Well, I have read Atlas Shrugged. Twice, actually (even the 40 page speech at the end!) and I think Ayn Rand's philosophy is crap. I think there are good parts of the book: taking pride in your work is great and I like how her characters get such exhilaration from a job well done, but the rest of her message (the part people usually seem to talk and think about) of hating government and regulation and living lives receiving help from no one are a bunch of nonsense.
One great example of this: Alan Greenspan, who had previously been a huge Randian, admitted that his hands off regulatory policy had been a mistake. His belief that banks' self-interest would keep them from destroying themselves was wrong.[1]
Now I know I've probably opened a can of worms talking about the mortgage crisis, there seem to be as many different opinions on what caused all that as there are people, but my narrow point here is that a man who was given the power to bring Rand's philosophy of deregulation to life regretted doing so and in fact had his worldview changed.
I'm familiar with the Greenspan quote, but in retrospect, they didn't destroy themselves. They'd seen the presidence of the savings and loan scandal and seem to have acted as if the government would be there to back stop them. In fact, given the willingness of the government to bail them out one could even argue Ayn Rand was completely right about the whole situation and that they acted rationally by taking on huge risk. If they banks were allowed to fail early and often from their mistakes, the behavior we saw likely would not have happened(for the exact reasons Rand states).
One great example of this: Alan Greenspan, who had previously been a huge Randian, admitted that his hands off regulatory policy had been a mistake. His belief that banks' self-interest would keep them from destroying themselves was wrong.[1]
Now I know I've probably opened a can of worms talking about the mortgage crisis, there seem to be as many different opinions on what caused all that as there are people, but my narrow point here is that a man who was given the power to bring Rand's philosophy of deregulation to life regretted doing so and in fact had his worldview changed.
[1]: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122476545437862295.html