Lurkette- you really should read some of her essays- she is a very strong advocate of individualism, But- her thought was that this would lead to greater harmony. If you look at the long run it works great - you gave a perfect example w/the head start program..she breaks it down to the point that it could be argued that it was selfish of you to contibrute to that program, but that it was good to be selfish...anyway, kinda like communism- worked good on paper, maybe not so good in real life...and maybe it only works for smart people
At any rate...do not discount her because of third party interpretation....reread fountainhead...read Atlas Shrugged and at the same time plow through her essays- they're short and enjoy!