The book was a lot to take in. Just by straightforwardly explaining what she opposed, Ayn Rand exposed all of its faults without any ambiguous justification or circumventing the issue, which is surprising taking into account the length of the book. I thought that she could have cut out many pages at first, but the meticulous unwrapping of the subject imprints into readers minds everything that she sees and believes. I look at the world in a new light, and don’t know yet if this new filter has added to my clarity or distortion.
I am not sure if this book is the future of America. I definitely do no think that John Gault and his followers represent Republicans while Jim Taggart and his “social welfare” supporters represent Democrats, despite the simple connections that can be assumed. Ayn Rand is speaking of a government unlike what we have which is pure capitalism (we have aspects of free market and planned economy in our system), and like she pointed out, cannot be compromised with anything, because she believes anything else will lead to failure. She is speaking of starting from scratch where government only has control, over military, police, and a court system with rational and not overbearing laws (many of our laws are hardly rational). She was speaking on behave of her own ideas and pure capitalism, not anything that “tries” to be what she believes, but what is what she belives. This does not include Republicans (Mr. Chow).
This book really made me think if this way of life, which almost seems like a utopian way of living, is possible and can be successfully implemented into a big, diverse, and complex country like the United States. Then, I thought if it was inevitable for this country to crumble and face devastation if we do not change. Immediately my answer was no. Atlas Shrugged shows the importance of ideas, and one that has been implanted in most Americans’ minds is the fear of Communism. Our history with the Cold War, the Red Scare, and other issues has caused a common opposition to Communism, planned economy, and even the word socialism causes people to become uncomfortable. It is almost a natural reflex to hate those ideas, so I cannot fathom the United States becoming what it has continuously fought, yet you never know.
There are reasons why government prevents businesses and companies to do whatever they see fit to make money. I will not dispute the benefits of businesses being “left alone”, because we spent 1069 pages reading about those benefits. However, there are reasons why we take measures there are restrictions on big companies. Not all regulations are bad and are corrupt, like having a minimum wage. This prevents the use of sweatshops in our country, even though we can use them elsewhere (not that logical). Regulations also make businesses, who’s desire to make money could cloud aspects of their reason (which I think Rand would say is impossible so maybe I’m wrong), comply with safety regulations that could have prevented tragedies like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which employers locked exists so workers could not take prohibited breaks. I personally also favor limitations on certain companies CO2 emission in the atmosphere, but who is one to care about the environment.
If the world was made people who had the mindset of Hank, Dagny, and Ayn Rand, that society would be the ultimate utopia. Yet, even successful people today, who have made something out of nothing, and work for their own profit, see no fault in giving to those in need. You can ague that this is the fault of being brainwashed by socialist values, or that is just how I am. I do not think that because you need more, you deserve more, or that need should be an excuse for not working hard. However, even after John Gault’s speech, I still would be able to say the word “give” without thinking twice, and its possible because I take a selfish satisfaction in knowing I helped someone, or because I l simply like to give.
I never wanted to have a career where I am not directly helping people and their lives. This book showed me that having a job like Hank Rearden’s helps and also has a widespread effect on people’s well being. It shows me that some peoples acts of selfishness, can actually benefit people.
My ideas of “need” and “selfishness” have been completely altered by this book. My friend once told me angrily that 80% of the wealth belongs to 20% of the people. How I react to that figure before I read this book and after were completely different. Despite the long read, I still have some unanswered questions, like who really “deserves” and “earns” what, and what are governments true justifiable purpose.
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