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Our First FReeper Book Club: Atlas Shrugged
A Publius Essay | 15 January 2009 | Publius

Posted on 01/15/2009 10:32:08 AM PST by Publius

Over the past few weeks, Ayn Rand’s classic, Atlas Shrugged, has been mentioned in articles in the Wall Street Journal and among conservative and libertarian bloggers. Two questions are being debated by those who have read the book.

  1. Are we living in a time line that follows the book?
  2. What chapter are we in?

Besides those who have read the book, there are FReepers with little awareness of Rand and her work. Some are turned off by the length of her works of fiction. Some of a more religious bent have problems with Rand’s atheism. Some wish she had left the few sex scenes out. Some just think she’s a bad writer.

I would like to propose our first FReeper Book Club effort: A chance for a group of us to read Atlas Shrugged together, both old hands and newcomers to the book. Once this effort settles in, I or others might want to start FReeper Book Clubs dedicated to Forrest McDonald’s States’ Rights and the Union, or Alexis de Toqueville’s Democracy in America. I like the idea of an interleaved reading of both the “Federalist Papers” and “Anti-Federalist Papers” together in strict chronological order so as to see the point and counterpoint of the debate over the Constitution. I’ve picked Atlas Shrugged for starters because it’s a hot topic and it’s fun. Once we get into the habit of reading and discussing together, we can tackle the heavier stuff.

The book is divided into 30 chapters. I propose to post a thread on one chapter every Saturday, which would make 30 threads over a period of 30 weeks to cover the entire book. I’ll provide a short synopsis of the chapter, expound on certain themes and raise questions to stimulate debate. If FReeper Book Club members feel that a faster pace is better, we can settle on one.

Atlas and Me

I came to Atlas Shrugged via the usual method: I read it in high school. The bully who sat behind me and enjoyed pounding me at the Catholic prep school I attended in New Jersey exposed me to the book by hitting me on the head with it. Its weight made an immediate impression. Our sophomore English teacher was not teaching the book, and he suggested that the bully pound me with something of lesser weight, such as The Red Badge of Courage.

The English teacher panned the book, stating that it was the kind of book an immature person might enjoy, but a mature adult with experience of the world could not take Rand seriously. The solutions proposed by Atlas Shrugged were not realistic.

The vice principal, a priest from Brooklyn who believed in FDR, JFK, LBJ and God, in that order, excoriated Rand for writing “an anti-Christian epic” and broadly hinted that the bully was sinning by reading it. Better to hit someone over the head with it. The solutions proposed by Atlas Shrugged were evil.

I read the book anyway.

The Strange World of Atlas Shrugged

Rand’s book was written between 1945 and 1956 and published in 1957. During the postwar years, America saw massive changes in society and technology, and the shape of world politics shifted mightily. None of this is reflected in the book. Some of the differences between Rand’s world and our own are rather egregious and require comment.

The easiest way to explain these anomalies is to say that Rand lacked the scientific background to project technological change and simply dealt with the technology of her era while projecting political change. But then how did she project the use of ultrasound for Project Xylophone and the holographic projection that protected Galt’s Gulch? There is a strange mix of the old and the new. What marks a total departure from our reality is the change in politics and in the American character.

One can accept all this as artist’s license, but I tried to come up with my own logic for how Rand’s America came to this pass.

Alternative History: Trying the Harry Turtledove Approach

If one wanted to create an alternative history for the universe of Atlas Shrugged, one could start with the 4-way election of 1948. In this alternative history, Henry Wallace won the race, defeating Truman, Dewey and Thurmond, establishing a Labor government on the British model in America. The warning voices of Martin Dies, John Bricker, Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon were stilled.

Wallace wanted no cold war with the Soviets, and with the quick withdrawal of American forces from Europe, Germany was reunified under a communist People’s State government. The Soviet Union, now the People’s State of Russia, never geared up for war, settling instead for passive mediocrity. Britain never rejected Clement Atlee, and with the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a written constitution on the German model, the People’s State of England replaced the United Kingdom. In France, De Gaulle never came to power, and the Fourth Republic morphed into the People’s State of France.

In the Western Hemisphere, figures similar to Fidel Castro established the People’s State of Mexico and other communist countries in Central and South America.

America did not go all the way to People’s State status, however, although intellectuals worked hard toward that end. Instead, America became a gray, downtrodden country accepting an atmosphere of sad decay, much like England today. Americans accepted that things were hopeless and that nothing could be done. Feelings replaced facts. The very nature of reality was questioned.

It took only a decade of economic stasis, misguided politics and cultural pollution to create the hell described by Rand.

Some Thoughts on the Movie

A scriptwriter would have a hard time shrinking the story to fill a two or three hour time slot even if all the long speeches were eliminated. A miniseries for television would have served the book better.

This effort would be a production designer’s dream. I would point to John Vallone, who handled production design for Walter Hill’s 1984 classic, “Streets of Fire”. Vallone created a fascinating mix of Fifties and Eighties that had no parallel in real time. Something in the same vein would make the movie memorable, rather than setting it in the present or a future that looks like the present.

Let’s Get Started

I will build a ping list for our FReeper Book Club, so sign in on this thread. I’ll use the keyword “freeperbookclub” to mark these threads as they are posted.

Welcome to our first effort. Prepare to read and discuss.


