Everything about Atlasshrugged totally explained
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by
Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the
United States. It was Rand's last work of fiction before concentrating her writings exclusively on philosophy, politics and cultural criticism. At over one thousand pages in length, she considered it her
magnum opus. Also, at approximately 645,000 words,
Atlas Shrugged is one of the
longest novels ever written in any European language. The book explores a number of philosophical themes that Rand would subsequently develop into the philosophy of
Objectivism. According to polls conducted by the
Library of Congress,
Modern Library and the
Book of the Month Club,
Atlas Shrugged was voted the most influential book in readers' lives after the Bible.
Philosophy and writing
The theme of
Atlas Shrugged is the role of the mind in man's existence and, consequently, presentation of the morality of rational self-interest.
The main conflicts of the book surround the decision of the "individuals of the mind" to go on
strike, refusing to contribute their inventions, art, business leadership, scientific research, or new ideas of any kind to the rest of the world. Society, they believe, hampers them by interfering with their work and underpays them by confiscating the profits and dignity they've rightfully earned. The peaceful cohesiveness of the world disintegrates, lacking those individuals whose productive work comes from mental effort. The strikers believe that they're crucial to a society that exploits them, denying them freedom or failing to acknowledge their right to self-interest, and the gradual collapse of civilization is triggered by their strike.
The novel's title is an allusion to the
Greek Titan Atlas who was described as literally holding the world on his shoulders (as per
Atlas), discussing what might happen if those holding up civilization suddenly decided to stop doing so. In the novel, the mythological analogy comes during a conversation between two protagonists,
Francisco d'Anconia and
Hank Rearden, near the end of part two, chapter three, where Francisco (convincing Rearden that he's under-appreciated) tells Rearden that if he could suggest to Atlas that he do one thing, it would be to shrug.
In the world of
Atlas Shrugged, society stagnates when independent productive achievers began to be socially demonized and even punished for their accomplishments, even though society had been far more healthy and prosperous by allowing, encouraging and rewarding self-reliance and individual achievement. Independence and personal happiness flourished to the extent that people were free, and achievement was rewarded to the extent that individual ownership of
private property was strictly respected. The hero,
John Galt, lives a life of
laissez-faire capitalism as the only way to live consistent with his beliefs.
In addition to the plot's more obvious statements about the significance of industrialists and mental work to society, this explicit conflict is used by Rand to draw wider philosophical conclusions, both implicit in the plot and via the character's own statements. Positions are expressed on a variety of topics, including sex, politics, friendship, charity, childhood, and many others. Part of this is the theme that its broad array of ideas are in fact interrelated by their basic philosophy, and the significance of ideas to society and to one's life.
Atlas Shrugged portrays
fascism,
socialism and
communism – any form of state intervention in society – as systemically and fatally flawed. However, Rand claimed that it isn't a
fundamentally political book, but that the politics portrayed in the novel are a result of her attempt to display her image of the ideal person and the individual mind's position and value in society.
Rand argues that independence and individual achievement enable society to survive and thrive, and should be embraced. But this requires a "
rational"
moral code. She argues that, over time, coerced
self-sacrifice causes any society to self-destruct.
She is similarly dismissive of faith beyond empirical reason, in a
god or higher being, or anything else as an authority over one's own mind. The book positions itself against
religion specifically, often directly within the characters' dialogue.
Setting
Galt's Gulch was inspired by
Ouray,
Colorado. It was here that Rand found inspiration to complete the novel, though she greatly expanded the small valley to include her many ideas for the story.
Exactly when
Atlas Shrugged is meant to take place is kept deliberately vague. In 152, the population of
New York City is given as 7 million. The historical New York City reached 7 million people in the 1930s, which might place the novel sometime after that. There are many early 20th century technologies available, but the political situation is clearly different from actual history. One interpretation is that the novel takes place many years in the future, implying that since the world lapsed into its socialistic morass, a global stagnation has occurred in technological growth, population growth, and indeed growth of
any kind; the wars, economic depressions, and other events of the 20th century would be a distant memory to all but
scholars and
academicians. This would be in line with Rand's ideas and commentary on other novels depicting utopian and dystopian societies. Furthermore, this is also in line with an excerpt from a 1964 interview with
Playboy magazine in which Rand states "What we've today isn't a
capitalist society, but a
mixed economy – that is, a mixture of
freedom and controls, which, by the presently dominant trend, is moving toward
dictatorship. The action in
Atlas Shrugged takes place at a time when society has reached the stage of dictatorship. When and if this happens, that will be the time to go on strike, but not until then," thus implying that her novel takes place at some point in the future. The concept of societal stagnation in the wake of collectivist systems is central to the plot of another of Rand's works,
Anthem.
