Book review - Atlas Shrugged

[rwsmith]

In my quest for filling the gaps in my best literature reading, I saw 'Atlas Shrugged' high on the lists. I'd barely heard of this book and I didn't know the author, Ayn Rand. I thought I'd give it a try (big, long book).

I've heard the title of this book pop up in many places in the last few years. I'm not sure what is driving the interest. Maybe something in the economic climate of today. This is true for me because of my philosophy that if you fix the economy, the other problems would be easier to deal with.

Many of the top books I've read have a strong socialist bent, probably the most blaring example being Upton Sinclair's, "The Jungle" describing horrible working conditions and if you don't get the message by the end of the book, he gives a diatribe about socialism.

In 'Atlas Shrugged' it is the movers and shakers of industry that are the victims of an overly socialist trend that minimizes competition, which then affects the ability to produce due to shortages of transportation and materials. The attitudes that bring about these changes are ones that we all recognize, but in the book they are applied to the extent that production becomes gridlocked.

I thought, "This is unlikely." then I remembered the Soviet Union in times where they would have a bountiful harvest, but the food would spoil because there was no transportation to get it to markets.

I was impressed with the intelligence and depth of Ayn Rands writing, describing industry in detail as well as the thinking nd relationships of many 'players' in the story. It even has a twist on the concept of a 'Shangri La'.

If you want to read a book that decries 'over socialism', this is it.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

There are much better defenses of the free market and individualism than Ayn Rand.

Ms. Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1905, and emigrated to America in 1926. Her early experiences in Soviet Russia clearly influenced her later views about individualism and laissez faire capitalism. She wrote several books, none of which, in my opinion, were very good literature, and out of those writings developed a philosophical system that has come to be known as Objectivism.

Because her philosophy provided a useful rationalization for some libertarian views, she was lionized among some wealthy libertarian conservatives in the 1940s and '50s, although among even conservative academics she was never taken seriously as a writer or as a philosopher.

It is noteworthy that in the 1970s, after she developed lung cancer (following decades of smoking cigarettes) and faced impoverishment, she was abandoned by those same wealthy former benefactors. It was then that she retained the services of a social worker, Evva Pryor, whom she indirectly hired through her attorney, to enroll her -- using only her maiden name -- in Social Security and Medicare, two of the "collectivist" programs that she railed against in her novels and other writings. To me, that hypocrisy negates anything else she might have contributed to the ongoing philosophical debate in America between libertarians and progressives. It's easy to talk the talk. When push came to shove, she claimed the benefits that she had earned during her working life in order to survive while, had she had her way, she would have seen those earned benefits denied to hundreds of millions of Americans who have relied on them to face old age and illness with dignity. She passed away in 1982.

John Rogers, the screenwriter who wrote Catwoman, The Core, and other popular movies, had this to say about the quality of Ms. Rand's work: "There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life, The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." His point, of course, was that no man or woman, no matter how creative, can claim 100% credit for his or her success. All of us, like it or not, are members of a community, and depend on those relationships to thrive and grow. As John Donne wrote, "no man is an island."

 

[Tom S.]

I tried to read the book. I got about half way through and just couldn't go through with it. There have been very few books I've abandoned reading, but this was one. It wasn't the message, but how it was presented that turned me off.

 

[TomkinsSP]

JMO, Rands affair with Nathaniel Branden did much to impair the degree to which people saw her philosophy as authentic before her acceptance of 'socialist welfare programs'.

 

[Rule3]

Oh My, Oh my, talk about a Time Warp or Twilight Zone

 

[rwsmith]

Thanks for the information.....

I appreciate the further look into Ayn Rand and her book. But I didn't advocate anything of the ideas in the book. I read a lot of books but don't instantly adopt their philosophies as my own. I was tempted to stop reading about halfway through myself, but read on. I'd heard very little about the book, but it is on nearly every best books list there is. I thought it was accomplishment to have read it through. I'm not going to adopt socialism because I read 'The Jungle'. Just pointing out that it was different from many books that I've read. If anybody is curious, that's my impression of it.

