Walter’s comment > Likes and Comments

Robin, you asked why Ayn Rand is not popular outside the USA. Apparently it sells well in Canada, but I wouldn't say it has caught on like it has in the US. Notably, though, India seems to be eating up Rand's book and surprisingly, Sweden.

From a 2012 article:

"Swedes lead the world in Google searches for “Ayn Rand”. Timbro, a free-market think-tank in Stockholm, has sold 30,000 copies of her books since 2005. In Britain, six times as populous, only 90,000 have been bought."

"India ranks after only America and Canada in online English-language searches for Randian topics. Book sales are strong, but understate the craze, says Barun Mitra of the Liberty Institute, an Indian think-tank. They miss the thriving trade in pirated editions, which he used to see only at railway stations but are now on sale in many urban markets too.

Businessmen and Bollywood stars (including the late Shammi Kapoor) name Rand as an influence (though few politicians do the same). Baichung Bhutia, a football star, says his fictional hero is the Randian character Howard Roark. Krishnarao Jaisim, ex-chair of the Indian Institute of Architects, named his firm “Jaisim Fountainhead”. And—perhaps most gratifying of all for those who loathe collectivism and prize the verdict of the market—Rand’s books outsell Karl Marx’s 16-fold."

Source: http://www.economist.com/news/interna...

For what it's worth, Atlas Shrugged has been translated into 18 languages; most of which have been done within last 10-15 years. I don't know well these sell (Google or Wikipedia--a site created by James Wales whose philosophical views were strongly influenced by Ayn Rand--hasn't been able to help me there.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Sh...