In
Atlas Shrugged, all countries outside the US have become, or become during the novel, "People's States". There are many examples of early 20th century
technology in
Atlas Shrugged, but no post-war advances such as
nuclear weapons,
helicopters, or
computers.
Jet planes are mentioned briefly as being a relatively new technology.
Television is a novelty that has yet to assume any cultural significance, while
radio broadcasts are prominent (in fact, television only makes its first appearance later on in the book, reflecting the fact that television appeared in the fifties, for example, during the ten years it took to write the book). Although Rand doesn't use many of the technological innovations available while she was writing in the book, she introduces some advanced, fictional inventions (for example,
sonic-based weapons of mass destruction, torture devices, as well as power plants and a highly advanced strong steel alloy).
Most of the action in
Atlas Shrugged occurs in the . However, there are important events around the world, such as in the People's States of
Mexico,
Chile, and
Argentina, and
piracy at sea.
Plot
The novel's plot is split into three parts. The first two parts, and to some extent the last, follow
Dagny Taggart, a no-nonsense railroad executive, and her attempt to keep the company alive despite repeated encroachments by a society moving toward
collectivism,
altruism, and
statism. Throughout the novel people repeat a platitude Dagny greatly resents: "Who is John Galt?" It is a reflection of their helplessness, as the saying means "Don't ask important questions, because we don't have answers."
The leaders and innovators of industry in the world seem to be disappearing, and the apparent decline of civilization is making it more and more difficult for her to sustain her life-long aspirations of running the trans-continental railroad, which has been in her family for several generations. She deals with other characters who often personify archetypes of what Rand considers the various schools of philosophy for living and working in the world (though they're in most cases often unaware of it).
Some of these are:
Hank Rearden, a self-made businessman of great integrity whose career is hindered by his feelings of obligation toward his wife.
Francisco d'Anconia, Dagny's childhood friend, first love, and king of the copper industry, appears to have become a worthless playboy who is purposely destroying his business.
James Taggart (Dagny's brother), president of the railroad, who seems peripherally aware of the troubles facing the company and the country in general, but who almost always makes the most short term and ultimately self-destructive choice.
As the novel progresses, the myths about the real John Galt, as well as Francisco d'Anconia's actions, increasingly become a reflection of the state of the culture and seem to make more and more sense. Hank and Dagny begin to experience the futility of their attempts to survive in a society that hates them and those like them for their greatness.
Dagny and Hank find the remnants of a motor that turns
atmospheric static electricity into
kinetic energy, an astounding feat; they also find evidence that the minds (the "Atlases") of the world are disappearing because of one particular "destroyer" taking them away. Dagny and Hank deal with the irrationalities and apparent contradictions of their atmosphere, and search for the creator of the motor as well as "the destroyer" who is draining the world of its prime movers, in an effort to secure their ability to live rational lives.
The question "Who is John Galt?" is also answered towards the closing of the novel — John Galt is a man disgusted that non-productive members of society use laws and guilt to leech from the value created by productive members of society, and furthermore even exalt the qualities of the leeches over the workers and inventors. He made a pledge that he'd never live his life for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for him, and founded an enclave, separate from the rest of the country, where he and other productive members of society have fled.
Galt's speech
John Galt's speech is the core of
Atlas Shrugged. In it, Galt explains the philosophy of
Objectivism. The speech encompasses
metaphysical,
epistemological,
ethical, and
political ideas.
The speech is very long, spanning 56 pages in one paperback edition (the only interruption occurs after the first paragraph), and appears in the chapter "This is John Galt Speaking" in the third section of the book. Later in the book, the speech is referred to as being approximately three hours long.
Characters
Protagonists:
- Dagny Taggart - Operating Vice President of Taggart Transcontinental
- Hank Rearden - Owner of Rearden Steel
- John Galt
- Francisco d'Anconia - Owner of d'Anconia Copper
- Ragnar Danneskjold - Pirate
Social concepts
Looters and moochers
Rand's heroes must continually fight against the"Parasites", "looters", and "moochers" of the society surrounding them.
The looters are those who confiscate others' earnings "at the point of a gun" (figuratively speaking) —often because they're government officials, and thus their demands are backed by the threat of force. Some looters are following the policies of the government, such as the officials who confiscate one state's
seed grain to feed the starving citizens of another state; others are exploiting those policies, such as the railroad regulator who illegally sells the railroad's supplies on the side. The common factor is that both use force to take property from the people who produced or earned it, and both are ultimately destructive.
