Sibling Rivalry: The Taggart Transcontinental

Taggart Transcontinental, the largest railroad company in America in the novel, Atlas Shrugged, is run by the Taggart family. James Taggart is the current president of the company and his sister Dagny Taggart is the Vice President of Operations. Ayn Rand uses the siblings to compare two different styles of running a business executive. The comparison demonstrates the type of personality which suits the life of a business executive. James Taggart is first presented to be flustered, easily overwhelmed, and angry. He likes working through a routine; he is only comfortable with a decision if he consults multiple people first. Since he requires a lot of time to make decisions, he misses opportunities. For example, in the novel he took months to decide whether to fix the Rio Norte line and because he waited he lost his business to another railroad line. James fears competition, such as the Phoenix- Durango. He also gets caught up in favoritism. For an example, he keeps giving business and time to his old friend Orren Boyle, even though Orren has not made any of their deliveries on time. Dagny Taggart is less involved in her emotions than her brother. She is usually seen as expressionless and indifferent. She is more direct and to the point. She doesn’t need other people to make decisions for her. She goes over her brother head and makes plans without him or the Board, which can be considered rash, but it gets the job done. Ayn Rand seems to imply that the emotionless but direct style is more affective in running a company. An owner of a business has to be okay with competition and crushing the little man to get their way. Dagny seems to be the more capable of the siblings.