National Review,Playboy'' and Dr. Gabe Vertin derided her "senseless self-agrrandizement."Magazine (1964)</ref>