[Prodigal Son]

Remember the time frame when these books were written. Back then, the spectre of world socialism and communist domination loomed all too real and was indeed heralded by many or our country's leftist elite. Communism was put on a pedestal as being "the perfect form of gov't". I even remember my ninth grade English teacher saying those exact words. I think particularly motivating for Rand was the fact that she had just recently managed to emigrate from the Soviet Union only to find the ivory tower intellectuals in the land of the free calling for the same system of gov't she had just escaped. So if it sounded like she was pounding on a lecturn with a shoe- it's because she was. But I can't think of any two people further apart than Marx and Rand.

It isn't hard to look around even today and see how people are demonized for being productive. Bill Gates in particular has been compared with the anti Christ and Satan. We hear it on the television and read it in print everyday. When the left/democrats/greens say the word "corporation" you can just hear the hate dripping from it. What it is they call for is antithetical to the American way- taking from those that have earned it to give to those that have not- social programs/wealth redistribution/unconditional aid to the third world. One disturbing phrase I keep hearing prominent leftists using is: "Access to Capital". Jesse Jackson seems to be very fond of it and we see how he obtains his- extorting it from corporations with the threat of branding them as racists.

It's interesting you should mention John Galt's speech. It took her an entire year to write it. It is basically a summary of her entire philosophy. If one is looking for pure entertainment, clearly Ayn Rand is perhaps not the best choice and maybe Stephen King or Tom Clancy would be better. Ayn Rand, however, did reach a wide audience and continues to do so to this day. I have seen many, many lists of "Top Ten Books That Influenced My Life" and very often Atlas Shrugged is second only to the Bible. Philosophy is a "dry and boring" subject to many and this is why she chose the novel as a platform on which to present her philosophy. Regarding the California power industry fiasco, I cannot think of a single more relevant book than Atlas Shrugged to shed light on the problem.

There are aspects of ordinary human life on which I would have liked to have seen Rand expound further, for instance- child rearing and family life- but she has without doubt left an enduring legacy to philosophy, the justification of our way of life and the human condition in general.

[corkoman]

EXLNT Points! Good perspective. For the reasons you cite it will be a challenge to do a contemporaneous film. Who has any real apreciation for the US railroads today? Few. But back in the 50s before the jet engine revolutionized transport the railroads were absolutely vital.

I loved Atlas despite Rand's heavy speeches. I liked several characters and found Rand's philosphy about sex provocative.

And she nails the socialists right between the eyes and they HATE HER FOR IT.

[TheLionessRN]

There was a small portion about child rearing in the book, if you will recall. While Dagny was in Galt's Gulch, there was a famous actress who gave it all up for a family. (I hope I am remembering this right) She decided that focusing on her child and the future was the greatest achievement she could reach for, so she dedicated herself to this end. As already stated, homeschooling is a fantastic example of this. Encourage the child to be all he can be and educate him properly. That IS such a great calling!

[sawsalimb]

Good points. Atlas Shrugged is an important book,and as you pointed out,an enduring one. Rand indeed made some good arguments,and as a fairly hard core libertarian,I find myself agreeing with her,most of the time.(Note:I haven't read anything but Atlas Shrugged,so I can't claim to be anything of an authority on her work.)

Had I done what she did-escaping a country in the grip of statist monsters that I can't even begin to comprehend,I'd probably be on every soapbox in sight. As a short treatise on a personal philosophy,Galt's speech is a good one. One thing that I wish Rand had done-and she might have,come to think-is to have written more work that's shorter,focused on specific positions. I understand that she was employed as a screenwriter for a fair amount of time;if this is true,is there anywhere that her out-of-print stuff is archived? My comp skills are limited,at best.

[That Poppins Woman]

When the left/democrats/greens say the word "corporation" you can just hear the hate dripping from it.

There is context here. There is reason to hate the corruption that has decimated the heartland of America, and is eliminating the grower-merchant (American small farmer). The grower-merchant is a uniquely American creation, and was the base of individual power from which all of our founding fathers grew and flourished. There is a reason to hate the corporate influence which has decimated the way of life that our founding fathers enjoyed. There is reason to hate the corruption that has enabled harm to come to the poorest and least able to defend themselves -- corruption that has subverted justice, corruption that has subverted the most important duties of government. This hate is not only fomenting within the ranks of the Greens or leftists Democrats. Wake up and smell the coffee.

According to Dyer, the pandemonium which companies like Cargill, Con-Agra, Archer Daniels Midland, etc. have unleashed on rural America is responsible for the loss of over 1 million small to medium-sized farms since 1980. Indeed, in one twelve month period in the late 1980s more than 1 million people were forced from their land. In 1996 alone, 10,000 families in Oklahoma (one-sixth of all farm families in the state) lost their farms through bankruptcies and foreclosure. And it’s not just that; for those who manage to hold on, it often means holding on in grinding, unending poverty and a constant struggle just to meet the day-to-day necessities of life. The fact is, while only 20 to 25 percent (depending on who one counts as "rural") of the U.S. population live in rural areas, 38 percent of all people living in poverty live there. Sixty-seven percent of the nation’s substandard housing is rural, and 27 percent of the children in rural America are growing up hungry, forced to live in destitution even though the parents of most of them work. -- see Harvest of Rage by Joel Dryer

The press is replete with stories about how these companies have experimented on their land with genetically modified crops, and then have sued surrounding small farmers for compensation because their seed blew onto the farmers’ land and grew, or some of their crops were pollinated by the genetically modified crops.

