Just picked up my old Atlas Shrugged book.....

[cardude]

There are some eerie similarities between what's going on now and what Ayn Rand described when big government went amok in Atlas Shrugged.

Remember in the book the "Anti-Greed Act", which was to redistribute income (kind of like the new tax bill), and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business to give others a better chance to make it. Or how about the ridiculously named "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," that was supposed to stop cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies.

I remember laughing at these titles when I first read the book years ago, but I'm not laughing so much any more. Now we have the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act" and the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan" and the most recent "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan".

Is it just me, or do these recent plans sound very similar?

 

[Westernskies]

There are some eerie similarities between what's going on now and what Ayn Rand described when big government went amok in Atlas Shrugged.

Remember in the book the "Anti-Greed Act", which was to redistribute income (kind of like the new tax bill), and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business to give others a better chance to make it. Or how about the ridiculously named "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," that was supposed to stop cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies.

I remember laughing at these titles when I first read the book years ago, but I'm not laughing so much any more. Now we have the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act" and the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan" and the most recent "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan".

Is it just me, or do these recent plans sound very similar?

Welcome to the New World Order, citizen.

 

[FUEGO]

Who is John Galt? And how can we tax him?

 

[Purron]

Yes, I have pondered this too and may just dig out my old copy from one of our many boxes of books in the basement. Perhaps we can reenact some of the major scenes from Atlas Shrugged here on the forum. After all, many of us have read the book and were influenced by it. I dibs the role of Dagny Taggert

 

[ERD50]

Q: Is it an "easy" read? I'm just not much for long drawn out stuff, and I got scared when I saw it was 900 pages or something like that. But some stuff breaks down into small chunks.

I guess I'm kinda ADD, I take stuff in small portions - magazine articles, internet stuff, posts. Or should I just stick to the wiki summary?

-ERD50

 

[DougViages]

I don't have to find an old copy...

My DW gave it to me four weeks ago. I'm about 450 pages in (John Galt is yet to appear). It IS THE BOOK for our modern times.

Maybe Obama needs a little required reading. Atlas Shrugged may be too long. I have Ayn Rand's We thr Living on my shelf to send him. How about something REALLY short and simple, like the USConstition and the Bill of Rights. That's pretty simple reading for a busy super hero.

You would think that he had read that already?!>

 

[FUEGO]

Q: Is it an "easy" read? I'm just not much for long drawn out stuff, and I got scared when I saw it was 900 pages or something like that. But some stuff breaks down into small chunks.

I guess I'm kinda ADD, I take stuff in small portions - magazine articles, internet stuff, posts. Or should I just stick to the wiki summary?

-ERD50

It is fairly easy reading. A story takes place and along the way you see misguided government policies and the effect they have on the characters' actions. A good study in the law of unintended consequences.

It is long though.

 

[dex]

I just got it on CD.
Read it years ago.

 

[newporttony]

I dibs the role of Dagny Taggert

Looks like that part is taken.

Angelina Jolie has been confirmed to play the role of Dagny Taggart, and there are discussions with Russell Crowe to play the part of Hank Rearden.[27] Brad Pitt is rumored to be cast in a yet unspecified role. Both Jolie and Pitt are fans of Rand's works.[28] The role of the mysterious John Galt is likely to be played by an unknown.[27] Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) had been confirmed to direct,[29] but as of June 18, 2008 is no longer attached to the project.[30] Lions Gate Entertainment picked up worldwide distribution rights. The film was expected to be released in 2011.

 

[youbet]

Q: I got scared when I saw it was 900 pages or something like that. \

No no no...... That's the stimulus package you're thinking of at 900 pages. And that should scare you!

 

[HFWR]

My DW gave it to me four weeks ago. I'm about 450 pages in (John Galt is yet to appear). It IS THE BOOK for our modern times.

Maybe Obama needs a little required reading. Atlas Shrugged may be too long. I have Ayn Rand's We thr Living on my shelf to send him. How about something REALLY short and simple, like the USConstition and the Bill of Rights. That's pretty simple reading for a busy super hero.

