I have read Atlas Shrugged many times and have often wondered why Ayn Rand makes opaque and ambiguous references to the US Congress and the President of the United Status. For example, she refers to Congress as "the legislature" and the President as "head of state". She never refers to either of those by their common names or titles. The terms she uses are extremely unorthodox; I have never heard of the US Congress referred to as "the legislature" (that term is often used for state legislatures however) and I have never heard POTUS referred to as "head of state".
I have a few speculations:
- She was afraid of directly and unambiguously criticizing elected leaders.
- She was more interested in painting a metaphor than in leveling political criticisms.
- She wanted her work to be more timeless and global in nature.
I am not confident in my speculations and would like to hear other perspectives.