Posted on 01/13/2022 4:14:51 AM PST by MtnClimber
For most of my adult life I’ve been told about Ayn Rand’s famous novel…but had no idea what it was about. It was particularly popular among my Libertarian buddies. So, I finally ordered a copy…and when it came, I had to update the prescription for my reading glasses, because it’s over a thousand pages in nine-point type.
Early on I was able to kind of get a handle on what it was about. There are basically two kinds of people: problem solvers or innovators who are constantly trying to make things work better…and cronies, who have an overwhelming sense of entitlement and who ferociously cling to the status quo.
Not much later, the story began to creep me out. Not because of some quirky aspect of the story…but, due to our current pandemic. I was seeing Rand’s vision of authoritarian cronyism taking place right before my eyes. In the story, first published in 1957, crony bureaucrats assume control of businesses via some kind of vague government policy…and, guess what(?)…shortages of just about everything started happening. We now call these “supply chain” problems. The story mentioned black marketeers that snuck around under the radar in order to fill in some of the gaps.
Rand was born Alisa Rosenbaum in 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia. When she was twelve, Lenin got off a train in her city…and zealous cronies took over her world. At the age of 21 she came to America. Eventually to become a Hollywood screen writer. By 1957, she was already an established novelist…and, now it seems, that she was also exceptionally prescient. Had I read this book more than two years ago, this may not have occurred to me.
Various concepts are presented in the story. The “Equalization of Opportunity Bill” and “The State Science Institute” are eerily...
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
(and, guess what(?)…shortages of just about everything started happening. We now call these “supply chain” problems)
And here we are.
Don’t think I ever read it.
I read “Anthem” in school I believe.
I would say if you haven’t yet read Atlas Shrugged, don’t bother, because now you are living it.
Rand's biggest fault is her extreme atheism.
Much of our societies accomplishments are directly attributable to Christian ethics, which Rand takes for granted, as obvious.
They are not obvious. Most of history is littered with societies which were brutal, grim, with no concern for anyone else. They do not become Randian paradises.
Christian capitalism does this.
Give 1984 a re-read
Hmmm....I see Donald as more being Hank Reardon than John Galt.
Well the, who is John Galt?
Sorry, I could not resist. ;-)
Yes.
Rand has been very influential and for the most part, in a good way. But she is flawed. Her atheism detracts, IMO. Also, she needed an editor who could tighten her writing, but I suspect she rejected any such notion.
Her core concepts of hard work, market economics, and limited government could have made Atlas Shrugged into the great American novel. But the flaws have reduced the scope of her influence. But it's a worthwhile read.
Somewhere here on FR we read it as a group a number of years ago.
A Chapter a week or so. Then thread discussions regarding how we saw it taking shape. This was in fact, the second time I had read it as part of a group study. REally good discussion right here on FR. Perhaps seeking the archives could bring it up for you.
And yes, in many ways we are living it. Look back at the year 2020, year zero, and the subsequent endeavor to reset the world now. The year of the Great Resignation 2021...
For later.
L
My conversion after college started with reading, Road to Serfdom by Hayek, Atlas Shrugged and Fountain Head by Ayn Rand, 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell parts of all those books are playing out in real life right now
I didn’t read the book, but I did see the three movies. I don’t know how close the movies are to the novel, but I certainly did pick up on the similarities to what’s going on today. And it chilled me.
“At first, I was impressed with her immigrant’s understanding of America. But now I think her understanding is really of human nature.”
Bingo. For all her faults, and she had many, Rand had that down cold.
L
I think in real life John Galt is a collective of Americans who awaken to the reality of today and pull back allowing, take care of themselves and neighbors and let things around them fail
The mass migration to red states is a prime example, people are moving to Galt’s Gulch
Rand was also an extreme feminist. While she decried such favoritisms is her books, she practiced it in her life.
The movies are good—and give a fair idea of the novel.
I was a bright youngster when I was sixteen, and my parents were not happy when they figured out its effect on me.
At one point they were issuing orders I did not like (telling me to stay away from my hot girlfriend) and I said (in classic Ayn Rand style):
“You chose to have me as your child. I did not choose to have you as my parents.”
Ayn Rand is about declaring your independence as a human being—and telling the tyrants to go f&^% off.....
They were stunned and speechless.
One of the most influential books I’ve read, and often think about. The linked AT article is a great read, thank you for posting.
I have read “Atlas Shrugged” several times. Looking at today, with the novel in the back of my mind, it is disgusting to see my Republic folding into a prophetic novel because the warning was ignored.
I strongly urge you to read the book.
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