The moochers are those who demand others' earnings because they claim to be needy and unable to earn themselves. Even as they beg for their help, however, they curse the people who make that help possible, because they hate the talented for having the talent they don't possess. Although the moochers seem benign at first glance, they're portrayed as more destructive than the looters—they destroy the productive through guilt and often motivate the "lawful" looting performed by governments.
Looting and mooching are seen at all levels of the world
Atlas Shrugged portrays, from the looting officials Dagny Taggart must work around and the mooching brother Hank Rearden struggles with, to the looting of whole industries by companies like Associated Steel and the mooching demands for
foreign aid by the starving countries of Europe.
Sanction of the victim
The
Sanction of the victim is defined as "the willingness of the good to suffer at the hands of the
evil, to accept the role of sacrificial victim for the '
sin' of creating values."
The entire story of
Atlas Shrugged can be seen as an answer to the question, what would happen if this sanction were revoked? When Atlas shrugs, relieving himself of the burden of carrying the world, he's revoking his sanction.
The concept may be original in the thinking of Ayn Rand and is foundational to her moral theory. She holds that evil is a parasite on the good and can only exist if the good tolerates it. To quote from Galt's Speech, as presented in the novel: "Evil is impotent and has no power but that which we let it extort from us," and, "I saw that evil was impotent...and the only weapon of its triumph was the willingness of the good to serve it." Morality requires that we don't sanction our own victimhood, Rand claims. In adhering to this concept, Rand assigns virtue to the trait of rational self-interest. However, Rand contends that moral selfishness doesn't mean a license to do whatever one pleases, guided by whims. It means the exacting discipline of defining and pursuing one's rational self-interest. A code of rational self-interest rejects every form of human sacrifice, whether of oneself to others
or of others to oneself.
Throughout
Atlas Shrugged, numerous characters admit that there's something wrong with the world but they can't put their finger on what it is. The concept they can't grasp is the sanction of the victim. The first person to grasp the concept is
John Galt, who vows to stop the motor of the world by getting the creators of the world to withhold their sanction.
We first glimpse the concept in
section 121 when
Hank Rearden feels he's duty-bound to support his family, despite their hostility towards him.
In
section 146 the principle is stated explicitly by
Dan Conway: "I suppose somebody's got to be sacrificed. If it turned out to be me, I've no right to complain."
Social classes
Atlas Shrugged endorses the belief that a society's best hope rests on its adopting a system of pure
laissez-faire. John Galt says,"The political system we'll build is contained in a single moral premise: no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force," and claims, "no rights can exist without the right to translate one’s rights into reality—to think, to work and to keep the results—which means: the right of property." The characters are assessed negatively or positively based on their productive effort, respect for rights, intellectual honesty, and moral integrity, and this doesn't necessarily reflect their class backgrounds. Different social classes are represented among both the heroes and the villains of
Atlas Shrugged. Among the heroes,
John Galt and Hank Rearden are from working class backgrounds, while Dagny Taggart and Francisco d'Anconia are from wealthy families. Among the villains, Fred Kinnan is from a working class background, while James Taggart and Betty Pope are from wealthy families.
Compare:
Aristocracy
Theory of sex
In rejecting the traditional
altruistic moral code, Rand also rejects the sexual code that, in her view, is the
logical implication of altruism.
Rand introduces a theory of
sex in
Atlas Shrugged that's based in her broader ethical and psychological theories. Far from being a debasing animal
instinct, sex to Rand is the highest celebration of human
values, a physical response to intellectual and spiritual values that gives concrete expression to what could otherwise only be experienced in the abstract. This theory of sex is almost identical to that espoused in the platonic dialogue
Symposium.
In
Atlas Shrugged, characters are sexually attracted to those who embody or seem to embody their values, be they higher or lower values by Rand's standards. Characters who lack clear purpose find sex devoid of meaning. This is illustrated in the contrasting relationships of
Hank Rearden with
Lillian Rearden and
Dagny Taggart, by the relationships of
James Taggart with
Cherryl Brooks and later with Lillian Rearden, and finally in the relationship between Dagny and
John Galt.
Illustrations of this theory are found in:
– recounts Dagny's relationship with Francisco d'Anconia.
– recounts Hank and Lillian Rearden's courtship, and Lillian's attitude towards sex.
– recounts the value for value basis of Dagny's seemingly unconditional love for Rearden
Companies
Looter companies vs John Galt's Movement
The companies in Atlas Shrugged are generally divided into two groups: those that are operated by hard working characters who join in John Galt's Movement and those owned by looters and moochers. The first group are usually given the name of the owner, while companies operated by antagonist characters are given impersonal names like Associated Steel.
