Is Objectivism For The Common Man?

One of the criticisms of objectivism the philosophy of Ayn Rand is that it is elitist and has nothing to offer the common man and on the surface this argument may appear to have some validity.If you are an ordinary working stiff,never aspiring to anything beyond your lowly station at Wallmart or Macdonalds,both honourable institutions I might add,then it is hard to see immediately how objectivism will speak to your situation.Objectivism, this argument goes,is for the high fliers,the ceos, the movers and shakers. All the main characters in Rands novels are super heroes of industry, prime movers,not the zeros commonly represented in modern fiction.

So yes,on the surface Rands philosophy of superman may have little to offer Mr average but even the latter likes to hero worship,hence the popularity of batman and other fictional heroes.We all need something to aspire to. Kitchen sink drama and reality programmes are well and good but they do not serve our deep rooted spiritual need and hunger for the depiction of greatness which is why the olympics enthralled so many.The race is to the swift and a philosophy that champions rather than seeks to denigrate and besmear them is a universal human requirement and sustenance no matter what station in life one occupies.

My one caveat with objectivists is that they do tend to fetishise work and speak of it as man's highest value but for the vast majority of people work is a means to an end namely survival,to pay the bills and correct me if I am wrong but I am guessing that a huge majority of the working population alas do not wake up every weekday morning and say yipee I am going to the thing I love,my job.