Did Ayn Rand support the Atom Bomb project and the subsequent bombing on Japan? And did she favor nuclear disarmement?
Did Ayn Rand support the Atom Bomb project and the subsequent bombing on Japan? And did she favor nuclear disarmement?
Ayn Rand wrote a seventy page screenplay for a movie based on the development of the atomic bomb. The screenplay, Top Secret, was never made into a movie, but you can read all about it in a chapter in The Journals of Ayn Rand.
Miss Rand thought the atomic project to be an incredible achievement. And, in her own unique way of approaching things, made the case for the bomb creation as an expression of free enterprise, as “the free cooperation of free men,” without the government really running the project. She recognized the weapon as one of defense, and did not want to have that capability in the hands of totalitarian states. If you are interested in the subject, and if you want a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the mind of Ayn Rand, by all means read the Journal.