Master and Slave Morality in The Fountainhead

I've noticed a lot of similarities between Nietzsche’s views on morality and Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, particularly in Nietzsche’s theory on master and slave morality. Nietzsche theorizes that the world is divided into masters and slaves, where masters are the ones who will after power and gain independence and freedom from the herd. Slaves, on the other hand, both envy and despise those masters who have gained true freedom. In Ayn Rand’s Objectivist novel, The Fountainhead, Howard Roark is a young architect who seeks after greatness. Roark epitomizes the Objectivist theory, he is an intelligent, driven, yet self centered individual who shows little concern for how he is perceived by others. Roark bears striking similarities to Nietzsche's masters, a strong will, a desire for power or success, and a lack of concern for the perception of others. This similarity is significant to me as I was reading Nietzsche because I was pondering if a world where this master and slave morality is recognized and followed would continue to function effectively. In The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand demonstrates a hypothetical world where the masters, characters such as Howard Roark and others, are more abundant and more powerful. The final result is a utopian society of equality, economic efficiency, zero crime, and a focus on personal achievement. Although the master and slave morality seems counter intuitive to the success of a society as a whole at first glance, it seems that the fictional world in The Fountainhead provides a potential template for how a world such as this could exist and actually benefit society. A desire for power and a strong will are, today at least, very often demonized in our culture. Individuals who possess these traits are often portrayed as cold, mechanical, and oftentimes downright evil. I am convinced, however, that Nietzsche and Ayn Rand are on the right path with their views on morality. Personal self interest above all else can manifest itself in a variety of ways that seems contradictory to the selfish behaviors they stem from. For instance, although it may seem that I am acting selflessly when I return a call from my grandmother, I am actually acting in self interest because it is in my best interest to maintain a positive relationship with my family. The same type of situation occurs when I pay taxes, the taxes may seem detrimental to my self interest, due to the fact that they take money that I could otherwise use towards my other needs, but in fact it is im my best personal interest to continue to have a government that maintains the infrastructure I use. In this way I believe that it is possible to have a functional, successful society based off of Nietzsche’s system of morality.