A story for our times.....
A prescient parable for 2012 as the "free" world becomes ever more regulated in the name of collective obligation, and the "unfree" world grows primarily through religious dictatorships overthrowing godless dictatorships.
Rand's central thesis - that there are only a small number of prime movers in a creatively productive society - seems increasingly true as the machinery of anti-business regulation in "free" economies crushes the entrepreneurial spirit.
One startling damning point against Christianity, which I am astonished that had overlooked, is the casting of knowledge as the fruit of the devil. The parable of Adam and Eve is directed not against sin, but against knowledge! Such an evil intent !
There are many minor quibbles that I have with the reasoning - especially her attempt to argue that all contracts are freely entered, except when coerced by the "gun". Only against such contracts, is it morally excusable to retaliate with violence. To me this attempt at simple binary categorisation of coercion denies the smooth continuum of coercive techniques and the consequent continuum of reduction in their moral force.
Criticism of the wooden style and "two dimensional characterisation" is misplaced in that the book is not an exploration of the character of individuals, but the characteristics of human society. It has more in common with `Thus Spoke Zarathustra' than with `War and Peace'. It is a polemic (or even a bible) as much as a novel.
The John Galt radio speech is the longest "voice over" I have ever experienced. It's purpose is explicitly philosophical rather than dramatic.
All books alter the minds that read them. Some books give me the sense that I will see everything a little different for the rest of my life, even if the detail of the text fades. Atlas Shrugged has "shaken and stirred" my attitudes - an experience reported by huge numbers of people over decades. The fact that it has been so 'actively' ignored by the "intelligentsia" while remaining so influential, feeds directly into the novels narrative.
Rand's central thesis - that there are only a small number of prime movers in a creatively productive society - seems increasingly true as the machinery of anti-business regulation in "free" economies crushes the entrepreneurial spirit.
One startling damning point against Christianity, which I am astonished that had overlooked, is the casting of knowledge as the fruit of the devil. The parable of Adam and Eve is directed not against sin, but against knowledge! Such an evil intent !
There are many minor quibbles that I have with the reasoning - especially her attempt to argue that all contracts are freely entered, except when coerced by the "gun". Only against such contracts, is it morally excusable to retaliate with violence. To me this attempt at simple binary categorisation of coercion denies the smooth continuum of coercive techniques and the consequent continuum of reduction in their moral force.
Criticism of the wooden style and "two dimensional characterisation" is misplaced in that the book is not an exploration of the character of individuals, but the characteristics of human society. It has more in common with `Thus Spoke Zarathustra' than with `War and Peace'. It is a polemic (or even a bible) as much as a novel.
The John Galt radio speech is the longest "voice over" I have ever experienced. It's purpose is explicitly philosophical rather than dramatic.
All books alter the minds that read them. Some books give me the sense that I will see everything a little different for the rest of my life, even if the detail of the text fades. Atlas Shrugged has "shaken and stirred" my attitudes - an experience reported by huge numbers of people over decades. The fact that it has been so 'actively' ignored by the "intelligentsia" while remaining so influential, feeds directly into the novels narrative.
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