ayn rand institute the fountainhead essay contest

The Fountainhead Essay Contest

Entry Deadline

Prizes Available

Eligibility

Welcome to your student dashboard for this year’s contest!

Here you can start a new application for the contest, view any of your existing saved or submitted entries, and even request a free copy of The Fountainhead if you don’t already have access to the book. Questions? Simply write to us at [email protected] . We’re here to help!

Our Grading Criteria

Essays are judged on whether the student is able to justify and argue for his or her view—not on whether the Institute agrees with the view the student expresses. Our graders look for writing that is clear, articulate, and logically organized. Essays should stay on topic, address all parts of the selected prompt, and interrelate the ideas and events in the novel. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of The Fountainhead .

Available Essay Topics

Mallory says the following about Roark: “You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with every day that passes. . . . They change, they deny, they contradict—and they call it growth. . . . How do they expect a permanence which they have never held for a single moment? But Howard—one can imagine him existing forever.” Give examples of characters in the novel who change in the way Mallory suggests. In what respects is Roark unchanging through the book? Are there any respects in which his character develops? How do these issues of characterization relate to the theme of the novel?

Toohey tells Keating the following: “I’m the most selfless man you’ve ever known. I have less independence than you, whom I just forced to sell your soul.” Drawing on Toohey’s own explanation and on his actions in the story, explain your understanding of what Toohey means by this. Does the author agree with Toohey’s assessment of his own motivation? Do you? Explain your answers.

In  The Fountainhead , we can see how Roark is guided by his own creative vision, whether in the way he develops his skills as an architect, in the terms on which he’ll work for employers, or in the standards he uses for accepting or rejecting new clients. Judging from examples of these aspects of his decisions and actions, do you think he would be a supporter or opponent of free-market capitalism? Explain your answer, being sure to define relevant terms.

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• The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead Essay Contest

For all students in grades 11 and 12, entry deadline: april 27, 2023, cash prizes.

Semifinalist

Select ONE of the following three topics:

Mallory says the following about Roark: “You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with every day that passes. . . . They change, they deny, they contradict—and they call it growth. . . . How do they expect a permanence which they have never held for a single moment? But Howard—one can imagine him existing forever.” Give examples of characters in the novel who change in the way Mallory suggests. In what respects is Roark unchanging through the book? Are there any respects in which his character develops? How do these issues of characterization relate to the theme of the novel?

Toohey tells Keating the following: “I’m the most selfless man you’ve ever known. I have less independence than you, whom I just forced to sell your soul.” Drawing on Toohey’s own explanation and on his actions in the story, explain your understanding of what Toohey means by this. Does the author agree with Toohey’s assessment of his own motivation? Do you? Explain your answers.

In The Fountainhead , we can see how Roark is guided by his own creative vision, whether in the way he develops his skills as an architect, in the terms on which he’ll work for employers, or in the standards he uses for accepting or rejecting new clients. Judging from examples of these aspects of his decisions and actions, do you think he would be a supporter or opponent of free-market capitalism? Explain your answer, being sure to define relevant terms.

Essays will be judged on whether the student is able to argue for and justify their view—not on whether the Institute agrees with the view the student expresses. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of  The Fountainhead.

Essay submissions are evaluated in a fair and unbiased four-round judging process. Judges are individually selected by the Ayn Rand Institute based on a demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Ayn Rand’s works.

To ensure the anonymity of our participants, winners’ names are unknown to judges until after essays have been ranked and the contest results finalized.

The Ayn Rand Institute checks essays with Ithenticate plagiarism detection software.

