Many people characterize Ayn Rand’s ethical philosophy as based in acquisition as the primary goal. This is a gross misreading that says more about the people who view it that way than about her philosophy.
In John Galt’s long speech in Atlas Shrugged, which expresses her philosophy in the context of the story, she lists seven virtues: “rationality, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, productiveness, pride.” “Getting rich” or any equivalent isn’t in the list. Productiveness can lead to wealth, but getting rich without it is inconsistent with her standards.
Her fiction often shows characters giving up a source of income for the sake of their independence and integrity. In The Fountainhead, Howard Roark takes a job as a quarry laborer rather than do architectural work beneath his standards. Many of the characters in Atlas Shrugged throw away their businesses or walk away from promising career paths when they join a strike against having their lives controlled by parasites. One of them systematically destroys his fortune in the plain sight of the world.
It’s the villains who go after wealth for its own sake. In Atlas Shrugged, James Taggart and Orren Boyle make crony deals with politicians to wipe out competitors. They get laws passed to suppress innovative competitors and preserve the status quo. In The Fountainhead, the newspaper tycoon Gail Wynand builds a publishing empire by any means he can use, only to discover it makes him the pawn of others.
Maybe the critics who ignore Rand’s standards in favor of something that’s more like Ferengi philosophy can’t comprehend them. For them, integrity is something to fake only long enough to get their way. Honesty means echoing their side’s line. Productiveness consists not of producing but of grabbing. Pride is a deadly sin, even if they aren’t religious. This leads them to imagine someone like Elon Musk as the paragon of these virtues. Silencing his critics on Twitter and calling it “free speech” is their idea of rationality and honesty. Making himself Trump’s stooge is their idea of integrity and pride.
Atlas Shrugged shows the people who exemplify her virtues as the heads of top businesses for the sake of the story, but in our society, James Taggarts are more likely to hold those positions. The people who best display the qualities she admired usually hold regular jobs, carrying out their work with expert ability and resisting attempts to subvert what they do. They’re often found in software and engineering jobs, but they can hold any honest position. Many of them command high salaries, but that’s not the only goal of their lives. They choose their battles but will walk away if necessary from demands that are too outrageous.
Not all of these people consciously follow Rand; some may never have heard of her system, and others may disagree with her on important points. But to the extent that they live by the virtues she listed, they make their own lives better while improving life for the rest of us.