There is much reason to hate the corporate influence on our congressmen and senators, for it is this influence that continues our destructive policies towards our environment, which in turn, radicalizes and emboldens the militant environmentalists, and we end up with tragedies like Klamath basin. (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.)

There is much reason to hate the corporate influence on our government, which allowed the destruction of the hemp industry, which produced not only paper and rope, but also paint and varnish, and secured the success of DuPont’s petroleum-based and leaded paints and varnishes, which decimated thousands of children’s potential to become fully functioning adults. Hearst’s paper industry benefited most greatly from the collusion of the government in the decimation of the hemp industry. And the dioxins that are a byproduct of wood pulp bleaching have caused thousands of cases of cancer. The dioxins that were core elements of fertilizers used in this country for decades do not decompose in the soil. No. They remain whole and intact, and able to (according to EPA estimates) cause cancer in 1 in 10 of us. And would we have ever had to use the amount of fertilizer that this country has poured into its soil and water system, if we merely rotated crops with hemp? Hemp is the only plant that RE-NUTRIENTS the soil. Yes. Puts them back into the soil.

Would this country have been able to prevent the attacks of September 11 if the resources that have been spent on the War on Drugs had been applied to the defense of the United States against enemies foreign and domestic, if the resources had been applied to tracking foreigners who travel to this country and take advantage of the educational opportunities, both in university and in flight schools? Would this country have been able to prevent the deaths of 6000 innocents, if the resources and funds from narcotics trade (used by the terrorist organizations) were in the hands of farmers and business owners?

Would this country have seen the tragic events of February-April 1993, which, in turn, instigated the tragic event of OK City, if there were no War on Drugs, and the federales had not been able to obtain a false warrant for a mythical methamphetamine lab?

There are literally thousands of examples where influence (corporate and otherwise) has corrupted our government and our elected representatives. The Marine Osprey is a classic example. An excellent case now is that of missile defense, and the TRW scandal. One of the scientists accused the company of falsifying test results, and MIT scientists have backed her up. TRW fired the accusing scientist. Given the nature and importance of missile defense, and given the monetary investment of tax payer dollars in this program, the corporate standard operating procedure of eliminating dissenters appears to be at odds with the best interests of the American people.

Another example of the corrupting corporate influence is the bail-out of the inefficient, over-priced, and would-have-failed-even-without-September-11 airlines and it is happening right now. Is the cheap, efficient airline – Southwest – reducing its schedule, laying off staff? NO.

I cannot speak for every left-leaner or tree hugger. I can only speak for myself, and my own concerns. But I have found, in my short time here on earth, an never-ending source of frustration and amazement (and occasionally hate) in watching our congresscritters contort themselves, their policies, their beliefs, and their duty, via attempts to justify their actions taken in support of a PAYING CUSTOMER, i.e., a campaign donor. And it just so happens that in this society, corporations happen to be the PAYING CUSTOMER a whole lot of the time.

From Deterring Demonic Domination Systems, Making A Just Peace: Human Rights and Domination Systems: "executive summary" of an activist bishop’s new book by C. Dale White

In a world where unrestrained consumerism, careless industrial production and militarism squander natural resources and despoil the earth, people long for environmental restoration. We examine the massive interlocking systems that threaten the future of the human family in all three areas:

• The increasing concentration of wealth in a small segment of the world’s population leaves millions destitute. The global economy is a case study in injustice. It guarantees that more than a billion people struggle to survive in absolute poverty. Any disturbance, such as drought or civil strife pushes them over the edge, even to the point of massive starvation. The people of the world have a right to equitable and sustainable economic and social development!

• The brutality of this century and the militarization of the world culminating in the threat of nuclear war have given the quest for peace a new urgency. The absurdity of nation-states seeking to protect "national security" while threatening to destroy human civilization and endangering the biosphere has become obvious. This has prompted urgent action for disarmament, peacemaking and peacekeeping. Nations are increasingly being asked voluntarily to surrender a modicum of national sovereignty in the interest of global survival. The people of the world have a right to peace!

• The uncontrolled development of commerce and industry are destroying the world’s eco-systems. Habits of runaway consumerism are using up nonrenewable natural resources at an accelerating pace. The industrial system which sustains this consumerism is laying waste to vast areas of fertile land, and depriving millions of persons of air fit to breathe and water fit to drink. The people of the world have the right to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature!

It was in this spirit that more than a thousand of us gathered in Seoul, Korea, in March 1990, for the World Council of Churches’ Consultation on Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation.

[no-s]

I have to say, I read Atlas Shrugged in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Then I read it again the next week and found it completely relevant.

Sure, it's preachy dialogue and trite characterizations. But very intellectually stimulating.

[Hank Kerchief]

Philosophy is a "dry and boring" subject to many and this is why she chose the novel as a platform on which to present her philosophy.

Sorry for the late comment, but just getting to this thread.

I agree with everything you said except the above. Ayn Rand never set out to be a philosopher. She desired to be a writer first, but knowing that to be one she must have a rational philosophy as a guide, and discovering there was not one, she devised her own. So far, it's the best there is, with all its warts and wrinkles.

By the way, far from being, "dry and boring," I find no subject in the world more interesting than philosophy. (Taste is subjective.)

Hank