Francisco D'Anconia and the Art of War: My 2011 entry in ARI's Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
Each year the Ayn Rand Institute conducts an Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest scholarship.
In 2011, I entered with the following essay.
I didn't win, but it was still fun.
In writing the essay, I more fully developed the reasons why Francisco D'Anconia is my favorite of Rand's heroes.
As always,
Enjoy, or not.
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Francisco D'Anconia and the Art of War
Francisco D'Anconia was one of three philosopher generals in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Leading the oppressed “Men of The Mind” (Rand 644) against the tyranny of the “Aristocracy of Pull” (Rand 426), each of these generals employed tactics which can, to varying degrees, be identified with specific philosophies on strategy and tactics. John Galt, following a path similar to Mohandas Gandhi, covertly implemented a strategy of non-violent non-cooperation and hobbled the Aristocracy's productive capability. Ragnar Danneskjöld, applying the theories of Carl von Clausewitz, brutally disabled the Aristocracy's supply lines, leaving remote allied socialist “republics” to face the grim reality of their policies. Francisco D'Anconia, acknowledging the wisdom of Sun Tzu, deftly incorporated the premise “All warfare is based on deception” (Sun Tzu Estimates:17 66) and lured the Aristocracy to economic death ground.
Throughout most of the novel, the heroine Dagney Taggart struggled to reconcile a seeming contradiction presented by Francisco D'Anconia: the man whom she saw that he had become, “the most spectacularly worthless playboy on earth” (Rand 69), and the man whom she believed that he would become, “the climax of the D'Anconias” (Rand 110). However, as Rand often advised her readers, and in this instance as Francisco advised Dagney when she mentioned her struggle, “Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong” (Rand 214). The crucial piece of information which Dagney was missing and which led her to her erroneous conclusion was that, as Shakespeare's Hamlet feigned madness in order to flush out the crimes of the king, Francisco was feigning decadence in order to flush out the predatory nature of the Aristocracy. Rather than public and purposeless hedonism, Francisco was, in fact, engaged in a massive operation of deception: the promotion of a wholly fraudulent investment opportunity, The San Sebastian Mines.
The purpose of this operation for which the San Sebastian Mines served as a front was, as were the operations of each of the other generals, the economic crippling of the Aristocracy. Through the creation of circumstances in which the Men of the Mind who did their due diligence would not be taken in and yet in which the Aristocracy would expect once again to profit from the work, due diligence, and honor of the Men of the Mind, Francisco ran an elaborate Big Con, “He made no effort to sell stock in his venture; the stock was begged out of his hands, and he merely chose those whom he wished to favor among the applicants. ... Those who censured him most were the first to seize the chance of riding on his talent.” (Rand 69).
The successful execution of this operation depended on Francisco himself: he had to make the world believe that he had become thoroughly corrupted and now led the life of a worthless playboy. Francisco's strategy required heavy stakes from him: his personal reputation, the reputation of his family, portions of his wealth, and, ultimately, the woman he loved. However, he recognized that these stakes were the required price for a trade in which the endgame was to be won. With his ruse in place, the necessary circumstances of the operation were set. The Men of the Mind who researched the San Sebastian Mines would find an investment as worthless as D'Anconia himself and would see no contradiction in this discovery. The Aristocracy of Pull, however, would see only a rainmaker wunderkind who happened upon an opportunity so lucrative that he actually took precious time away from his busy life of debauchery in order to pursue it. Seeing this, the Aristocracy would look no further. They would not suspect that Francisco D'Anconia, a philosopher general, had read his Sun Tzu, “Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near. Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him.” (Sun Tzu Estimates:18-20 66).
The successful conclusion of this operation, however, turned solely on the prejudices of the Aristocracy: the Men of the Mind made money, they did not, as did the Aristocracy, destroy it. So, all that was necessary for Francisco to do in order for the conclusion of his Big Con to be believable was to lose his own money in the venture. The Aristocracy, seeing this, was left with the conclusion, not that they had been duped, but that D'Anconia truly was, after all, a worthless playboy. Once again they would not suspect that Francisco D'Anconia, a philosopher general, had not only read his Sun Tzu but also knew that the standard of a truly successful con was found in its marks never realizing that they were taken in, “Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is the master of his enemy's fate.” (Sun Tzu Weaknesses and Strengths:9 97).
The endgame, in which the San Sebastian Mines operation was only a part, and the ultimate reason for Francisco placing the things which he valued most highly as stakes in a dangerous game run by dishonest and powerful men, for playing the playboy to the hazard of all that he was and could be, was the securing of simple liberty. Francisco realized and actualized the non-contradictory conclusion that in order to truly become the climax of the D'Anconias and secure the liberty of his name, property, honor, and the woman that he loved that he must break the Aristocracy's unjust claim on all of these things, that he must play the game into which they dragged him, and that he must play it to win. And in playing to win, Francisco D'Anconia, a philosopher general, took Sun Tzu's words to heart, not just on the nature of warfare and deception, but also on roles that he and the Aristocracy would play, “Invincibility depends on one's self; the enemy's vulnerability on him.” (Sun Tzu Dispositions:2 85).
After the endgame had been reached and the Aristocracy met its inevitable collapse, Francisco was able to take measure of what had been gained and lost by his strategic deception. The worthless playboy, the climax of the D'Anconias, the philosopher general had retained his personal and family name and honor, had lost the woman he loved but regained her respect, had lost most of his property but had retained enough to begin again, and most importantly had won the liberty to begin again as a free man, and that was enough.
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Works Cited
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Signet, 1996. Reader Store. Web. 12 Feb. 2011
Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Trans. Samuel B. Griffith. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971. Print.
