In full disclosure, I read much of this section a year ago. I'm skimming over it again for this blog, so that I can record my feelings.
Part One is about 300 pages long, and includes ten chapters. It introduces Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden, and their respective businesses. The material covered is roughly equivalent to that in the first movie. The central drama of this part is the construction of a new railroad line—the “John Galt Line”. It is being built by Dagny for her family’s railroad, and it uses the miraculous alloy “Rearden Metal” that Hank Rearden has developed. At the same time, various businessmen begin to vanish without trace, foreshadowing what’s to come.
John Galt is a mysterious figure at this point. He is quite literally known for being unknown. The rhetorical question “Who is John Galt?” is the opening line of the book, and is itself unanswerable. Characters often utter it when they are frustrated with some impossible question.
I have read that the names of the three sections of the book refer to the laws of logic formalized by Aristotle. Honestly, this was totally lost on me. I didn’t even notice it when I first read it. Are we supposed to believe that Rand’s philosophies are logically self-evident? That any thinking person would come to the same conclusions, much like solving a logic puzzle? Or is it a more humble homage by Rand to logical thought, which she values?
Whatever else you may say about Rand, I do not believe that she was a humble person.
January 29, 2014
History of the Book
(The following is adapted from the Wikipedia article.)
Atlas Shrugged was written by Ayn Rand and published in 1957. She considered it to be her “magnum opus”, and it contains Rand’s most extensive statement about her philosophy of Objectivism.
Rand herself was born Alisa Rosenbaum, in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She came to the United States in 1926, several years after Russia’s Communist Revolution which gave birth to the Soviet Union. She remained a fierce anti-Communist her entire life. Before becoming a successful writer, she worked in the film industry. She died in 1982 in New York City, at the age of 77.
The book explores a future dystopian United States, in which many of society’s wealthiest citizens choose to disappear rather than pay increasingly high taxes and submit to government which grows more and more authoritarian. Their disappearance cripples the nation, as these people shut down their vital industries, propelling the country into depression. The title refers to the Titan Atlas, who in Greek mythology was condemned by the Gods to hold up the sky. By “shrugging”, these men are refusing to support any longer the “looters” and “moochers” who have taken over the government.
The book itself received largely negative reviews after its original publication. However, it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 22 consecutive weeks, peaking at #3 on December 8, 1957. It has achieved enduring popularity in the decades since then, and continues to be a favorite of conservatives and libertarians for its essential message that the best government is the one that governs least. The Atlas Society is an Objectivist think tank that continues to promote Rand’s ideas. In addition, a 3-part movie was published between 2011 and 2014. (As of this writing, the third part has not been released.)
Alan Greenspan, who was Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, is one of its best-known adherents. He knew Rand personally, and was one of her acolytes in the 1950s. Through Greenspan and others, the book continues to have a very large effect on American economic policy.
Atlas Shrugged was written by Ayn Rand and published in 1957. She considered it to be her “magnum opus”, and it contains Rand’s most extensive statement about her philosophy of Objectivism.
Rand herself was born Alisa Rosenbaum, in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She came to the United States in 1926, several years after Russia’s Communist Revolution which gave birth to the Soviet Union. She remained a fierce anti-Communist her entire life. Before becoming a successful writer, she worked in the film industry. She died in 1982 in New York City, at the age of 77.
The book explores a future dystopian United States, in which many of society’s wealthiest citizens choose to disappear rather than pay increasingly high taxes and submit to government which grows more and more authoritarian. Their disappearance cripples the nation, as these people shut down their vital industries, propelling the country into depression. The title refers to the Titan Atlas, who in Greek mythology was condemned by the Gods to hold up the sky. By “shrugging”, these men are refusing to support any longer the “looters” and “moochers” who have taken over the government.
The book itself received largely negative reviews after its original publication. However, it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 22 consecutive weeks, peaking at #3 on December 8, 1957. It has achieved enduring popularity in the decades since then, and continues to be a favorite of conservatives and libertarians for its essential message that the best government is the one that governs least. The Atlas Society is an Objectivist think tank that continues to promote Rand’s ideas. In addition, a 3-part movie was published between 2011 and 2014. (As of this writing, the third part has not been released.)
Alan Greenspan, who was Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, is one of its best-known adherents. He knew Rand personally, and was one of her acolytes in the 1950s. Through Greenspan and others, the book continues to have a very large effect on American economic policy.
January 28, 2014
Introduction
I’m trying to read Atlas Shrugged.
Some background: I’m a liberal American Jew. I have a PhD in Computer Science from one of the country’s top schools, and my day job is teaching at a small liberal-arts school in the Pacific Northwest. My specialties are Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics. I certainly have my political biases—which lean heavily leftward—but I’m not a party-line Democrat. (In fact, I’m currently registered as an independent.) Starting in 1996 (when I was first eligible to vote for president), I’ve gone Nader-Nader-Kerry-Obama-Obama.
So why the bloody hell am I reading Ayn Rand? Well, I’ve read so much about her, and there’s no debating her influence. Frequently, I would argue against her positions. But, one of my friends—who’s a big Rand fan—called me on it. How can I argue about her if I’ve never read her? She had a very good point. I am, first and foremost, a scientist and a teacher. If someone is able to argue to me, rationally, why I should believe a certain thing, I’d like to believe that I will change my mind. In fact, my ethics require it. So a year ago, I picked up Atlas Shrugged, and started trying to read it.
But it’s not easy going. It’s so dense, and the characters frequently just start ranting and pontificating for no discernible reason. Hence, this blog. This is here to let me organize my thoughts. Not all of it will be coherent; it’s a work in progress, and will be done in a stream-of-consciousness manner. There will be very little editing. Maybe other people will read it, and maybe they won’t. But, ultimately, I hope that I’ll be able to put together a cogent argument, about what I will come to believe from my own experience about the works of Ayn Rand.
Some background: I’m a liberal American Jew. I have a PhD in Computer Science from one of the country’s top schools, and my day job is teaching at a small liberal-arts school in the Pacific Northwest. My specialties are Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics. I certainly have my political biases—which lean heavily leftward—but I’m not a party-line Democrat. (In fact, I’m currently registered as an independent.) Starting in 1996 (when I was first eligible to vote for president), I’ve gone Nader-Nader-Kerry-Obama-Obama.
So why the bloody hell am I reading Ayn Rand? Well, I’ve read so much about her, and there’s no debating her influence. Frequently, I would argue against her positions. But, one of my friends—who’s a big Rand fan—called me on it. How can I argue about her if I’ve never read her? She had a very good point. I am, first and foremost, a scientist and a teacher. If someone is able to argue to me, rationally, why I should believe a certain thing, I’d like to believe that I will change my mind. In fact, my ethics require it. So a year ago, I picked up Atlas Shrugged, and started trying to read it.
But it’s not easy going. It’s so dense, and the characters frequently just start ranting and pontificating for no discernible reason. Hence, this blog. This is here to let me organize my thoughts. Not all of it will be coherent; it’s a work in progress, and will be done in a stream-of-consciousness manner. There will be very little editing. Maybe other people will read it, and maybe they won’t. But, ultimately, I hope that I’ll be able to put together a cogent argument, about what I will come to believe from my own experience about the works of Ayn Rand.
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