Ayn Rand's complicated notoriety as popular writer, leader of a
political and philosophical cult, reviled intellectual, and ostentatious
public figure endured beyond her death in 1982. In the 21st century, she
has been resurrected as a serious reference point for mainstream
figures, especially those on the political right, from Paul Ryan to
Donald Trump. Mean Girl follows Rand's trail through the 20th century
from the Russian Revolution to the Cold War and traces her posthumous
appeal and the influence of her novels via her cruel, surly, sexy
heroes. Outlining the impact of Rand's philosophy of selfishness, Mean
Girl illuminates the Randian shape of our neoliberal, contemporary
culture of greed and the dilemmas we face in our political present.