• The Ayn Rand Institute’s (ARI’s) The Fountainhead essay contest is open to all students worldwide, except where void or prohibited by law.
• Entrants must be enrolled as a 11th or 12th grade student during the school year in which the contest is held. ARI reserves the right to make exceptions to this rule, on a case-by-case basis, for international students or for students with nonstandard school years. Verification of school enrollment will be required for all winning entrants.
• Students are permitted to submit one entry to the contest each year, provided they meet the eligibility requirements outlined above and have not previously won first-place in the contest.
• Essays must be written in English only, and be between 800 and 1,600 words in length, double-spaced. Spelling errors and/or written corrections (by anyone) found on the essay will count against the final grade and should be omitted before submission.
• Essays must be solely the work of the entrant. Plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification.
• Essays must not infringe on any third-party rights or intellectual property of any person, company or organization. By submitting an essay to this contest, the entrant agrees to indemnify ARI for any claim, demand, judgment or other allegation arising from possible violation of someone’s trademark, copyright or other legally protected interest in any way in the entrant’s essay.
• Essays must be submitted electronically through ARI’s online application portal. If you are unable to submit your essay electronically, please contact us at [email protected].
• Essays must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time of the entry deadline. ARI reserves the right to provide contest deadline extensions on a case-by-case basis when deemed appropriate.
• All entries become the property of ARI and will not be returned.
• All entrants will be notified of the final results via email by August, 2023.
• Winners are responsible for providing their mailing addresses and other necessary information under the law in order to receive any prizes. Prizes must be claimed within six months of the results being announced.
• Winners agree to allow ARI to post their names and school information on any of its affiliated websites. The first-place essay may be posted in its entirety on any of these websites with full credit given to the author.
• Winners agree to record a short video testimonial about their experience reading The Fountainhead, and consent to ARI’s sharing of said video with donors who make the essay contest possible.
• Winners consent to participate in interviews and allow ARI to use quotes and take photographs, movies or videotapes of them.
• Winners also grant to ARI the right to edit, use and reuse said products for non-profit purposes including use in print, on the internet and all other forms of media. Winners release ARI and its agents and employees from all claims, demands, and liabilities whatsoever regarding the above.
• Winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state or local taxes.
• Employees of ARI, its board of directors and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate.

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You will receive an e-mail acknowledging receipt of your entry within 24 hours. If it has been  at least 24 hours , and you still have not received e-mail notification, please first check your junk or spam folders and then e-mail us at [email protected] . Please do not re-submit your essay.

New! A website for students who want to learn more about Ayn Rand’s novels.

Thank you for entering 2023 The Fountainhead essay contest!

We’ll send you a confirmation email shortly regarding the details of your entry. Be sure to add [email protected] to your contacts to ensure you receive our emails. 

The final results of the contest are expected to be announced by September, 2023.

In the meantime, if you enjoyed reading  The Fountainhead  and would like to read another story by Ayn Rand, we encourage you to request a free copy of Atlas Shrugged , Ayn Rand’s most influential novel.  The story centers around the mysterious disappearance of the world’s greatest minds and industrialists, and grapples with some of life’s biggest questions. You can request your free copy by clicking the link below.

We look forward to reading your essay!

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The Fountainhead Essay Contest

What they're looking for.

About Scholarship

Essays will be judged on whether the student is able to argue for and justify his or her view—not on whether the Institute agrees with the view the student expresses. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of The Fountainhead.

About Company

The Ayn Rand Institute Canada is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing information about and resources on books by novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand, author of the famous novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and originator of the philosophy which she named Objectivism.

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Extracurriculars.

College Scholarship: Ayn Rand “The Fountainhead” Essay Contest

College costs are on the rise, and many families find it challenging to keep up with the increasing expenses. With 85% of college students on financial aid and 70% graduating with significant student debt, it’s no surprise that college funding is a growing concern for many families. The good news is that scholarships can significantly help to fund a college education, and there are more options out there than most families are aware of. In this series, we outline some great scholarship opportunities for college bound teens. To learn more about the Ayn Rand “The Fountainhead” Essay Contest, and how you can win up to $10,000 towards your college education, keep reading.

About the Ayn Rand “The Fountainhead” Essay Contest

Ayn Rand’s first novel, “The Fountainhead” is widely recognized for its philosophical themes reflecting on the economics of selfishness, and Ayn Rand’s own objectivism. While the characters and themes may at first seem one-dimensional, the novel has become known for its unusual philosophy that places value in both capitalism and individualism.

