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WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
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the “consistent philosophy that ignored no aspect of life” he had always
sought. Sharon Presley, one of the few women to become active in the
libertarian movement, remembered Atlas Shrugged as a revelation: “It
wasn’t until Rand that I had some kind of explicitly articulated theory
or set of principles that made sense to me . . . so that was a major, major
infl uence on my life.” 27 Objectivism seemed immediately superior to her
previous habits of thought because Rand’s ideas interlocked and supported
one another.
In many ways the overwhelming impact of Rand’s ideas mimicked
Marxism’s infl uence. Arthur Koestler’s memory of his conversion to
Communism echoes the sentiments expressed by Rand’s readers: “The
new light seems to pour from all directions across the skull; the whole
universe falls into pattern like the stray pieces of a jigsaw puzzle assembled
by magic at one stroke. There is now an answer to every question; doubts
and confl icts are a matter of the tortured past.” Only a small portion of
Rand’s readers became as feverishly devoted to her ideas as Koestler did
to Marxism, but the basic dynamic was similar. A twenty-four-year-old
woman told Rand, “you have combined all my stray thoughts into an
orderly, workable pattern—this alone is worth many years of my life.” 28
Rand’s perspective could bring refreshing clarity to the unfocused, replacing
doubt and uncertainty with passion and conviction.
No matter how they came to Rand, some basic similarities seemed
to underlie those who were attracted to her. In his 1963 study of young
conservatives, They’d Rather Be Right, Edward Cain designated Rand the
primary “theorist” of conservative youth and described the type who
was drawn to her. According to Cain, the follower of Rand was limited
in number “but qualitatively very important. He is very likely to picture
himself as someone whom John Galt might call to his mountain retreat.
Bright, alert, and conscious of his capacity, he would admire the boldness
of heroic action. Having something to offer, he feels there should be
appropriate reward for a job well done, and has probably long despised
the ‘second handers,’ or drones, who have had to crib from his chemistry
reports or term papers.” 29 Although Cain’s emblematic Objectivist was
male, the presence of Rand herself, along with her independent, intelligent
female heroines, made Objectivism attractive to female students
in search of role models. Whatever their gender, Rand drew students
who were self-consciously intellectual and willing to read outside their
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