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Atlas Shrugged From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A...

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. Could not be any simpler than that.

Remember, there is a test coming up. The mid-term election in 2010! I highly recommend reading this book first.

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. 

"In Atlas Shrugged, Rand tells the story of the U.S. economy crumbling under the weight of crushing government interventions and regulations. Meanwhile, blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with more controls that only deepen the crisis. Sound familiar?"
—Yaron Brook, "Is Rand Relevant?"
The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2009

The novel's title is a reference to the mythical Titan, Atlas, who in the novel is said to hold the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. At one point, the character of Francisco d'Anconia asks the character Hank Rearden what sort of advice he would give to Atlas. Rearden is unable to answer, so Francisco gives his own response: "to shrug" (with Atlas being a metaphor for the champions of American industry). 

Atlas Shrugged received largely negative reviews after its 1957 publication, but achieved enduring popularity and consistent sales in the following decades. In the wake of the late 2000s recession sharply increased, according to The Economist magazine and The New York Times. The Economist reported that the fifty-two-year-old novel ranked #33 among Amazon.com's top-selling books on January 13, 2009.

“Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged sold more than 500,000 copies in 2009, more than double the previous record set in 2008, reports Penguin USA . . . .”

The theme of Atlas Shrugged, as Rand described it, is "the role of man's mind in existence." The book explores a number of philosophical themes that Rand would subsequently develop into the philosophy of Objectivism. It advocates the core tenets of Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and expresses her concept of human achievement. In doing so it expresses many facets of Rand's philosophy, such as the advocacy of reason, individualism, the market economy and the failure of government coercion.

The story of Atlas Shrugged dramatically expresses Rand's philosophy of Objectivism: Rand's ethical egoism, her advocacy of "rational selfishness," is perhaps her most well-known position. For Rand, all of the principal virtues and vices are applications of the role of reason as man's basic tool of survival (or a failure to apply it): rationality, honesty, justice, independence, integrity, productiveness, and pride—each of which she explains in some detail in "The Objectivist Ethics".  In Rand's view, morality requires that we do not sanction our own victimhood. She assigns virtue to the trait of rational self-interest. However, Rand contends that moral selfishness does not mean a license to do whatever one pleases, guided by whims. It means the exacting discipline of defining and pursuing one's rational self-interest. A code of rational self-interest rejects every form of human sacrifice, whether of oneself to others or of others to oneself.

Rand's view of the ideal government is expressed by John Galt, who says, "The political system we will build is contained in a single moral premise: no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force," and claims that "no rights can exist without the right to translate one’s rights into reality—to think, to work and to keep the results—which means: the right of property."  

In the world of Atlas Shrugged, society stagnates when independent productive achievers began to be socially demonized and even punished for their accomplishments. Independence and personal happiness had flourished to the extent that people were free, and achievement was rewarded to the extent that individual ownership of private property was strictly respected. This is in line with an excerpt from a 1964 interview with Playboy magazine in which Rand states "What we have today is not a capitalist society, but a mixed economy – that is, a mixture of freedom and controls, which, by the presently dominant trend, is moving toward dictatorship. The action in Atlas Shrugged takes place at a time when society has reached the stage of dictatorship. When and if this happens, that will be the time to go on strike, but not until then."

Rand characterizes the actions of government employees in a way that is consistent with public choice theory, describing how the language of altruism is used to pass legislation that is nominally in the public interest (e.g., the "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule," and "The Equalization of Opportunity Bill") but which in reality serves special interests and government agencies at the expense of the public and the producers of value. In the novel, the "Anti-dog-eat-dog" rule, as passed by the National Alliance of Railroads, is an example of this type of dictatorship: "The Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is the logical result of a mixed economy—one in the process of rejecting capitalism. When the government has the power to control and regulate private business, it’s in a position to dispense economic favors."

Edward Younkins describes Atlas Shrugged as "an apocalyptic vision of the last stages of conflict between two classes of humanity- the looters and the non-looters. The looters are proponents of high taxation, big labor, government ownership, government spending, government planning, regulation, and redistribution."  "Moochers" demand others' earnings on behalf of the needy and those unable to earn themselves, however, they curse the producers who make that help possible and are jealous and resentful of the talented on whom they depend. They are ultimately as destructive as the looters— destroying the productive through guilt, and appealing to "moral right" while enabling the "lawful" looting performed by governments.

According to a 1991 survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, Atlas Shrugged was second to the Bible as the book that made the most difference in American readers' lives. Modern Library's 1998 three-month online poll of the 100 best novels of the 20th century found Atlas rated #1 although it was not included on the list chosen by the Modern Library panel of authors and scholars.[53] The list was formed on 217,520 votes cast.

Atlas Shrugged has always been especially inspirational to businessmen. Read the testimonials of three executives about how the novel has influenced their personal and professional lives:

“Over the years, I have strongly encouraged our best managers to read Atlas Shrugged. Whether or not one totally agrees with Ayn Rand’s ideas, reading this book forces you to think at a very deep level. Also, Atlas Shrugged provides the best moral defense of capitalism ever written.”

John Allison
Chairman, BB&T Corporation

“Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged stands out for its important messages to those of us running companies in America today. Do the right things for the right reasons. Work smart. Drive achievement. Don’t tolerate bureaucracy. Ms. Rand makes clear the straight line that runs from good business practice to the health of our free enterprise system . . . and the strength of our free society.”

Jim Kilts
Retired Chairman and CEO
The Gillette Company

“Atlas Shrugged is the most valuable book I have read. Ayn Rand provides profound insight into man’s relationship with society and develops for individuals, and corporations alike, a foundation for living a noble and rewarding life.”

Wayne Fortun
President and CEO
Hutchinson Technology Inc.

 

Foreign language translations

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