Re-reading Atlas Shrugged.

RichL · 08-15-2011, 02:37 AM

Spooky how closely the first hundred pages or so reflects American life, business and political practices of today... wonder if anyone is creating a "Galt's Gulch" :-)

hidari · 08-15-2011, 03:59 AM

Not so spooky how DULL her characters are. Read a book on her objectivism... not bad... but she should have veered away from fiction I reckon.... Stateless capitalism, a right wing anarchist in disguise.... but considering her background no wonder she ended up a hard core capitalist supporter.....

dworth · 08-15-2011, 05:49 AM

"Spooky how closely the first hundred pages or so reflects American life, business and political practices of today... wonder if anyone is creating a "Galt's Gulch" :-) "

Rather frighteningly, her ideas were very influential on the american political and business community over the past half a century. The recent BBC documentary series by Adam Curtis 'All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace' discussed this in some detail.

Hamlet53 · 08-15-2011, 08:30 AM

Of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Parker said: “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”

RichL · 08-15-2011, 11:08 AM

hidari
We can't all live lives of the Capped Avenger :-)

I find the book interesting not only from a story point of view but from seeing how I react to it then and now. At 20 I was ready to fight the world shoulder to shoulder along with Slug and Frisco. At 65 I see some interesting concepts as well as many similarities to several of todays so called advanced nations.

DWORTH

Thanks, I'll see if I can find a copy of it. I wonder if Curtis was as big a Brautigan fan as myself or just liked the name of the poem.

Penforhire · 08-15-2011, 02:25 PM

Ignoring the prose, her philosophy in this resonated with me when I was younger. Yes, I still sometimes feel surrounded by people who consume but do not produce.

hidari · 08-15-2011, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichL

hidari
We can't all live lives of the Capped Avenger :-)

I find the book interesting not only from a story point of view but from seeing how I react to it then and now. At 20 I was ready to fight the world shoulder to shoulder along with Slug and Frisco. At 65 I see some interesting concepts as well as many similarities to several of todays so called advanced nations.

DWORTH

Thanks, I'll see if I can find a copy of it. I wonder if Curtis was as big a Brautigan fan as myself or just liked the name of the poem.

Ok. RichL... You made a fine point or two. Just too many Ayn Rand Freaks are almost religious about her. I have read a few of her fiction works and her philosophy.... I liked her "We the Living" the best....yes. she has some good points..and I think the is more interesting than her writing... like Burroghs.....

Elfwreck · 08-20-2011, 02:09 PM

As a teenager, I loved Atlas Shrugged. (I'd thought of it as a dystopian science fiction novel--the success of the heroes hinges on breakthrough technology in several fields--and was surprised to find so many people thought of it solely as a political drama.)

As an adult, I find myself disgusted at the number of people who proclaim to follow her ideology but have never actually *worked* a day in their lives. All her heroes are willing to get dirty--to do the gather wood, haul water, move rocks parts of supporting society. I'm fascinated by the number of sales reps who imagine themselves in the same kind of role as Hank Rearden, providing the same level of value to the rest of society.

I'm also fascinated by the number of people who don't see the holes in her ideology, and think it could work for ALL OF SOCIETY if we just agreed to set things up that way. (The easy sample conundrum: Is abortion legal? Is infanticide legal? Whose responsibility is an unwanted infant?) Rand's ideology has a lot going for it, but also has some rather large gaps dealing with relationships and the responsibilities thereof, and anything involving people other than able-bodied reasonably-well-educated adults who haven't grown up in oppressive circumstances.

SensualPoet · 08-20-2011, 04:23 PM

One of the nice things about the ebook edition Atlas Shrugged is that it's a lot lighter and less dangerous when used to bash people with ....

Dr. Drib · 08-21-2011, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

One of the nice things about the ebook edition Atlas Shrugged is that it's a lot lighter and less dangerous when used to bash people with ....

OT: Not if it's on an iPad.

Don

JLorenz · 08-23-2011, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

OT: Not if it's on an iPad.

Don

chrisanthropic · 08-24-2011, 03:56 PM

I finally read it recently after having read Anthem, Fountainhead, and a bunch of her non-fiction when I was a teenager. I have to agree with Elfwreck - I saw it mostly as a dystopian Sci-Fi novel (which of course deal with political themes).

Would I base my life on the ideology? No way in hell. But it is an interesting read and unlike a lot of readers I actually like her characters and don't find them one dimensional, just determined, focused, and obsessed.

Greg Anos · 08-24-2011, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisanthropic

I finally read it recently after having read Anthem, Fountainhead, and a bunch of her non-fiction when I was a teenager. I have to agree with Elfwreck - I saw it mostly as a dystopian Sci-Fi novel (which of course deal with political themes).

Would I base my life on the ideology? No way in hell. But it is an interesting read and unlike a lot of readers I actually like her characters and don't find them one dimensional, just determined, focused, and obsessed.

To me that is the definition of one dimensional. In fiction and in life.

i've always wondered how to correlate her joy of efficiency with watching you work throwing people out of their jobs and onto the street. I have done just that in life....

crich70 · 08-24-2011, 05:42 PM

Haven't read the book but it sounds like it has some ideas in common with Plato's Republic. That is it looks good on paper but would have a good deal of trouble working in the real world. I understand the Pilgrims found that out quickly. They had a communist type society at first where everyone shared things in common, but it failed. Turned out there were some who felt, "if I will get an even share of x whether or not I do any work then why should I do the work?" Of course that meant that someone else had to pick up the slackers share of the effort which I'm sure went over about as well as a lead balloon.

