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Atlas Shrugged,
a XEKE.com Review
I listen to Quinn and Rose on my drive into work every morning. If you're not familiar with either of them, you ought to know that Quinn isn't your garden variety Conservative voice on the radio. He was a Top 40 DJ for years, and a Liberal, until a major change happened in his life. He doesn't often go into the details, but it involved a lawsuit and lots of his Liberal friends turning on him. Where was the compassion? There wasn't any, and now Quinn is a Conservative. He's now a Conservative because he's made observations and can see that there is one philosophy that works in life, and it's not Liberalism. I tell you this story to illustrate that not all Conservatives are raised by their parents to believe in Conservatism. Many are educated by life's circumstances, and one of the sources of Quinn's education, as he often cites, is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Now prior to 2006, I had never heard of Atlas Shrugged, and at first I wasn't even sure what Quinn was actually saying. The title is certainly unique, and I didn't understand its meaning at first (What advice would one give to Atlas, the one who holds up the world, in the face of mounting criticism and demonization?). After hearing several references on the program, I thought to myself, "If this book is so foundational to his [Quinn's] philosophy, I probably ought to read it." Then I heard Rush Limbaugh make reference to it, and a few of my favorite columnists wrote about it, and I knew I needed to read it... but I'm not a connaisseur of novels, and the task seemed daunting. Finally, it was when I attended the Cleveland Tax Day Tea Party, and I saw a number of signs that read, "Who is John Galt?" that I knew I needed to read Atlas Shrugged.
I knew little about the novel before I bought it. I knew it was over 1000 pages, and I knew that there was a 50 page speech contained somewhere in the book. Remember what I said about my reading history. John Adams and The Path Between The Seas (both by David McCullough) were fantastic books that took me weeks to read, but these were non-fiction... How could I get into a novel that would dwarf those two? I decided to suck it up and go purchase the book and get started. It was the best $8 I ever spent on literature. Why? Because although being a capitalist for years, I've found it difficult to argue and provide a sound moral defense for it. Rand is the first author that I've come across who has been able to successfully articulate the moral foundation for capitalism.
Ayn Rand masterfully intertwined a fantastic story with wonderful economic philosophy. I found myself on one hand not wanting to put the book down because of the story line, but on the other hand having to stop to make notes, underline passages, and think critically about the dialogue within the book. While I can't say I subscribe wholly to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism (e.g. one's highest moral calling, according to Rand and Objectivism, is one's own happiness; Objectivism, in its purest form, requires atheism), I found her defense of capitalism and capitalists both profound and refreshing.
The heros in the book (Dagny Taggert, Hank Rearden, John Galt, Francisco d'Anconia) are industrialists. Some of them inherited their wealth (d'Anconia & Taggert) while others rose from very humble origins (Rearden & Galt) to create and earn their wealth. All of them have at their core the desire to create and accumulate wealth (and with their accumulated wealth, to create more wealth). Some may call this greed, but greed alone does not explain a capitalist's success. The success of these heros requires that they use their minds to create a product that their fellow citizens want or need, that they risk their fortunes to produce their product, and that they treat both their customers and their employees with great respect.
The villains of the story (Orren Boyle, James Taggert, Dr. Robert Stradler, Wesley Mouch, Mr. Thompson, Cuffy Meigs, to name a few) all have varying degrees of contempt for the heroes. Some want to see "fairness" and equality of outcome (Taggert, Boyle), others want to accumulate power (Mouch, Thompson, Meigs), and still others want success without genuine sacrifice (Stradler). These villains gravitate toward government, not elected government, but appointed government with little oversight, to accomplish their goals. Throughout the story, in the name of "the good of the people," these villains, or "looters," restrict and handcuff the heroes, a.k.a. "producers," time after time after time. The consequences of these actions are pivotal to the story and I don't want to give too much away.
All of what I've described above relates to the underlying philosophy. I've said little about the story line to this point, but what I can tell you without giving too much away is that Dagny Taggert essentially runs her family's railroad company. Her brother, James, who is of higher rank within the company, is nothing short of ineffective. Things are going great for Dagny until the government, upset that her metal supplier, Hank Rearden, has grown so successful, begins to penalize him and his suppliers and colleagues. One by one, the successful industrialists mysteriously disappear from society in response to increasingly oppressive regulations and demands by the government. Dagny, unwilling to give up her railroad to the "looters," struggles against the regulations and the people who write and enforce them, while at the same time takes it upon herself to investigate the disappearances of her fellow industrialists and search for the one person whom she suspects is at the root of it all, John Galt.
The story is absolutely revolutionary, and given today's events, Rand must be considered, if not a prophet, an incredibly wise woman, for the events of Obama's first 6 months in office are metaphorically described on the pages written 50 years earlier. From the government nationalizing private industries, to the demonization of the productive, to excessive taxation, to the redistribution of wealth, to even increasing train wrecks (!), Rand has seemingly called it all in advance. It is no wonder that sales of Atlas Shrugged have increased dramatically in recent months. If you have not yet become part of the movement, the time is now. Ayn Rand continually refers to the importance of using one's mind in the struggle for freedom, and there's no better way to exercise your mind in this economic and political climate than to read Atlas Shrugged.
rg
7/23/2009
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