As Francisco d'Anconia would say, 'check your premises.' Your argument is predicated on the assumption that there are billions of people on earth not capable of living the life they imagine. Exactly Rand's point is that this assumption of yours is not the case, and that, in fact, these people choose not to live the life they imagine, either because they refuse to work hard enough for it (they're lazy), they consciously decide to loot the efforts of others by force (they steal), or they simply don't have the ability to do so (they're incompetent). In all cases Rand's argument is that these people should not be entitled to any of the productive efforts of those who produce.
I agree with the original commenter that the essay completely misses Rand's point. Rand does not ignore the complexities of social systems set up to repress and down-trod the disadvantaged. Such social systems are precisely the product of the looters who attempt to destroy productivity and creativity, not the result of a self-actualized group who achieves their collective self-actualization at the expense of others. The essayist's example of Genovese's murder and the conclusion he draws from it is a complete oversimplification. A selfish person would help a fellow human in distress for any number of reasons: to stop an injustice they see as unconscionable, for a reward, so that they could live with themselves afterwards, etc. 'Selfish' does not mean that one does not help others; it simply means that if one helps others it is for their own purposes, not because of charity or pity.
I've thought many times, though, that Rand conveniently ignores (insofar as I've read) the case of those who truly can't care for themselves: the sick, the insane, and perhaps the crippled as well. But it should be noted that when asked, Rand categorized herself as a novelist who developed a philosophy for the sake of writing her novels, not a philosopher who wrote novels.
>I've thought many times, though, that Rand conveniently ignores the case of those who truly can't care for themselves: the sick, the insane, and perhaps the crippled as well.
There is an interview with Ayn on a talk show and was asked about what should happen to the "ungifted". She believes that first it is the parents responsibility to support them but if they are poor and can't afford to then private charities should look after them.
"because... they're lazy... they steal... they're incompetent"
What about being trapped in a political system and/or culture that makes it impossible to live the life they imagine?
Every one of her novels touches (EDIT: focuses) on this. Anthem, We The Living, and Atlas Shrugged dealt more with the political, exhibiting characters who were unable to achieve their potential because of the political systems they had to endure. In The Fountainhead Roark spent decades suffering professionally and personally for living in a culture that values subjugation of the self to the interests of the crowd.
Also, Rand never promised that in her ideal society every individual would necessarily achieve whatever life they might imagine. Consistent with America's Declaration of Independence, it was the right to pursue happiness that she argued for.
I agree with the original commenter that the essay completely misses Rand's point. Rand does not ignore the complexities of social systems set up to repress and down-trod the disadvantaged. Such social systems are precisely the product of the looters who attempt to destroy productivity and creativity, not the result of a self-actualized group who achieves their collective self-actualization at the expense of others. The essayist's example of Genovese's murder and the conclusion he draws from it is a complete oversimplification. A selfish person would help a fellow human in distress for any number of reasons: to stop an injustice they see as unconscionable, for a reward, so that they could live with themselves afterwards, etc. 'Selfish' does not mean that one does not help others; it simply means that if one helps others it is for their own purposes, not because of charity or pity.
I've thought many times, though, that Rand conveniently ignores (insofar as I've read) the case of those who truly can't care for themselves: the sick, the insane, and perhaps the crippled as well. But it should be noted that when asked, Rand categorized herself as a novelist who developed a philosophy for the sake of writing her novels, not a philosopher who wrote novels.