For example, Hank Rearden's companies are all named after him; Wyatt Oil after Ellis Wyatt; and Taggart Transcontinental and d'Anconia Copper are named after their founders (and, being family-held, their present owners). Nielsen Motors, Hammond Cars and Ayers Music Publishing are also presented as competent. Those who use their own names to name their companies become Strikers, with the minor exception of Mr. Ayers of the Ayers Music Publishing Company.
On the other hand, Orren Boyle named his government-dependent, influence-peddling company Associated Steel. Another company in the novel is the Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc. The exceptions here are the Phoenix Durango Railroad, which was run by a competent entrepreneur who becomes a Striker in his own way without joining the actual Strikers in Galt's Gulch, and the Twentieth Century Motor Company, originally run by Jed Starnes. The mismanagement of the Twentieth Century in the hands of Starnes' heirs first seeds the thoughts of a strike in John Galt's mind.
Comparison with real-life railways
James Jerome Hill (1838– 1916) was known as the Empire Builder and built the Great Northern Railway that's in many ways similar to Taggart Transcontinental.
Comparison with real life railway industry
Taggart Transcontinental in the later part of the book is driven to act in this manner and rely on other companies for the western part of its traffic; that is, however, an emergency measure which is part of the gradual collapse of the company (and the entire world) and Dagny is far from pleased with the need to resort to it.
By 1957, the date of the book's publication, railways in the USA were facing a decline that had begun in the 1920s. Passengers were increasingly switching to road transport which, unlike the railways, was subject to market competition, developing quickly to the benefit of consumers. Air transport was also growing quickly, with the restrictions of Government intervention and regulation coming later to the aviation industry that to trucking or railroads. (For details, see Amtrak; Passenger rail service before Amtrak.) Railroads are still the most efficient type of transportation over land.
Fictional technology
Because the book centers on industrial capitalism, Ayn Rand mentions many technologies throughout the book. In addition to normal technologies, she introduces several fictional inventions, including refractor rays (Gulch mirage), Rearden Metal, a sonic death ray ("Project X"), motors powered by static electricity, and a sophisticated electrical torture device.
Rearden metal
Rearden metal is a fictitious metal alloy invented by Hank Rearden. It is lighter and stronger than traditional steel, and is to steel what steel was to iron. It is described as greenish-blue. Among its ingredients are iron and copper, two metals seldom found together in real-world alloys.
Initially, no one is willing to use Rearden metal due to an unsupported but nonetheless damaging report by the State Science Institute which implies the metal is weak and prone to breaking. The introduction of the metal is seen as potentially damaging to the already established steel industries. Dagny Taggart, regardless of the public opinion, places an order for Rearden metal when she needs rails to rebuild the Rio Norte Line which is in disrepair. Once the metal is proven in the Rio Norte Line, the "looters" seek both to place it on the market for everyone, and to deny it to the industrialists who would make the most profitable use of it. Later, the formula for the metal itself is extorted by way of blackmail from Rearden and dubbed "Miracle Metal."
Project X
Project X, a.k.a. Project Xylophone, is an invention of the scientists at the State Science Institute, requiring tons of Rearden metal. It is a sonic weapon, capable of destroying everything in a 300-mile radius. The scientists claim that the project will be used to preserve peace and squash rebellion. The mechanism is destroyed towards the end of the book, and emits a sonic pulse that destroys everything within a hundred mile radius, including Cuffy Meigs and Dr. Stadler, as well as half of the Taggart Bridge, which spanned the Mississippi River, and was, effectively, the lifeline of New York City.
Galt's motor
John Galt invented a new type of electrical apparatus described in the book as a motor. This motor is revolutionary because it uses static electricity from the atmosphere as its main source of energy, requiring only a small amount of conventional fuel to run the conversion mechanism. The motor is described as super-efficient, and capable of revolutionizing the industry of the world. This approximates a perpetual motion machine of the second kind, a machine which spontaneously converts thermal energy into mechanical work (versus conventional heat engines, which convert thermal energy into mechanical work by transferring thermal energy from one reservoir to another). The theory is that the power is drawn from the environment.
The book gives the source as static electricity from the air, and suggests that a new physics was necessary to tap it. Additionally, the motor could be seen as a metaphor for a person who, like Rearden and Dagny, has the ability to convert dispersed energy and resources into useful materials.
Dagny discovers a discarded prototype of the motor, and it's superficially described in section Part 1, Chapter 9. In Part 3, Chapter 1, Dagny learns that Galt is using a working version of the motor to generate electricity for Galt's Gulch.