Over the years, Ayn Rand has amassed an extensive following, one that is now nurtured by the Ayn Rand Institute . For over 30 years, the Ayn Rand Institute has been host to worldwide essay contests for students based on the fiction of Ayn Rand. In 2019, they will award over 230 prizes, totaling more than $70,000.

Students who wish to participate in “The Fountainhead” essay contest must submit an essay that addresses one of three prompts based on “The Fountainhead”. The prompts for 2019 are:

• In his climactic courtroom speech, Howard Roark states: “The creator’s concern is the conquest of nature. The parasite’s concern is the conquest of men.” Explain how this quote relates to the theme as dramatized through the characters of Howard Roark, Peter Keating and Ellsworth Toohey.
• When Toohey first meets his niece Catherine, he is described as seeing a particular look on her face. What is the significance of his reaction to her look? How does his treatment of Catherine through the rest of the novel encapsulate his overall strategy for dealing with the world? For your essay, consider also what Ayn Rand says in the essay “ Through Your Most Grievous Fault .”
• Choose the scene in The Fountainhead that is most meaningful to you. Analyze that scene in terms of the wider themes in the book. In your essay, consider also what Ayn Rand has to say about what art, including literature, can do for us, in this excerpt from “ The Goal of My Writing .”

Essays are judged on a student’s skillful use of evidence to justify his or her viewpoint, and not on whether or not the student’s perspective agrees with the judges’ viewpoints. Judges look for writing that is “clear, articulate and logically organized [and] winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of ‘The Fountainhead’.”

The first place winner receives $10,000. Three second place winners will receive $2,500 each, while five third place winners will receive $500 each. A pool of 50 finalists will each receive $50.

“The Fountainhead” Essay Contest Requirements

Entries are open to students around the world, but all essays submitted must be written in English. Entrants must be in 11th or 12th grade for any part of the school year in which the contest is held.

Essays should be between 800 and 1600 words, and errors in spelling or grammar will result in point deductions during the scoring process. Essays can be submitted through the mail or online.

All submissions must be submitted online or postmarked by April 25, 2019, no later than 11:59 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Winners will be notified in July 2019. Be sure to read the complete Contest Details for a list of all rules and requirements.

Tips on Submitting an Essay for Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” Essay Contest

Read and Follow All Directions. We know that juggling the various deadlines and rules of multiple scholarship contests at once can require a lot of organization, but missing a deadline or overlooking a rule will usually result in quick disqualification. Consider for a minute that most scholarship programs have hundreds if not thousands of applicants. Those who fail to abide by the official rules provide an easy and reasonable excuse for thinning them out of the applicant pool. Ensure that you don’t go down so easily by carefully adhering to all requirements.

Proofread Your Work. In any scholarship contest, the way that you present yourself on paper is especially important, but in an essay contest it becomes essential. In “The Fountainhead” contest, any grammatical or spelling errors are cause for the judges to deduct points from your final score. With big prizes on the line and many entrants vying for them, proofread your work closely so that you don’t lose any points to careless typos.  

Use the Resources Provided. In many essay contests or scholarship programs, there is very little guidance provided about the direction to take your work. While you’ll ultimately have to come up with your own unique point-of-view to be successful in this contest, there are many resources provided by the Ayn Rand Institute, and you’d be silly not to take advantage of them. Start with the example essays from past winners to see the level of work expected. Then, move on to the Resources tab to find a list of readings and lectures recommended to improve your essay content. Carefully review the available resources before you begin your essay.

Create a Scholarship Team. While it goes without saying that any work you submit needs to be yours and yours alone, there are no rules to stop you from using teachers, mentors, and friends as a sounding board for your ideas. Discuss your essay ahead of time and take feedback seriously, using it to shape the direction of your work. Then, once you’ve written your essay, gather more feedback and enlist some outside help for editing and proofreading your work. You never know when another set of eyes will find a typo or syntax error that blended in before.

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!

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The Fountainhead Essay Contest

Institution.

Applicants will respond to one of three prompts. Essays will be judged on both style and content. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate, and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of The Fountainhead.  NO application is required. Contest is open to students worldwide. Entrant must be in 11th or 12th grade. Visit website for more information. 

