Posted on 08/17/2010 6:20:30 PM PDT by Kaslin
'Atlas Shrugged" — Ayn Rand's fourth and last novel, published in 1957 — may be second to the Bible as the most influential book read in America, according to a Library of Congress survey. It is required reading in management training at BB&T, the 12th-largest bank in the U.S. and one that resisted taking TARP bailout funds.
Since the Obama administration took office, "Atlas Shrugged" has been enjoying a renaissance with rising sales and library waiting lists, partly because it explains our current economic woes more straightforwardly than most of what we hear from today's experts.
What happened in Rand's narrative is coming to pass today, with an anti-business administration reviling private industry and capitalizing on crisis to expand and redirect investment within and between sectors of the economy — setting quotas, prices and compensation.
Businesses responded by retrenching — ceasing to invest, innovate and expand. Whole industries contracted, closed down or moved offshore, much like the U.S. gas and oil drilling industry is doing today. Then, just as now, management became frustrated, discouraged and reluctant to create jobs in an environment of excessive government meddling.
A record $2 trillion now sits on corporate balance sheets waiting to be invested amid reasonably cheap asset prices. What holds back investment is uncertainty and fear stemming from an overbearing and free-spending government. Businessmen and investors would never attempt spending and borrowing their way back to prosperity.
The debt-financed Obama stimulus plan is not only failing to create jobs. It ratchets up systemic risk, inviting a currency crisis and bond-market collapse — from which recovery might be impossible.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
My theory goes something like this....she was russian -look at the size of those russian novels!
And compounding the problem - a russian writing in english w/ engish as her second language.
This makes for a very wordy book.
Don't give up so early... and you might want to skip the sex scene when Howard is fixing Dominique's fireplace. Ayn has some issues.
If you are interested, the order in which Ayn's four novels should be read is We the Living then Fountainhead then Atlas Shrugged and finish with Anthem. Each novel builds on the theme.
BTW, sorry I have not been in attendance at the latest offering. That stupid four letter word keeps getting in the way. (”work”)
The moral bankruptcy cliff notes.
You’re the one with the pointed head, mope. It’s a wonder you didn’t comprehend anything about Ayn Rand. She was a cutting edge intellectual way ahead of her time. But then you wouldn’t know that because you’re probably not yet dry behind your ears. :>)
I’m not dry behind my ears because of the saliva your mom left there last night.
Don't we NOW?
ALL of them?
You must also be referring to people who won't read books that have no pictures.
Do you know Ann??? I went to HS with Ann Rand!
Now, I'll admit she wasn't the prettiest flower in the garden, but she played a mean game of chess and could debate your socks off.
But after all these years....to call her a "retread"???
For shame!
Hmmmm....I see your point. However, I don't have any problem at all with Rand's stance against religion. Further, I've begun to notice that those currently involved in organized religion (or just "religion" if you prefer) have taken to spinning their stance.
They now call it "faith". After all, organized religion has taken (and rightly so)a pretty bad beating of late; but "faith"???
Who in the world can safely attack "faith" (except of course for muslims who attack anyone not of their "faith"!)?
I had a close friend who became involved in organized religion; they taught this person to call it "faith". However, at each service they "pass the plate" at least three times during the service, and morally castigate those who do not "volunteer" for church duties.
Ah well.....I suppose there are all kinds of addictions, aren't there?
I’m well into the book right now.
It took a while to get going but I forced myself.
Glad I did because there are gems of wisdom in the book.
A lot of fluff and then a passage hits you. Wow, change the name of the gov agency to EPA or some other and it fits today.
$$$$$
I just finished listening to the Audio version - 45 CDs - and I couldn’t fast forward (as one could skim in the paper version) in case I missed one of the critical passages. Some of her preaching was excruciating, but the message was chilling.
Since listening to current news, and reading current news, was interspersed with this marathon of CDs, I was truly ill by the comparison of what the Obama regime is attempting and what Ayn Rand described over 50 years ago.
Chilling! The more people feel ‘entitled’ to life without effort, the more our civilization will be destroyed.
I hadn’t really thought of the Producers being the villains/despots and the ‘Looters” being revered but she is exactly correct.
The similarities between our society today and the one she portrays is amazingly close.
Our country has quite gotten to the state of her vision but is certainly headed in that direction.
I can’t imagine a movie being made of the book though. Esp. a trilogy.
I can’t imagine a movie faithful to her message coming out of Hollywood. It would be deemed “insensitive”, and the same “elites” who defend the NYC Sept 11 attack site mosque, would call for the censorship of such a movie interpretation.
What Mel Gibson and his cast and crew endured for making “The Passion of the Christ” would be meek compared to what the makers of a true “Atlas Shrugged” would undergo.
Bump
If memory is correct (doubt it), it was leaning against belief in God, not any religion in particular. I’ll have to break out my copy and skim through that section again. I originally got so turned off by it I skimmed and skimmed and skimmed (it was a loooooong rant) to the end of the offending speech so I didn’t retain many details. My bad.
Kinda like an Obama 'speech' where he starts with, "Let me be perfectly clear..."?
You?
Thanks for passing that along.
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