You would think that he had read that already?!>

Not to quibble, but I would imagine that a former president of the Harvard Law Review has read it. The Constitution, that is. Not sure about Atlas Shrugged...

Btw, John Galt used to post here...

 

[Grep]

I used to have a dorm mate (in college) who was a rabid Ayn Rand fan. He took things rather far, stating that he would prefer to see his own mother, etc., die of starvation and exposure before she received a penny of support from any source, especially including himself. With that level of self-righteous selfishness, he didn't remain a friend for long.

I have always loved dystopian novels (as a child, 1984 had the largest impact on me of any novel, then or now), and so I gave it a try. I felt sympathetic to a number of its themes, but I had no patience for its enormously self-indulgent, never-ending contemptuousness. Much later, I heard the classic critique: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force." I will say, however, that the title is just fantastic.

If you want an equally-preachy antidote to Rand, try The Grapes of Wrath.

Or, if you want to dive head-first into an even more sprawling and "difficult" novel, I am pleased to recommend what is perhaps the masterpiece of American literature: Moby Dick. Really. It takes some effort, but keep at it; it builds momentum until you find yourself unable to tear yourself away for feeling stunned at every magnificent sentence.

 

[Purron]

Looks like that part is taken.

Angelina Jolie has been confirmed to play the role of Dagny Taggart, and there are discussions with Russell Crowe to play the part of Hank Rearden.[27] Brad Pitt is rumored to be cast in a yet unspecified role. Both Jolie and Pitt are fans of Rand's works.[28] The role of the mysterious John Galt is likely to be played by an unknown.[27] Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) had been confirmed to direct,[29] but as of June 18, 2008 is no longer attached to the project.[30] Lions Gate Entertainment picked up worldwide distribution rights. The film was expected to be released in 2011.

Well I'm sure Angelina would do a much better job with the role of Dagny. After all, who could imagine a former government accountant in that part I would like to see Crowe as Hank Rearden and would think Brad Pitt might make a fine John Galt.

 

[newporttony]

I used to have a dorm mate (in college) who was a rabid Ayn Rand fan. He took things rather far, stating that he would prefer to see his own mother, etc., die of starvation and exposure before she received a penny of support from any source, especially including himself. With that level of self-righteous selfishness, he didn't remain a friend for long.
.

Wow, I have studied Ayn Rand for decades and have absolutely no idea where he got that interpretation. Sounds like you just lived with a nut rather than an objectivist.

 

[Purron]

If you want an equally-preachy antidote to Rand, try The Grapes of Wrath.

Or, if you want to dive head-first into an even more sprawling and "difficult" novel, I am pleased to recommend what is perhaps the masterpiece of American literature: Moby Dick. Really. It takes some effort, but keep at it; it builds momentum until you find yourself unable to tear yourself away for feeling stunned at every magnificent sentence.

Grep, you managed to mention two other books I admire very much. And you are right - quite a contrast to Atlas Shrugged. The point is, all three are fine novels and expand the mind and our perception of the world. That's what truly great works of literature do. By the way, I seem to recall W2R mentioning Moby Dick as one of her favorite novels some time ago.

 

[Grep]

Grep, you managed to mention two other books I admire very much. And you are right - quite a contrast to Atlas Shrugged.

Thanks. The Grapes of Wrath is truly amazing.

As an aside, I saw the movie after reading the book. Much of it was excellent. But when the curtain dropped, I was beside myself with disbelief and fury at its utterly-lame fade to black, as compared to the heart-breaking, cataclysmic and supremely touching final pages of the novel.

 

[boont]

Market's Shrugged

"During the 1950s, Alan Greenspan was one of the members of Ayn Rand's inner circle, the Ayn Rand Collective , who read Atlas Shrugged while it was being written. Rand nicknamed Greenspan "the undertaker" because of his penchant for dark clothing and reserved demeanor."

I guess we can all thank Ayn Rand for the mess we are in today.


b.

 

[Poundkey]

Atlas Shrugged is probably the most thought provoking book I've ever read. It really changed my views on many things.

 

[dex]

YouTube - The Fountainhead - Howard Roark Speech (Ayn Rand)


True freedom takes courage.