There are also writing contests for students in 8-10th grade and for 12th graders/college/graduate students. 

Grades 8-10: Students will write an essay in response to 1 of 3 prompts. Essays will be judged on both style and content. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate, and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of Anthem.  No application, entrant must be in 8th, 9th, or 10th grade. Visit website for more information. Requirements and deadlines may be different than the 11th/12th grade contest. 

Grade 12, College Undergraduates, and Graduate Students: Students will respond to 1 of 3 prompts. The winning applicant will be judged on both style and content. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of .No application. Visit website for more information. Atlas Shrugged. Requirements and deadlines may be different than the 11th/12th and 8-10th grade contest.

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Ayn Rand Institute essay contest (The Fountainhead)

<p>I saw a thread for The Anthem, but I was wondering if anyone’s heard back about The Fountainhead contest yet? Perhaps I’m being a little impatient, but I’m just curious.</p>

<p>Thanks. :)</p>

<p>It’s 2011…has anyone heard about this years yet?</p>

<p>S received following email: Dear xxxxxxxxxxx:</p>

<p>Thank you for entering the 2011 Ayn Rand Institute Fountainhead Essay Contest. I am sorry to inform you that your essay was not selected for a prize in this year’s contest. With over 4,000 entrants from around the world the competition in this contest was very strong.</p>

<p>We would like to offer you a free book as our way of thanking you for participating. </p>

<p>I encourage you to enter future essay contests sponsored by our organization, including our Atlas Shrugged contests this fall. Atlas Shrugged is a smaller contest with a first prize of $10,000 and is an excellent opportunity. You can find details at [Essay</a> Contests — Ayn Rand Novels](<a href=“ http://www.aynrandnovels.com/contests]Essay ”> http://www.aynrandnovels.com/contests ) </p>

<p>Thank you once again for participating. I wish you the best of success in the future.</p>

<p>Sincerely, Jason Eriksen Essay Contest Coordinator</p>

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The Fountainhead Essay Contest

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Financial Aid Finder

Your Guide to Maximizing your College Financial Aid

The Ayn Rand Institute’s Fountainhead Essay Contest

December 14, 2019 By The FinancialAidFinder Scholarship Team

Who Can Apply: The Ayn Rand Institute’s Fountainhead Essay Contest awards thirteen scholarship prizes each year to winning amateur essayists sharing their thoughts on the philosophy of The Fountainhead. If you preferred Atlas Shrugged, there’s an essay contest for you, too.

Submission: Select one of the following topics:

• Aside from very rare exceptions, there is no opposition to the leaders in this society. Why is this? What ideas must the people in this society have accepted to live a life of obedience, drudgery and fear?
• Prometheus writes: “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them.” (Chapter 3) Why does he think that the secrets of this earth are not for all men to see? If he thinks this, why does he decide to show his glass box to the World Council of Scholars? How do these issues relate to the theme of the novel?
• What does Equality’s society regard as sinful or transgressive, and what does it regard as holy or sacred? How does Equality’s view of what is sinful and sacred come to change by the end of the story? How do you think his ultimate view of what is sacred differs from our own society’s view of the sacred?

Amount: Varies

Learn More: https://aynrand.org/students/essay-contests/

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Column: This is what happens when you take Ayn Rand seriously

“Ayn Rand is my hero,” yet another student tells me during office hours. “Her writings freed me. They taught me to rely on no one but myself.”

As I look at the freshly scrubbed and very young face across my desk, I find myself wondering why Rand’s popularity among the young continues to grow. Thirty years after her death, her book sales still number in the hundreds of thousands annually — having tripled since the 2008 economic meltdown. Among her devotees are highly influential celebrities, such as Brad Pitt and Eva Mendes , and politicos, such as current Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz .

The core of Rand’s philosophy — which also constitutes the overarching theme of her novels — is that unfettered self-interest is good and altruism is destructive. This, she believed, is the ultimate expression of human nature, the guiding principle by which one ought to live one’s life. In “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” Rand put it this way:

Collectivism is the tribal premise of primordial savages who, unable to conceive of individual rights, believed that the tribe is a supreme, omnipotent ruler, that it owns the lives of its members and may sacrifice them whenever it pleases.

