People are allowed to have their own opinions, haha.
I don't really think that Atlas Shrugged was saying that at all about charity, etc. now and I remember thinking the same thing the first time I read it. Being introduced to the idea that something you've always recognized as good can actually bad is a hard thing, isn't it? But I doubt that she's saying things like culture and giving to the poor are bad. That's just stupid.
The group of people that focus on charities and the arts in the book, really just use their "good" deeds to expand their influence and manipulate the public. Showing that people we would on the surface think of as good really are indeed bad, is more used for impact than anything else. It's not what they do but in the ways that they do them that make these people weak and immoral.
For anyone who might want to read the book, I'm just going to divide the people in it into two groups: the cultured socialites and the barbaric business tycoons. In Atlas Shrugged the socialites are the ones living off of the tycoons and are in fact, the selfish ones. Anything that's there for them to enjoy was the labor of another man. They're not immoral and weak because they're trying to help the poor, but because they use the political pull/money/public opinion they won through deception to cheat everybody else including other people in their own socialite group. If anyone doesn't care about humanity, it's these people.
The business tycoons are much more clear cut. "Can you do the job? Okay, you've got the job." It's because of this, Rand's little world is able to turn. Without the people of ability, everything falls to ruin. They're seen as corrupt, and greedy in the novel because they don't allow everyone a "fair" chance. But when someone has slaved away on something that took time and effort and ability, why should they give it away freely? One man has built a business out of nothing, he's not going to take some shmoe on just because he feels sorry for them, not if they're really concerned with succeeding. Someone's not going to give a free concert just because everyone can't afford it.
The whole book is about using
your own ability to succeed, rather than someone else's. It's the same idea as the guy in front of me buying steak with his food stamps while he plays with his new iPhone. (actually happened
)
tl;dr Ayn Rand is too smart to say something as silly as that. Even if she may sound condescending while she says it.
Edit: I just realized you may be speaking about The Fountainhead, Beserk, which I did not read. So my little rant may be for nothing, haha.
I wonder if any of my classmates will attempt to finish the whole thing. XD
I'd suggest it to anyone interested in the archaeological, etymological, and theological aspects of greek and roman myth (predominantly greek, using poets like Ovid and Livy to fill in gaps), along with all the usual myths that one would find in a book on the subject. It's very fascinating. 