atlas_300Ayn Rand is not only the goddess of the gospel of libertarianism but also the patron saint of really, really bad novels, and even worse film adaptations.One of the latter, a movie called "Atlas Shrugged," after Rand's best-known novel (well, Part 1 -- such bloated prose needs a second part, due out next year, with a third to follow), came out in April 2011 to less-than-stellar reviews or ticket sales.Who knew that the turgid political philosophy of political wizards like Ron and Rand Paul and Paul Ryan wouldn't translate into box office magic?Anyway, the DVD was just issued and, rather hilariously, features a cover with this astonishing promo line:

"AYN RAND's timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life..."

Spot the heresy? It should be easy. "Self-sacrifice" is not a libertarian virtue. Followers are aghast. The producers are chagrined:

"It's embarrassing for sure and of course, regardless of how or why it happened, we're all feeling responsible right now." says Scott DeSapio, Atlas Productions' COO and Communications Director "You can imagine how mortified we all were when we saw the DVD but, it was simply too late - the product was already on shelves all over the Country. It was certainly no surprise when the incredulous emails ensued. The irony is inescapable."

A new version will read:

"AYN RANDs timeless novel of rational self-interest comes to life...

Run, don't walk...Well, no better economic stimulus than a glitch that creates an instant collector's item. And maybe the only reason to buy one. I mean, it's rational self-interest.H/T to the neo-distributists at Res Publica

David Gibson is the director of Fordham’s Center on Religion & Culture.

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