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The John Galt Effect
Human Events ^ | February 19, 2009 | Dr. Arthur Robinson

Posted on 02/27/2009 6:24:36 AM PST by AZLiberty

A hidden effect of the November 4 elections and the national events that preceded them during this past year is perhaps best called the “John Galt Effect” in honor of Ayn Rand’s famous character in Atlas Shrugged.  It is occurring to a very significant extent.

Our technological civilization stands upon the shoulders of many generations of free Americans and the great accomplishments that they bequeathed to us. Among those Americans and their counterparts in other countries have been a small special group of people whose unusual genius, work ethic, and love for their specialties were especially outstanding. These men, by their examples, their creations, and their leadership of free enterprises, have led our civilization upward. One of the greatest privileges of my life has been to know a few such people.

Without this small group of people, the technological attainments of their generations would not have taken place. We know the names of a few of them, but there were many more—constituting perhaps one person in a thousand. Ayn Rand called these people the “men of the mind.” In Atlas Shrugged, under the leadership of John Galt, they withdrew their services. They would only work in freedom. They would not work under tyranny.
In reality, most men of the mind never withdraw. They love their work too much to stop and—most of them—love their fellow men too much to desert them. The forces of tyranny depend upon this. Without these people, even the small technological advances required by Marxist and Socialist societies would not occur. Yet, while the men of the mind do not fully withdraw, they have families and other loved ones for whom they are responsible and to whom they are more devoted than to the state.

As the pendulum of politics now swings toward tyranny in the United States and dangers to those whom they love increase, these men and women partially turn their talents more toward their personal responsibilities. Part of their thoughts, efforts, and ingenuity are lost to society—and this loss cannot be recovered by either negative or positive incentives.

Throughout our country today, the men of the mind (women, too) are watching the awful scene in Washington and its reflection in state and local capitals throughout the United States. They understand the consequences of the government oppression that has dogged their own footsteps for many years and that will grow much worse in the near future. So, they are taking actions to protect themselves and their families. We have no way to measure the societal effects of this distraction of the men of the mind. There are immediate effects upon our well being and long term effects from the things that they are no longer working full time to create.

What is the cost of the distraction of our real leaders—of the men of the mind—of the John Galts among us? I estimate that it is greater than the trillions of dollars being lost on government printing presses. Call this Y2009K—and this time it is very real.

Our existing power plants are still operating; our petrochemical plants are still producing; our military defense is still performing; our food supplies are still flowing; and the rest of the technological infrastructure upon which our lives depend is largely still in place. But the key people—not those we see but those we do not see because they are constantly engaged in real work—are seriously distracted and now partially engaged in personal survival.

Of one thing we can be certain. When the essentials of our civilization begin to seriously falter and this causes real harm, those who would be our masters and their fellow travelers in the media, academia, business, and politics will cast blame upon some of these men of the mind—and drag them before us for punishment. Our John Galts know this, too, and it is a further distraction for them.

Some of these people are leading great enterprises. Others are in the basements of our power plants and other heavy industries. Some are closeted away in universities quietly at work on the next generations of possible advances in science and engineering. They are easily recognized—by their genius and by the love of their work that permeates their whole beings.

One way to recognize them is that they constantly talk about their work to anyone who will listen.

Now they are distracted.

What are they talking about today?



Additional material from Science and Public Policy Institute:

Atlas Shrugged Resources:

•    Book Chapter Summaries:
    http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/atlasshrugged/

•    An Audio Study of John Galt’s Speech:
    http://atlasshrugged.com/book/a-study-of-galts-speech.html

•    The Book and its Ideas:
    http://atlasshrugged.com/book/



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 111th; atlasshrugged; aynrand; bho44; bhobudget; economy; galt; humanevents; rand
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To: STARWISE
This is VERY important. Think of those post-tax dollars. You need to earn roughly $1.40 to have a post tax" dollar. This thing is valuable. Why spend it to prop up a socialist economy? Keep it in an FDIC insured account, gold coins, real estate (at these cheap prices) or other tangibles. And... NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give it to a liberal employee, business or cause. They want your money. Don't be a surf.

We have POWER here. Its not illegal (yet) to save money under the mattress...

