Hi,
Rand is popular in the US and largely unknown in other countries. The only minor exception is the UK and India (according to google trends, etc).
The UK is obviously linked to the US and part of its sphere of ideas. It’s also the most pluralistic country after the US, so that’s not surprising.
India is a bit puzzling. It’s associated to the UK somewhat, but I doubt that’s the reason.
Does anyone have a clue what has made Rand known in India?
Cheers, The Heretic
Maybe you could contact ARI and ask them for stats about where Indians are coming from when they click through to their main site.
One factor is that a lot of people speak English from previous British rule so Ayn Rand’s works are readily available to them.
From my experience, it’s most Western writers–not just Rand–that are popular in India. You’ll find as many Mein Kampfs as The Fountainheads in street-vendor displays (in major cities), but few books authored by Indians. Also, keep in mind the huge population of India when you hear about Atlas sales. The percentage of readers of serious literature is very small–mostly comprising of college students.
The only minor exception is the UK and India (according to google trends, etc). It seems that Rand may indeed by disproportionately popular in India compared to other authors.
At the risk of diverting this thread, I’m posting results from some quick searches I performed on Google Trends, comparing the Google-search popularity of book titles in US and India.
Contrary to my previous comment, it does appear that Rand is disproportionately popular in India, compared to other Western authors. Here is a little secret–I too bought my copy of Atlas Shrugged in India (a legitimate one ), but I only started reading it after reaching the US!
Below are the rankings and ratio of popularity (in brackets). I mixed Rand, good authors, bad authors, mostly classics, and some contemporaries. Keep in mind the population of the two countries.
Ranking P(In)/P(US)
US India
Atlas Shrugged 1 2 (0.6)
The Fountainhead 2 1 (1.1) # Wow, didn't expect that!
Anna Karenina 9 - N/A
Crime and Punishment 2 7 (0.3)
For Whom the
Bell Tolls 2 10 (0.6)
Alice in Wonderland 2 10 (0.3)
Pride and Prejudice 1 8 (0.5)
Catcher in the Rye 1 6 (0.2)
Mein Kampf - - N/A
da Vinci Code - 4 N/A
The Kite Runner 3 8 (0.6)
The Alchemist 5 2 (1.2)
The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo 6 9 (0.3)
- means that the country is not in top 10
Today I learnt that the Wikipedia has a page on the Objectivist movment in India.