In 2011, I entered with the following essay.
I didn't win, but it was still fun.
In writing the essay, I more fully developed the reasons why Francisco D'Anconia is my favorite of Rand's heroes.
As always,
Enjoy, or not.
----------
Francisco D'Anconia and the Art of War
Francisco D'Anconia was one of three philosopher generals in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Leading the oppressed “Men of The Mind” (Rand 644) against the tyranny of the “Aristocracy of Pull” (Rand 426), each of these generals employed tactics which can, to varying degrees, be identified with specific philosophies on strategy and tactics. John Galt, following a path similar to Mohandas Gandhi, covertly implemented a strategy of non-violent non-cooperation and hobbled the Aristocracy's productive capability. Ragnar Danneskjöld, applying the theories of Carl von Clausewitz, brutally disabled the Aristocracy's supply lines, leaving remote allied socialist “republics” to face the grim reality of their policies. Francisco D'Anconia, acknowledging the wisdom of Sun Tzu, deftly incorporated the premise “All warfare is based on deception” (Sun Tzu Estimates:17 66) and lured the Aristocracy to economic death ground.
Throughout most of the novel, the heroine Dagney Taggart struggled to reconcile a seeming contradiction presented by Francisco D'Anconia: the man whom she saw that he had become, “the most spectacularly worthless playboy on earth” (Rand 69), and the man whom she believed that he would become, “the climax of the D'Anconias” (Rand 110). However, as Rand often advised her readers, and in this instance as Francisco advised Dagney when she mentioned her struggle, “Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong” (Rand 214). The crucial piece of information which Dagney was missing and which led her to her erroneous conclusion was that, as Shakespeare's Hamlet feigned madness in order to flush out the crimes of the king, Francisco was feigning decadence in order to flush out the predatory nature of the Aristocracy. Rather than public and purposeless hedonism, Francisco was, in fact, engaged in a massive operation of deception: the promotion of a wholly fraudulent investment opportunity, The San Sebastian Mines.
The purpose of this operation for which the San Sebastian Mines served as a front was, as were the operations of each of the other generals, the economic crippling of the Aristocracy. Through the creation of circumstances in which the Men of the Mind who did their due diligence would not be taken in and yet in which the Aristocracy would expect once again to profit from the work, due diligence, and honor of the Men of the Mind, Francisco ran an elaborate Big Con, “He made no effort to sell stock in his venture; the stock was begged out of his hands, and he merely chose those whom he wished to favor among the applicants. ... Those who censured him most were the first to seize the chance of riding on his talent.” (Rand 69).
The successful execution of this operation depended on Francisco himself: he had to make the world believe that he had become thoroughly corrupted and now led the life of a worthless playboy. Francisco's strategy required heavy stakes from him: his personal reputation, the reputation of his family, portions of his wealth, and, ultimately, the woman he loved. However, he recognized that these stakes were the required price for a trade in which the endgame was to be won. With his ruse in place, the necessary circumstances of the operation were set. The Men of the Mind who researched the San Sebastian Mines would find an investment as worthless as D'Anconia himself and would see no contradiction in this discovery. The Aristocracy of Pull, however, would see only a rainmaker wunderkind who happened upon an opportunity so lucrative that he actually took precious time away from his busy life of debauchery in order to pursue it. Seeing this, the Aristocracy would look no further. They would not suspect that Francisco D'Anconia, a philosopher general, had read his Sun Tzu, “Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near. Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him.” (Sun Tzu Estimates:18-20 66).
The successful conclusion of this operation, however, turned solely on the prejudices of the Aristocracy: the Men of the Mind made money, they did not, as did the Aristocracy, destroy it. So, all that was necessary for Francisco to do in order for the conclusion of his Big Con to be believable was to lose his own money in the venture. The Aristocracy, seeing this, was left with the conclusion, not that they had been duped, but that D'Anconia truly was, after all, a worthless playboy. Once again they would not suspect that Francisco D'Anconia, a philosopher general, had not only read his Sun Tzu but also knew that the standard of a truly successful con was found in its marks never realizing that they were taken in, “Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is the master of his enemy's fate.” (Sun Tzu Weaknesses and Strengths:9 97).
The endgame, in which the San Sebastian Mines operation was only a part, and the ultimate reason for Francisco placing the things which he valued most highly as stakes in a dangerous game run by dishonest and powerful men, for playing the playboy to the hazard of all that he was and could be, was the securing of simple liberty. Francisco realized and actualized the non-contradictory conclusion that in order to truly become the climax of the D'Anconias and secure the liberty of his name, property, honor, and the woman that he loved that he must break the Aristocracy's unjust claim on all of these things, that he must play the game into which they dragged him, and that he must play it to win. And in playing to win, Francisco D'Anconia, a philosopher general, took Sun Tzu's words to heart, not just on the nature of warfare and deception, but also on roles that he and the Aristocracy would play, “Invincibility depends on one's self; the enemy's vulnerability on him.” (Sun Tzu Dispositions:2 85).
After the endgame had been reached and the Aristocracy met its inevitable collapse, Francisco was able to take measure of what had been gained and lost by his strategic deception. The worthless playboy, the climax of the D'Anconias, the philosopher general had retained his personal and family name and honor, had lost the woman he loved but regained her respect, had lost most of his property but had retained enough to begin again, and most importantly had won the liberty to begin again as a free man, and that was enough.
----------
Works Cited
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Signet, 1996. Reader Store. Web. 12 Feb. 2011
Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Trans. Samuel B. Griffith. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971. Print.