101 posted on 02/27/2009 6:51:12 PM PST by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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To: LUV W

Pass go ............... ;)


102 posted on 02/27/2009 7:16:26 PM PST by STARWISE ( They (LIBS-STILL) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war- Richard Miniter))
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To: STARWISE

LOL!

*whew*


103 posted on 02/27/2009 7:18:12 PM PST by luvie (The new Boston Tea Party is here, baby, and it's doused in barbecue sauce..Michelle Malkin)
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To: Boucheau

Find them ... I’ll post ‘em.


104 posted on 02/27/2009 7:22:50 PM PST by STARWISE ( They (LIBS-STILL) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war- Richard Miniter))
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To: BipolarBob
Probably off-topic, but on New Year's Eve this year, I gathered around the TV with my family (NYEve is always a time we spend together) to watch the celebration. It was quite depressing. On one channel, Dick Clark was almost drooling. It was sad to watch him trying to do the show after his stroke. We flipped channels, and there was some woman singing, "I kissed a girl and I liked it" then when we flipped again, they were playing John Lennon's ode to atheism and communism "Imagine."

I fear this is what our country has come to, and that this may really be what most people want. If it is, this country will never survive hard times.

105 posted on 02/27/2009 7:29:21 PM PST by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: jellybean

Please add me to the ping list.

Just ordered the book today.


106 posted on 02/27/2009 7:58:40 PM PST by Jay Thomas (A DUmmie I ain't)
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To: Jay Thomas; Hop A Long Cassidy

You’ve both been added to the Atlas Shrugged ping list.


107 posted on 02/27/2009 9:39:46 PM PST by jellybean (Who is John Galt? ~ Bookmark http://altfreerepublic.freeforums.org for when FR is down)
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To: STARWISE

John Galt was even in Fort Worth Texas today...protesting Obama! His sign said:...”I Am John Galt”!

We have cows folks...and we know how to use them....lol

You want to pay for the air you breathe or the farts of the cows you eat?

Most of us in Cowtown say: WTF?


108 posted on 02/27/2009 11:02:24 PM PST by penelopesire ("The only CHANGE you will get with the Democrats is the CHANGE left in your pocket")
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To: AZLiberty

>> Now they are distracted.

Quite possibly true.


109 posted on 02/27/2009 11:05:31 PM PST by Gene Eric
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To: spectre

Did Ayn Rand have prophetic abilities
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

She was not a prophetess. She had the sad experience of living it. She was, after all, a refugee of Soviet tyranny.

She was ( and continues to be ) like the watchman on the tower issuing a warning.


110 posted on 02/27/2009 11:47:30 PM PST by wintertime
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To: Strzelec

When someone takes my value without my consent, and gives me little or nothing in return, it is theft.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Slavery! It is slavery to take a person’s value and give little or nothing in return.


111 posted on 02/27/2009 11:53:00 PM PST by wintertime
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To: April Lexington

We can take far more out of our spending than the leeches can ever put in. Biting the hand that feeds them requires negative reinforcement. If we don’t follow through, then we’re the chumps they think us to be.


112 posted on 02/28/2009 12:00:25 AM PST by Windcatcher (Obama is a COMMUNIST and the MSM is his armband-wearing propaganda arm.)
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To: Ramius
The book is a very long read, but it's worth. Eerily, it is very reflective of what the looters are doing to this country today. Enjoy the book Ramius.
113 posted on 02/28/2009 8:22:06 AM PST by jabonz08 (When rights become privileges, only the privileged will have rights.)
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To: Dr.Zoidberg
“Replace all Freepers with all Americans and I agree with you.”

Well, at least the ones that CAN read and you got a deal

114 posted on 02/28/2009 8:24:15 AM PST by jabonz08 (When rights become privileges, only the privileged will have rights.)
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To: patton

How about highly recommend reading the book?


115 posted on 02/28/2009 8:27:38 AM PST by jabonz08 (When rights become privileges, only the privileged will have rights.)
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To: jabonz08

Nothing wrong with that. And it is a good book.


116 posted on 02/28/2009 8:36:10 AM PST by patton (America is born in Iceland, and dies in California)
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To: STARWISE; george76; Liz; abb; Milhous; BOBTHENAILER; SierraWasp; tubebender; Ernest_at_the_Beach; ..