 

[Tadpole]

Ummm,

When I was in high school, my circle of friends would gather at our friend Julia's house to "intellectualize". Atlas Shrugged was a book we spent much time admiring and discussing. Later, as a poor student living in a one room apartment, sharing one bathroom in a three story apartment house of one room apartments, and running out of food some weeks, I picked the book up again. It ended up in shreds on the floor after I stomped it to death. I declare my "age of reason" had occurred.

I have always, since then, considered the book to be for children who will eventually grow up to the real world.

 

[ERD50]

and I was about to comment that some of these posts must be causing some of our friends on this forum to lose their lunch And it's still breakfast time.

Since it elicits such extreme responses, this is encouraging me to actually read the thing. Maybe I'll bring a wheeled-dolly to the library, my elbow has been killing me, tendon-itis or something. That's a BIG book.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Ummm,

When I was in high school, my circle of friends would gather at our friend Julia's house to "intellectualize". Atlas Shrugged was a book we spent much time admiring and discussing. Later, as a poor student living in a one room apartment, sharing one bathroom in a three story apartment house of one room apartments, and running out of food some weeks, I picked the book up again. It ended up in shreds on the floor after I stomped it to death. I declare my "age of reason" had occurred.

I have always, since then, considered the book to be for children who will eventually grow up to the real world.

I'm assuming you no longer live in a one room apartment with little to eat.

To what do you attribute your success to?

-ERD50

 

[Tadpole]

I'm assuming you no longer live in a one room apartment with little to eat.

To what do you attribute your success to?

-ERD50

Living in a country of opportunity for a redneck-river-rat young woman. But mainly to the airplane, my deliverance.

People don't appreciate the other side of the 60s-70s. Television liberated an entire generation out of their local status quo and into a world they wanted to explore. There were local universities like Portland State University where one could afford tuition, live cheaply in the neighborhood, and find a job that would pay for both tuition and living expenses (almost). Faculty would chose to nominate you for small scholarships if they thought well of you and knew your plight. The degree you earned easily got you into the major state university PhD programs where you were supported on teaching or research assistantships which didn't get you out of poverty but did provide survival.

It was really the first generation that could make it out of their origins. Perhaps it was the only time that young people could find the support system in the society that enabled them to leap so far. The many men who survived Vietnam had a good GI bill and VA loan program. My husband, who grew up even poorer than myself, had both.

The tone was different when I was growing up. Schools, even in small towns, were good (the upper class kids also attended them). Parents without high school diplomas believed in education, college and breaking the cycle.

The point is that I was born smart; I don't take much claim for that advantage. Other than making some use of that birth-quality, I met enablers all along. They were just more subtle than those we think of today.

 

[ERD50]

It was really the first generation that could make it out of their origins.

I suspect that millions of people who came through Ellis Island would disagree with you there.

Television liberated an entire generation out of their local status quo and into a world they wanted to explore.

and there. They came from Europe (mostly) to a new and strange land long before TV.

There were local universities like Portland State University where one could afford tuition, live cheaply in the neighborhood, and find a job that would pay for both tuition and living expenses (almost).

Well, there are a lot of stats that show college costs outpacing inflation. But I think one can still attend in-state schools under the conditions you mention. It might be tougher, but I'm not sure where the blame lies for that. Those in-state schools are not run by greedy industrialists, are they?

add after googling: http://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.bao/files/media_assets/BAO_2008_2009_Tuition_Fees.pdf

$2049 per term, tuition and fees for residents. That does not seem so bad to me. DD made almost $4,000 on her summer job, could have taken a part time if needed. Yes, would either need loans, savings, or that part time job to do it on her own at those rates. But it is doable, and I bet many are doing just that.

-ERD50

 

[Sarah in SC]

Atlas Shrugged remains the most important book I have ever read. My dog eared, highlighted paperback copy is one of the things I would grab in a fire.

Like Grep, I am a fan of dystopian novels, and one of my all time favorites is the much slimmer Rand book Anthem. I highly recommend this for the ones unwilling to pick up the larger tome.

Atlas Shrugged still has as much meaning for me at 38 as it did at 18, guess I'm still a child, huh? <grin>