 

[gregintenn]

I really enjoyed the book.

A couple more less intense books I could recommend in the same area are:
1984 by George Orwell and
Animal Farm by the same author.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

I really enjoyed the book.

A couple more less intense books I could recommend in the same area are:
1984 by George Orwell and
Animal Farm by the same author.

Orwell, a life-long socialist, had this to say about firearms:

 

[Bill Bates]

Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' is well worth reading. I would also recommend Rand's 'The Fountainhead'. Of course there will be those that will jump on The Fountainhead yelling the hero is a rapist. I say read it a decide for yourself. The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged go hand and hand.

People attack Rand and her objectivist philosophy often by just dismissing her as a hypocrite. One should remember that Social Security and Medicare are things we pay for through out our lives; therefore, we are entitled to their benefits because we paid for them. Rand paid into the system so I would say she was entitled to the benefits for which she paid.

One can attack the epistemology of objectivism but one should not just dismiss it out of hand.

Even if one completely disagrees with Rand's philosophy she is worth reading.

 

[SgtStone]

While I seldom read the "New Yorker", it was my late mother's favorite source for book and movie reviews. In her memory I periodically read their humor and cartoons.

The OP's book review reminds me of this hilarious essay: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/i-was-ayn-rands-lover

 

[sellersm]

They made it into a movie series if you don't want to read the huge tome. Who is John Galt...


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[hoosierone]

I read Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged as a young man. It caused me to look at life a little differently and, I believe, helped turn me into a solid conservative. Yes, the book is long, and somewhat dated, but the message is loud and clear.

 

[Onomea]

I read Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead at 19 while living in a vegetarian yoga ashram/commune in Arizona in 1972. Now that combo was an interesting experience! Sorta my own Evel Knieval attempt at a death defying leap in logic. (Fortunately or unfortunately, the attempt did not take...)

Evel Knievel To Attempt Huge Leap In Logic

The Onion 3/04/98 3:00pm

LAS VEGAS—Legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, who has long been famous for performing thrilling, death-defying stunts, will bravely defy common sense at Caesar's Palace Saturday.

In a bold, never-before-attempted leap of logic, Knievel will attempt to convince a panel of renowned math experts that there exists a single largest integer to which no more can be added.

At noon, with an expected crowd of 25,000 in attendance and millions more watching at home on Fox, a helmeted, jumpsuited Knievel will begin a syllogistic process of gaining larger and larger concessions from the panel of mathematicians, hoping to prove there exists a number x for which there is no possible x+1. If a majority of the 12-member panel agrees with Knievel's reasoning, the leap will be declared successful.

Despite Knievel's history of overcoming impossible odds, many panel members view the jump as reckless and ill-advised.

"With all due respect to Mr. Knievel, he is mad to attempt this," said Quentin Collins, a professor of applied mathematics at Yale University. "I almost declined to serve on the panel in protest of this utterly ill-conceived dance of cerebral mayhem. But I expect Knievel will learn a lesson he will never forget when his fallacious reasoning is sliced to ribbons."

"I worry every time he does this that he'll make a mistake and get hurt," said Robbie Knievel, son of the famous daredevil. "But this is what he wants to do, and I support him."

Safety precautions planned by Knievel for the leap include comprehensive, indexed copies of the writings of Plato; an intellectual "pit crew" of 10 world-class logicians and rhetoricians; and strategically placed fire extinguishers, in case the attempt goes awry.

"My mother always wanted me to get a normal job," Knievel said. "But I gotta do what I gotta do. I believe that this leap of the imagination is possible, and I intend to prove it."

Knievel stressed that kids should not attempt to imitate the stunt, and that it's "cool" to wear a bike helmet.