My first big personal boycott was in the 1990’sm to boycott the left wing bookstore companies - local stores and their online sites. This came about when there was an obvious and clear intent by these left wing book stores not to carry, Rush’s books, Sowell’s books and any other conservative book.

Next, we discontinued our local tv cable system and going to DISH during the 2000 elections. The Dish installer blocked every CNN station on our new satellite system in 2000, and they are still blocked.

Then, whenever any company used the Dixie Chick marketing startegies, blaming everything on GW and us, I/we stopped using their product service.

Then, we basically pulled the plug on any pseudo news from ABCNNBCBS and cancelled our subscription the vile San Francisco Gay Rhonicle. We had previously cancelled subscriptions to Time/Slime and Newsweak during the Reagan years for their outrageous attacks on this great president.

Next, we stopped going into Gay Frisco for the Best of Broadway. Many of the plays were changed to push the gay agenda and put down our side with little vile remarks inserted into the plays.

Next, we replaced our Detroit vehicles with a non Union Lexus and Honda Ridgeline.

We have zero non union grocery supermarkets in our area. So we cherry pick for the best buys and good specials on the products we use. A Mexican/American friend has a great restaurant and has opened a seafood and butcher shop next door to his restaurant. For about two years, he has special ordered the seafood/meats for birthdays, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas for us. His prices are very competitive and the seafood/meats are excellent. At my wife’s suggestions, he has added several consumable products which we and others buy and avoid a union grocery store.

When the farmers markets open, I shop and buy most of our produce from May to November.

We buy a lot of things from Walmart. Most of the time inspite of the pro union propaganda anti Walmart BS on FR, it is very easy not buy products made in China. We save a ton of money on American made over the counter health products and so called beauty products. My wife is an office nurse and phones in RXes for Generics at tremendous savings for her patients and often us.

We see maybe one movie a year, and we would have to be forced at gun point, to see a Follywood Oscar winner like Milk. We just saw Grand Torino, an excellent non PC movie.

We can boycott the corporations funding the repeal of Prop 8. There are many corporations funding the repeal of Prop 8. This link takes us right to the corporate sponsor page to repel Prop 8:

http://laglc.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=SU_CORPORATIONS

Boycotts can work for our side too!


117 posted on 02/28/2009 9:19:54 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Zer0's friends are criminals, foreign/domestic terrorists, perverts, sexual deviates or tax cheats!)
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To: April Lexington
Excellent advise:

"This is VERY important. Think of those post-tax dollars. You need to earn roughly $1.40 to have a post tax" dollar. This thing is valuable. Why spend it to prop up a socialist economy? Keep it in an FDIC insured account, gold coins, real estate (at these cheap prices) or other tangibles. And... NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give it to a liberal employee, business or cause. They want your money. Don't be a serf."

For those of us who own their own businesses or work as independent contractors, they/we get to keep a little over 40 cents of each hard earned $.

118 posted on 02/28/2009 9:29:46 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Zer0's friends are criminals, foreign/domestic terrorists, perverts, sexual deviates or tax cheats!)
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To: jellybean

please add me as well... if I’m not already on it!


119 posted on 02/28/2009 9:56:56 AM PST by snowrip (Liberal? YOU ARE A GUTLESS SOCIALIST LOSER WITH NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT.)
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To: Richard Kimball; All

“I fear this is what our country has come to, and that this may really be what most people want. If it is, this country will never survive hard times.”

It’s a K-wave Winter Cycle. How did our Grandparents learn frugality and steeliness during hard times? They lived through the FDR Depression, that’s how. It WAS the hard times that taught them.

NOW? The Obama/Pelosi/Reid (OPR) Depression will teach new values to a new turning of the generations. They’ll learn.

It’s the Year of Jubilee. Since we won’t do it God’s way; He’ll do it OUR way. Are you prepared?

I stopped working overtime this year. I love it! I never understood how important my time was until I stopped trading it for “stuff”.


120 posted on 02/28/2009 11:15:07 AM PST by ziravan (Hiring a democrat to cut taxes is like hiring a pedophile to babysit.)
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