By this logic, religious and political controls that hinder individuals from pursuing self-interest should be removed. (It is perhaps worth noting here that the initial sex scene between the protagonists of Rand’s book “The Fountainhead” is a rape in which “she fought like an animal.”)

WATCH: Why do the rich get richer? French economist Piketty takes on inequality in ‘Capital’

The fly in the ointment of Rand’s philosophical “objectivism” is the plain fact that humans have a tendency to cooperate and to look out for each other, as noted by many anthropologists who study hunter-gatherers. These “prosocial tendencies” were problematic for Rand, because such behavior obviously mitigates against “natural” self-interest and therefore should not exist. She resolved this contradiction by claiming that humans are born as tabula rasa, a blank slate, (as many of her time believed) and prosocial tendencies, particularly altruism, are “diseases” imposed on us by society, insidious lies that cause us to betray biological reality. For example, in her journal entry dated May 9, 1934 , Rand mused:

For instance, when discussing the social instinct — does it matter whether it had existed in the early savages? Supposing men were born social (and even that is a question) — does it mean that they have to remain so? If man started as a social animal — isn’t all progress and civilization directed toward making him an individual? Isn’t that the only possible progress? If men are the highest of animals, isn’t man the next step?

The hero of her most popular novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” personifies this “highest of animals”: John Galt is a ruthless captain of industry who struggles against stifling government regulations that stand in the way of commerce and profit. In a revolt, he and other captains of industry each close down production of their factories, bringing the world economy to its knees. “You need us more than we need you” is their message.

To many of Rand’s readers, a philosophy of supreme self-reliance devoted to the pursuit of supreme self-interest appears to be an idealized version of core American ideals: freedom from tyranny, hard work and individualism. It promises a better world if people are simply allowed to pursue their own self-interest without regard to the impact of their actions on others. After all, others are simply pursuing their own self-interest as well.

Modern economic theory is based on exactly these principles. A rational agent is defined as an individual who is self-interested. A market is a collection of such rational agents, each of whom is also self-interested. Fairness does not enter into it. In a recent Planet Money episode , David Blanchflower, a Dartmouth professor of economics and former member of the Central Bank of England, laughed out loud when one of the hosts asked, “Is that fair?”

“Economics is not about fairness,” he said. “I’m not going there.”

Economists alternately find alarming and amusing a large body of results from experimental studies showing that people don’t behave according to the tenets of rational choice theory. We are far more cooperative and willing to trust than is predicted by the theory, and we retaliate vehemently when others behave selfishly. In fact, we are willing to pay a penalty for an opportunity to punish people who appear to be breaking implicit rules of fairness in economic transactions.

So what if people behaved according to Rand’s philosophy of “objectivism”? What if we indeed allowed ourselves to be blinded to all but our own self-interest?

An example from industry

In 2008, Sears CEO Eddie Lampert decided to restructure the company according to Rand’s principles.

Lampert broke the company into more than 30 individual units, each with its own management and each measured separately for profit and loss. The idea was to promote competition among the units, which Lampert assumed would lead to higher profits. Instead, this is what happened, as described by Mina Kimes, a reporter for Bloomberg Business :

An outspoken advocate of free-market economics and fan of the novelist Ayn Rand, he created the model because he expected the invisible hand of the market to drive better results. If the company’s leaders were told to act selfishly, he argued, they would run their divisions in a rational manner, boosting overall performance.

Instead, the divisions turned against each other — and Sears and Kmart, the overarching brands, suffered. Interviews with more than 40 former executives, many of whom sat at the highest levels of the company, paint a picture of a business that’s ravaged by infighting as its divisions battle over fewer resources.

A close-up of the debacle was described by Lynn Stuart Parramore in a Salon article from 2013:

It got crazy. Executives started undermining other units because they knew their bonuses were tied to individual unit performance. They began to focus solely on the economic performance of their unit at the expense of the overall Sears brand. One unit, Kenmore, started selling the products of other companies and placed them more prominently than Sears’ own products. Units competed for ad space in Sears’ circulars…Units were no longer incentivized to make sacrifices, like offering discounts, to get shoppers into the store.

