It’s A Wonderful Life is Communist Propaganda?

I used to really be into Ayn Rand. I’ve read all the books and I used to read the Objectivist newsletter via email. I can see her appeal, especially to a smart young man like I was; the idea of the primacy of individual and being rewarded for your own efforts and being virtuously selfish can be a big ego trip. However, Rand’s philosophy can also be dangerous because it promotes individuality at the expense of society and the individual’s place within society. Needless to say, I was not surprised when I read a story about her helping the FBI to identify communist messages within film. That sounds right up her alley of activities during the 1950s.

Who is Ayn Rand?

Ayn Rand made a name for herself as a Russian emigre by writing books extolling the wonders of the capitalist system and denigrating Soviet communism. She came from the Soviet Union herself and spent her life writing and talking about the horrors of the Soviet system. As you can imagine, this was a popular sentiment during the 1950s. She wrote a series of short books and essays on the subject but her career really took off with the publication of The Fountainhead and her follow-up: Atlas Shrugged. Her work triggered an organization dedicated to her philosophy called Objectivism.