Project F
A torture device invented by Dr. Floyd Ferris is introduced towards the end where John Galt is tortured. It consists of having the victim tied to a mattress with electrodes attached to the wrists, the ankles and the hips. Electricity is passed in various combinations (wrist-to-wrist, ankle-to-hip) to inflict pain on the victim. The current being passed through the victim is calculated to cause maximum pain without inflicting any permanent physical damage to the victim, though it should be noted that during a session, an irregular heartbeat is quite possible, and death is a risk. Due to the risk, the victim's health is very closely monitored during the session. It is located in a small underground building alongside the State Science Institute.
Other
Rand also mentioned technologies that were unavailable at the time, but which have since been invented. Examples are voice activated door locks (Gulch power station), and palm-activated door locks (Galt's NY lab).
Reception
Atlas Shrugged was generally disliked by critics, despite being a popular success. According to a 1991 United States survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, Atlas Shrugged was the book that made most difference in readers' lives after the Bible.
Early Reception
It was reviewed shortly after its publication in 1957 by many major newspapers and magazines. The initial reviews were largely negative, criticizing both the book's literary qualities and its political vision.
Criticism
In the conservative magazine the National Review, Whittaker Chambers wrote a critical review of the Atlas Shrugged, in which he argues against, among other things, the novel's implicit endorsement of atheism whereby "Randian man, like Marxian man is made the center of a godless world." The Intellectual Activist's Robert Tracinski published a reply nearly 50 years later, arguing that Chambers didn't actually read the novel, as he misspells the names of major characters, and never uses quotations from the novel itself (External Link
).
Former Ayn Rand associate Nathaniel Branden argues that Atlas Shrugged "encourages emotional repression and self-disowning" and that it, along with Rand's other major Objectivist novel, The Fountainhead, contains contradictory messages. Though he notes that the book shows that Rand understood the human need for social interaction, Branden claims that "rarely you find the heroes and heroine talking to each other on a simple, human level without launching into philosophical sermons," which he believes is used to increase the reader's self-alienation. He further questions the psychological impact of the novel, stating that John Galt's claim that contempt and moral condemnation are appropriate responses to wrongdoing clashes with the recommendations of psychologists, who say that this kind of behavior only causes the wrongdoing to repeat itself.
Praise
On the other hand, Howard Dickman of Reader's Digest wrote that the novel had "turned millions of readers on to the ideas of liberty" and said that the book had the important message of the readers' "profound right to be happy."
The libertarian Cato Institute held a joint conference with The Atlas Society, an Objectivist organization, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Atlas Shrugged.
Conservative Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas cites Atlas Shrugged as among his favorite novels.
In an article titled "Celebrity Rand Fans" in the Objectivist magazine The New Individualist, Robert James Bidinotto traces the novel's growing influence among major Hollywood stars, sports champions, and public figures.
Chip Mellor of the libertarian Institute for Justice writes that "whether they've adopted her philosophy wholeheartedly or found her writings of more transitory interest, countless individuals working to secure liberty have found inspiration in the works of Ayn Rand. With her unique ability to depict heroism, idealism, and romance behind the creativity of the individual, Rand inspires readers to come to the defense of free minds and free markets."
In a three-month online poll of reader selections of the hundred best novels of the twentieth century, administered by publisher Modern Library, Atlas Shrugged was voted number one, ahead of The Fountainhead, Battlefield Earth, and The Lord of the Rings, while the list chosen by the Modern Library panel of authors and scholars contains no works by Rand. The list was formed on 217,520 votes cast. Because Battlefield Earth and two other books by cult leader and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard were in the top ten, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ray Jenkins compares Rand's popularity to that of Hubbard, calling her "a goddess of a great American cult." He goes on to point out that her works were "ignored or deplored by the critics of the day."
Literary critic Harold Bloom included her in a critical encyclopedia he edited, American Women Fiction Writers, 1900-1960, Vol. Three, (Chelsea House, 1998). The C-SPAN television series American Writers listed Rand as one of twenty-two surveyed figures of American literature, though primarily mentioning The Fountainhead rather than Atlas Shrugged.
Film adaptation
Film rights to the novel Atlas Shrugged were purchased by the Baldwin Entertainment Group in 2003. Lions Gate Entertainment has picked up worldwide distribution rights and screenwriter Randall Wallace has created a 127-page screenplay from the novel. Angelina Jolie has been confirmed to play the role of Dagny Taggart and Brad Pitt is rumored to be cast as John Galt. Both are fans of Rand's works. Lionsgate has hired director Vadim Perelman to direct the film. (External Link)Further Information
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