Ayn Rand’s theme of Individualism vs. Conformity is present
throughout the book. Being born in communistic Russia, Rand shows her readers
what could happen when the government tries to control and regulate everything.
As the book suggests, the spread of wealth amongst everyone does not promote
growth and will not work. After our class discussions and reading more of the
book, I started to make more connections between what is going on today and
what Rand was writing about.
In
her writing Rand warns us of what is to come if we try to make everyone equal
and create a “utopia”. If the big businesses such as Taggart Transcontinental
and Readen Metal are restricted to give little companies a change, then smaller
businesses will end up bankrupt. Big companies provide the nation with capital
and support other industries such as car dealerships. Without the support of
the big business, the economy and multiple companies will crumble, leaving the
nation in debt and in turmoil. Even though it is unfair to the little guy
having to compete with the big companies, life itself is unfair. There will be
no gain and no growth without competition. Those who work hard for their money
deserve to benefit more than those who work less or choose not work. The
reduction on how much track and how many freight trains the railroads can have
reduces the possibility for growth of the economy.
This
is similar to what is happening in today’s society. The introduction of
Obamacare may seem like a well-organized idea to provide everyone with the same
healthcare and benefits but in the long run, it will end up destroying us. In
my opinion, those in favor of Obamacare do not fully understand what affect it
will have on the nation as a whole and only support it because they feel it
will bring them equality. By activating Obamacare, those who work hard for
having individualized healthcare with certain benefits will loose motivation to
work hard. Those who already work hard enough to maintain their lifestyle and
provide themselves with certain benefits will be required to pay more for those
who expect the government to give them free benefits.
I agree with Jessica. I think it is important to note that everyone enters the world equally and it is what people do with his or her tools such as intelligence, effort and strength that determine their success. If people stay motivated to live and work through these means then the government won’t have to protect competition, intervene in the economy or distribute handouts. The setting of Atlas Shrugged was already tainted by small business failures and government intervention, so we don’t know if there had once been a free market. I assume that the economy was close to free given Dagny’s career aspirations as a child, which seems impossible for any child to have growing up in the destructive world that is the story’s setting.
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