degeneration of ideas

Referring to my comments on how the thoughts of the founders get distorted and fought over by the followers - One example -

Ayn Rand @ Wikipedia:


"In 1985, Leonard Peikoff, a surviving member of 'The Collective' and Ayn Rand's designated heir, established 'The Ayn Rand Institute: The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism'. The Institute has since registered the name Ayn Rand as a trademark, despite Rand's desire that her name never be used to promote the philosophy she developed. Rand expressed her wish to keep her name and the philosophy of Objectivism separate to ensure the survival of her ideas.

Another schism in the movement occurred in 1989, when Objectivist David Kelley wrote an article called 'A Question of Sanction,' [6] in which he defended his choice to speak to non-Objectivist libertarian groups. Kelley wrote that Objectivism was not a 'closed system' and should engage with other philosophies. Peikoff, in an article for The Intellectual Activist called 'Fact and Value' [7], argued that Objectivism is, indeed, a closed system, and that truth and moral goodness are intrinsically related. Peikoff expelled Kelley from his movement, whereupon Kelley founded The Institute for Objectivist Studies (now known as 'The Objectivist Center').

Rand and Objectivism are virtually unknown outside North America, though there are pockets of interest here and there, and her novels are reported to be very popular in India"