“Atlas Shrugged” by A. Rand and “What Is to Be Done?” by N.G. Chernyshevsky As the Novels about “Rational Egoism”

Abstract. The popularity of the Russian-born American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905–1982) borders with cult-making in the USA. Many of her ideas are actively used by conservative politicians. Despite Ayn Rand's persistent declaration of the uniqueness of her philosophy, her ideas can most evidently be traced to the theory of “rational egoism” by Nikolay Chernyshevsky. The goal of the current study is to analyze the magnum opuses of both writers in order to identify the peculiarities of the category of "rational egoism" in their creative work. The study is theoretically based on the works by Ch.M. Sciabarra “Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical” and A. Tsvetkov “Dostoevsky and Rand”, which consider Rand’s work in the context of the Russian philosophical thought. In the study, “Atlas Shrugged” by Rand and “What Is To Be Done?” by Chernyshevsky are examined as political manifests that influenced the historical development of Russia and the USA. Additionally, the study analyzes the literary peculiarities of the novels and accounts of the low level of the artistic value in both of the novels. The achieved conclusions allow contending that Rand’s representation of “rational egoism” though leans toward western individualism, yet contains Russian features that are reflected in transcending dualism between the individual and society.

Keywords: rational egoism, A. Rand, N.G. Chernyshevsky, political manifest, objectivism, utopia, popular literature, the individual and society.