TOPICS: Announcements; Culture/Society; Free Republic; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: atlasshrugged; aynrand; bookreview; fiction; freeperbookclub; goodreads; literature; rand; readinglist
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To: Publius

I am in. ping me. I just bought the book a few weeks ago and it would be motivational to keep plodding through it. I have made it through maybe two fiction books in my adult life.


221 posted on 01/15/2009 7:01:27 PM PST by ilgipper
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To: Publius

Please keep me on your ping list. Great idea.


222 posted on 01/15/2009 7:09:07 PM PST by baseballmom (Philadelphia Phillies - 2008 World Series Champions!!)
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To: Publius

Great idea. Please add me to the list.


223 posted on 01/15/2009 7:33:55 PM PST by NellieMae (Here...... common sense,common sense,common sense,where'd ya go... common sense......)
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To: Publius

Hi I would love to join and will take my copy of Atlas Shrugged off the shelf and immediately start reading. We are overlapping soccer and softball with spring football to start soon so I will be sitting at alot of practices and will read on the sidelines. (I do watch the games.)

I also would recommend dailylit.com. It is a service which will email up to three installments of books each day. It’s a great way for a busy person to read in small bits. Alas Atlas Shrugged is not offered but Democracy in America is, along with other great classics. DailyLit.com is free.


224 posted on 01/15/2009 7:34:33 PM PST by GatorGirl (Proud member of the Gator Nation!)
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To: GatorGirl
Thank you for the tip on DailyLit.com.

I had never heard of this site. What a great resource!

It's ideas like that from people like you that make Free Republic such a great place to spend time.

Thank you again

225 posted on 01/15/2009 7:48:18 PM PST by mick
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To: sunshine state
By the way, I think many people are reading it. All of the copies in our library system were checked out when I went looking for it.

I couldn't find a single copy checked in in the 7 libraries in our system.
226 posted on 01/15/2009 8:14:13 PM PST by CottonBall
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To: Publius; meowmeow

Sure, add me too the ping list. This is my second attempt at reading Atlas Shrugged. I tried 20 years ago, but had an attention span of a fruit fly so I never finished it. I started reading it a week ago. I’m on page 100. I like it, alot, though I haven’t figured out why yet.


227 posted on 01/15/2009 8:52:29 PM PST by kb2614 (Hell hath no fury than a bureaucrat scorned)
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To: r9etb

Thanks for the chuckle!
I just got done reading a sex scene and that spoof is spot on!


228 posted on 01/15/2009 8:56:57 PM PST by Scotswife (GO ISRAEL!!!)
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To: r9etb

“Nah. I would be counted among the apostates.”

apostates can be fun too!


229 posted on 01/15/2009 8:58:33 PM PST by Scotswife (GO ISRAEL!!!)
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To: Publius

Indeed I am.


230 posted on 01/15/2009 9:09:09 PM PST by definitelynotaliberal
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To: Publius
I want in.
I reread Atlas Shrugged during the first months of Klinton when it seemed civilization was ending---and the situation is even more scary now.
231 posted on 01/15/2009 9:18:58 PM PST by Brasil (Dem motto: Demagoguery trumps truth.)
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To: Publius

I wanna play!!!


232 posted on 01/15/2009 9:20:27 PM PST by misanthrope (Liberals just plain suck!!)
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To: Publius
This a fun idea, I'll be the guy who pretends to have read the book!


233 posted on 01/15/2009 9:32:32 PM PST by Impy (RED=COMMUNIST, NOT REPUBLICAN)
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To: Publius
I'm in.

I just bought the Ten Big Lies About America by Michael Medved. It's a great read so far.

234 posted on 01/15/2009 10:27:00 PM PST by TheThinker (Shame and guilt mongering is the Left's favorite tool of control.)
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To: All

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell.


235 posted on 01/15/2009 10:37:52 PM PST by wastedyears (In Canada, Santa says "Ho Ho, eh?")
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To: I see my hands

I refuse to lie down and submit. I’d rather fight and die.

And listen to this while I slay. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIUeSYJZI2w


236 posted on 01/15/2009 10:49:36 PM PST by wastedyears (In Canada, Santa says "Ho Ho, eh?")
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To: Publius

I love this idea, please add me to the list.

Also, any hope of creating a “real, live” King County book club? I’d love to join that, given that I’m concerned about the quality of discourse in an o-line bookclub. I’d love to get together with real humans once in a while to discuss political books.


237 posted on 01/16/2009 12:21:10 AM PST by I_like_good_things_too (Check the "Yes" box next to survival)
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To: Publius

Please add me to your ping list.

I’m in.


238 posted on 01/16/2009 1:01:16 AM PST by omronnie (The Fourth Estate is a Fifth Column, Peacefull Islam the Sixth, and Murtha/Hildabeast the Seventh)
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To: 3D-JOY; abner; Abundy; AGreatPer; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; alisasny; ALlRightAllTheTime; ...

PING!

(In case anybody’s interested.)


239 posted on 01/16/2009 1:59:38 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (This election gave the drunks the keys to the liquor cabinet!)
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To: Publius; jan in Colorado

Please add me, Publius.

I very much like the idea of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist chronological readings, too.

Thanks!


240 posted on 01/16/2009 2:24:03 AM PST by Gondring (Paul Revere would have been flamed as a naysayer troll and told to go back to Boston.)
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