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Abstarct. The subject of the current research is Ayn Rand’s (1905–1982) literary works in the era of globalization. The article analyses the phenomenon of Ayn Rand’s popularity, taking into account the fact that in her best-selling novels “Atlas Shrugged” (1957) and “The Fountainhead” (1943) Rand produces a radical reassessment of values by praising egoism and condemning altruism. In the process of analysis, the factors that determine the long-term interest in Rand’s work on the part of a wide readership are singled out. The latter allows to speak of Rand’s role and place in the era of globalization as popular literature is by its nature much more global than high culture. The article also examines the specific features of globalization inherent in Rand’s novels, highlighted by Treasa De Loughry in the monograph “The Global Novel and Capitalism in Crisis”. The economic features indicated in Loughry’s definition appear in Rand’s ardent apology for unregulated capitalism. The cultural and national features of globalization are reflected in the facts of Rand’s Russian-American biography, which naturally penetrate into her work and which can be characterized as the interconnection of literary cultures inherent in global literature. In the context of globalization, Rand’s novels are also examined through the prism of the concept of “capitalist realism”. In conclusion, the article specifies Rand’s position in the contemporary globalist/antiglobalist discourse.
Keywords: A. Rand, globalization, Objectivism, capitalist realism, popular literature, global novel, rational egoism.