Knievel, who has broken nearly every bone in his body, gave up physical stunts several years ago and has since turned to more conceptual feats. In November 1995, he thrilled the world with a spectacular triple-leap-of-faith, in which he simultaneously joined the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, the Church of Scientology, and Jehovah's Witnesses, accepting in rapid succession the controversial beliefs of all three religions.

A month later, trapped in three contradictory philosophies, Knievel wrestled with existential doubt and rejected all three movements, staging a spectacular fall from grace seen by millions on pay-per-view television.

Knievel's recent career has not been without its setbacks. On April 15, 1997, at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Knievel plunged headlong into a morass of complicated tax forms only to be trapped without the necessary personal financial information to complete them.

Emergency accountants intervened, pulling Knievel from the paperwork and completing the tax forms themselves before rushing him to an area hospital.

If successful Saturday, Knievel next plans to visit a Club Med resort in Ixtapa, Mexico, where he will attempt a daring escape from the dreary nine-to-five workaday world.

 

[chaparrito]

It is noteworthy that in the 1970s, after she developed lung cancer (following decades of smoking cigarettes) and faced impoverishment, she was abandoned by those same wealthy former benefactors. It was then that she retained the services of a social worker, Evva Pryor, whom she indirectly hired through her attorney, to enroll her -- using only her maiden name -- in Social Security and Medicare, two of the "collectivist" programs that she railed against in her novels and other writings. To me, that hypocrisy negates anything else she might have contributed to the ongoing philosophical debate in America between libertarians and progressives. It's easy to talk the talk. When push came to shove, she claimed the benefits that she had earned during her working life in order to survive while, had she had her way, she would have seen those earned benefits denied to hundreds of millions of Americans who have relied on them to face old age and illness with dignity.

Exactly! Well said. Horrible prose as well. I had to read it in college and it stands out on my list of drudge reads. I remember feeling like John Galt's character came out of the head of some male high school kid..

 

[rwsmith]

OMG!!!!

While I seldom read the "New Yorker", it was my late mother's favorite source for book and movie reviews. In her memory I periodically read their humor and cartoons.

The OP's book review reminds me of this hilarious essay: I Was Ayn Rand’s Lover | The New Yorker

Have you by any chance read any 'Bad Hemingway'? That's PERFECT!!!!

 

[nicky4968]

You cannot successfully implement Ayn Rand’s philosophy unless:

A. You have ash-blond hair; and,

B. You chain smoke filterless cigarettes,

 

[Fred_G]

Her writing style is not the best, but is is a bit scary to read Atlas Shrugged, and then read some of the headlines over the last few years...

 

[rwsmith]

Maybe that is why.....

Her writing style is not the best, but is is a bit scary to read Atlas Shrugged, and then read some of the headlines over the last few years...

Maybe that is why I started hearing it mentioned here and there recently. It could have something to do with the 'backlash' that this country has had for a few years. I'll leave it at that because further explanation would be dinged for sure.

 

[JayFramer]

Way too long and wordy. One of Raynd's major criticisms as an author.

 

[SgtStone]

Have you by any chance read any 'Bad Hemingway'? That's PERFECT!!!!

Yes, "bad Hemingway" generates many humorous parodies, as do "It 'was a Dark and Stormy night..." cliche-ridden satires.

The funniest Hemingway satire I remember off-hand included a character analysis of Nick Adams (?) from the point of view of a trout, though likely aimed at the "Old Man"'s constant theorizing on game fish psychology in "The Old Man and the Sea".

The Hemingway parodies seem to be in good fun by fans. Ayn Rand parodies tend to poke holes in the logical lacunae in her turgid prose. Like Robert Heinlein writes in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress": 'I get along with Randites' but they offer no useful solutions (to governing).

THAT brings up the funniest Heinlein parody I've read that closely follows "Starship Troopers" except that the dastardly Bugs based on intelligent insect colonies are replaced by creatures resembling fluffy bunnies and Teddy bears. Appropriate to a S&W forum, the characters argue about the best gun to use against lethal stuffed animals.