Sears became a miserable place to work, rife with infighting and screaming matches. Employees, focused solely on making money in their own unit, ceased to have any loyalty to the company or stake in its survival.

We all know the end of the story: Sears share prices fell, and the company appears to be headed toward bankruptcy. The moral of the story, in Parramore’s words:

What Lampert failed to see is that humans actually have a natural inclination to work for the mutual benefit of an organization. They like to cooperate and collaborate, and they often work more productively when they have shared goals. Take all of that away and you create a company that will destroy itself.

An example from Honduras

In 2009, Honduras experienced a coup d’état when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya on orders from the Honduran Supreme Court. What followed was succinctly summarized by Honduran attorney Oscar Cruz:

The coup in 2009 unleashed the voracity of the groups with real power in this country. It gave them free reins to take over everything. They started to reform the Constitution and many laws — the ZEDE comes in this context — and they made the Constitution into a tool for them to get rich.

As part of this process, the Honduran government passed a law in 2013 that created autonomous free-trade zones that are governed by corporations instead of the countries in which they exist. So what was the outcome? Writer Edwin Lyngar described vacationing in Honduras in 2015 , an experience that turned him from Ayn Rand supporter to Ayn Rand debunker. In his words:

The greatest examples of libertarianism in action are the hundreds of men, women and children standing alongside the roads all over Honduras. The government won’t fix the roads, so these desperate entrepreneurs fill in potholes with shovels of dirt or debris. They then stand next to the filled-in pothole soliciting tips from grateful motorists. That is the wet dream of libertarian private sector innovation.

He described the living conditions this way:

On the mainland, there are two kinds of neighborhoods, slums that seem to go on forever and middle-class neighborhoods where every house is its own citadel. In San Pedro Sula, most houses are surrounded by high stone walls topped with either concertina wire or electric fence at the top. As I strolled past these castle-like fortifications, all I could think about was how great this city would be during a zombie apocalypse.

Without collective effort, large infrastructure projects like road construction and repair languish. A resident “pointed out a place for a new airport that could be the biggest in Central America, if only it could get built, but there is no private sector upside.”

A trip to a local pizzeria was described this way:

We walked through the gated walls and past a man in casual slacks with a pistol belt slung haphazardly around his waist.  Welcome to an Ayn Rand libertarian paradise, where your extra-large pepperoni pizza must also have an armed guard.

This is the inevitable outcome of unbridled self-interest set loose in unregulated markets.

Yet devotees of Ayn Rand still argue that unregulated self-interest is the American way, that government interference stifles individualism and free trade. One wonders whether these same people would champion the idea of removing all umpires and referees from sporting events. What would mixed martial arts or football or rugby be like, one wonders, without those pesky referees constantly getting in the way of competition and self-interest?

READ: Libertarian Charles Murray: The welfare state has denuded our civic culture

Perhaps another way to look at this is to ask why our species of hominid is the only one still in existence on the planet, despite there having been many other hominid species during the course of our own evolution. One explanation is that we were cleverer, more ruthless and more competitive than those who went extinct. But anthropological archaeology tells a different story. Our very survival as a species depended on cooperation, and humans excel at cooperative effort. Rather than keeping knowledge, skills and goods ourselves, early humans exchanged them freely across cultural groups.

When people behave in ways that violate the axioms of rational choice, they are not behaving foolishly. They are giving researchers a glimpse of the prosocial tendencies that made it possible for our species to survive and thrive… then and today.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated to correct a previous statement that Sears went bankrupt. It has been updated to reflect that the retailer appears to be heading towards bankruptcy, as the company’s earnings and share prices plummet.

Denise D. Cummins is a research psychologist, an Elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and the author of Good Thinking: Seven Powerful Ideas That Influence the Way We Think. More about her can be found at denisecummins.com.

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In sign of the times, Ayn Rand Institute approved for PPP loan

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Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Aurora Ellis

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