I’ve read several books in the Objectivists library, including Atlas shrugged, the fountainhead, and the virtue of selfishness.

For a certain kind of person, I do think they have value in showing a different ethical/moral framework. To wit, if you have been raised on the principal that you must always sacrifice your own happiness for others, then Onjectivist philosophy is quite novel and can actually be helpful in moving towards a more self-actualized thought mode.

For most others, however, it can turn you into a raging a-hole.

In terms of how tenable the overall principles are in practice, just remember that Rand herself went on social security.

I really like this take.

I think about those who like American Psycho or Breaking Bad, and even see themselves as those characters, unaware that those characters were assholes and emulating them makes you a bad person.

Where others see how f’d up the system is and these two are pushing the limits of what’s acceptable.

I mean, are there people who see themselves as Patrick Bateman? Walter white is a bit of a stretch too, but Bateman.

Not really people who see themselves as those characters (except the terminally delusional) but people who just idolize those characters because they appear cool or witty or have agency, despite being terrible humans.