The Fountainhead - Triumph of the Ego

The Fountainhead is one of the most renowned work of Ayn Rand about a young struggling individualistic architect named Howard Roark and his crusade against an emerging collectivism movement led by the corrupted intellectual Ellsworth Toohey. The book speaks especially well to aspiring designers, architects, artists or anyone in the creative sector. The issues raised by the book must one way or the other occur during a creative career of any kind.

Roark's modernistic approach to architecture is at the time when the academia and public still favor the classical motif over modernism. He is expelled from the Stanton Institute of Technology for his refusal to accept the outdated tradition of the school. His schoolmate Peter Keating becomes an immensely successful and nonetheless vacuous architect ready to give the public what they want without resentment. The story revolves around the careers of the two architects, following a chain of events that ultimately leads to the clash of individualism and collectivism.

Ellsworth Toohey is the opposite of everything Roark represents. He gives public speeches on selflessness, altruism and the "collective brain". He controls a small but important circle of members from different social and professional sectors which are part of a larger circle. While Roark triumphs the human spirit and treasures the ego of a man, Ellsworth sets out to control men by destroying the concept of the self. He believes by destroying the self, one can only be fed on the opinions of others, becoming helplessly obedient to any kind of authority. He writes a small but reputable column on Banner, an obscene newspaper owned by Gail Wynand who acquires wealth and power by all capitalist means.

Born in Russia and immigrated to the United States in 1926, Rand's philosophy Objectivism emphasizes the importance of individual rights over collectivism and statism. The book encapsulates Rand's political view through the intricate ideological battle between the self and selflessness, the egoist and collective brain, the creator and the second-hander (or parasite as Roark calls it). In this sense Ellsworth Toohey is the enemy of individualism, he is the epitome of all form of statism such as communism and fascism. Like parasite, living on the opinions of others is more convenient than retaining rationality and individuality. Toohey's method is only a trigger to that weakness. Once it becomes epidemic, one lever will control all mechanism of a society. And a man like Howard Roark is a danger to this society for he cannot be controlled in the absolute sense.

This book reads like a personal meditation to me. I spent my college years in a design program that promoted social responsibility over individuality. This would easily destroy the last trait of individuality of an aspiring designer still yet to be launched to the world. I recommend this to all of you fellow aspiring designers. This book will fight with you in your quest for creative freedom and artistic integrity.

T.