We humans don't tend to play fair if we don't have to.

chrisanthropic · 08-24-2011, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

To me that is the definition of one dimensional. In fiction and in life.

i've always wondered how to correlate her joy of efficiency with watching you work throwing people out of their jobs and onto the street. I have done just that in life....

Perhaps, but I've known more than a few people who become obsessed and driven to the point of being more than a little insane and they never seemed one-dimensional to me. I find it interesting to see how someone lives when they are driven by such absolutes.

But it sounds like our definitions (and our preferences) differ. So now I MUST CONDEMN YOU FOR NOT WORSHIPING AYN RAND! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ok, mebbe not.

08-15-2011, 02:37 AM	#1
RichL Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 1096520 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: back to x51v	Re-reading Atlas Shrugged. Spooky how closely the first hundred pages or so reflects American life, business and political practices of today... wonder if anyone is creating a "Galt's Gulch" :-)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Simple atlas anyone?	mike_bike_kite	General Discussions	5	06-27-2010 10:14 PM
Finally, Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and NO TTS!!!	hybernation	Amazon Kindle	2	12-21-2009 04:08 PM
MapQuester World Atlas Conversion Tool	hacker	Workshop	12	08-27-2009 08:28 AM
How about an atlas?	Jellby	Upload Help	35	08-21-2009 11:57 AM
Atlas Hugged?	Moejoe	Writers' Corner	27	06-23-2009 08:02 PM

08-15-2011, 03:59 AM	#2
hidari MR Drone Posts: 1,613 Karma: 15612282 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: DRONEZONE Device: PB360+, Huawei MP5, Libra H20	Not so spooky how DULL her characters are. Read a book on her objectivism... not bad... but she should have veered away from fiction I reckon.... Stateless capitalism, a right wing anarchist in disguise.... but considering her background no wonder she ended up a hard core capitalist supporter.....

08-15-2011, 05:49 AM	#3
dworth Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 2094632 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bradford, UK Device: kindle pc	"Spooky how closely the first hundred pages or so reflects American life, business and political practices of today... wonder if anyone is creating a "Galt's Gulch" :-) " Rather frighteningly, her ideas were very influential on the american political and business community over the past half a century. The recent BBC documentary series by Adam Curtis 'All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace' discussed this in some detail.

08-15-2011, 08:30 AM	#4
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	Of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Parker said: “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”

08-15-2011, 11:08 AM	#5
RichL Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 1096520 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: back to x51v	hidari We can't all live lives of the Capped Avenger :-) I find the book interesting not only from a story point of view but from seeing how I react to it then and now. At 20 I was ready to fight the world shoulder to shoulder along with Slug and Frisco. At 65 I see some interesting concepts as well as many similarities to several of todays so called advanced nations. DWORTH Thanks, I'll see if I can find a copy of it. I wonder if Curtis was as big a Brautigan fan as myself or just liked the name of the poem.

08-15-2011, 02:25 PM	#6
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Ignoring the prose, her philosophy in this resonated with me when I was younger. Yes, I still sometimes feel surrounded by people who consume but do not produce.

08-20-2011, 02:09 PM	#8
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,187 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	As a teenager, I loved Atlas Shrugged. (I'd thought of it as a dystopian science fiction novel--the success of the heroes hinges on breakthrough technology in several fields--and was surprised to find so many people thought of it solely as a political drama.) As an adult, I find myself disgusted at the number of people who proclaim to follow her ideology but have never actually worked a day in their lives. All her heroes are willing to get dirty--to do the gather wood, haul water, move rocks parts of supporting society. I'm fascinated by the number of sales reps who imagine themselves in the same kind of role as Hank Rearden, providing the same level of value to the rest of society. I'm also fascinated by the number of people who don't see the holes in her ideology, and think it could work for ALL OF SOCIETY if we just agreed to set things up that way. (The easy sample conundrum: Is abortion legal? Is infanticide legal? Whose responsibility is an unwanted infant?) Rand's ideology has a lot going for it, but also has some rather large gaps dealing with relationships and the responsibilities thereof, and anything involving people other than able-bodied reasonably-well-educated adults who haven't grown up in oppressive circumstances.

08-20-2011, 04:23 PM	#9
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	One of the nice things about the ebook edition Atlas Shrugged is that it's a lot lighter and less dangerous when used to bash people with ....

08-24-2011, 03:56 PM	#12
chrisanthropic Fiend Posts: 148 Karma: 559930 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	I finally read it recently after having read Anthem, Fountainhead, and a bunch of her non-fiction when I was a teenager. I have to agree with Elfwreck - I saw it mostly as a dystopian Sci-Fi novel (which of course deal with political themes). Would I base my life on the ideology? No way in hell. But it is an interesting read and unlike a lot of readers I actually like her characters and don't find them one dimensional, just determined, focused, and obsessed.

08-24-2011, 05:42 PM	#14
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Haven't read the book but it sounds like it has some ideas in common with Plato's Republic. That is it looks good on paper but would have a good deal of trouble working in the real world. I understand the Pilgrims found that out quickly. They had a communist type society at first where everyone shared things in common, but it failed. Turned out there were some who felt, "if I will get an even share of x whether or not I do any work then why should I do the work?" Of course that meant that someone else had to pick up the slackers share of the effort which I'm sure went over about as well as a lead balloon. We humans don't tend to play fair if we don't have to.

Advert

Advert