They mined it at night, they stored it in hidden culverts, they were paid in cash, with no questions asked or answered…they and Rearden traded like savages, without rights, titles, contracts, or protection, with nothing but mutual understanding and a ruthlessly absolute observance of one’s given word.Doesn't sound like such a bad concept for an economy actually. Don't like the goobermint that drove them to it, but you have to admit, the mind that thought up VIP shopper cards and similar stupidity would be laughed out of town in that world.
I agree completely. The terms Rand describes as "savage" aren't a great deal different from
laissez-faire capitalism when you come right down to it. A "ruthlessly absolute observance of one's given word" is, after all, what contracts and titles exist to ensure. Francis Fukuyama - yes, he of the "End of History" notoriety - made the case in his book
Trust that that particular virtue is capitalism's
sine qua non, and that high-trust societies such as Japan and Germany have an advantage in forming capitalist enterprises because of it.
This is, certainly, "guerrilla" capitalism in action, but it does have a cleanliness and clarity that we will encounter again in three chapters or so in the Atlantis that has been hinted at. It will be interesting to compare the two at that point and see if we can discern a difference. I'm inclined to state that there is not, but we've a way to go before we can reach any reasoned conclusion.