thanks for the article.
"How does the altruist obtain this surrender? By playing on men’s pity, and convincing the producers that it is their “duty” to work for the benefit of others. Mr. Thompson pleads with John Galt: “I came here to appeal to your conscience! …can’t you take pity on them? Can’t you help them? ...I’m begging you to pity those who suffer” (1112 - 1114)."

I hear a certain phrase all the time and just the other day I was enjoying an adult beverage and staring at the back of someone's teeshirt. The plea is always the same
"Thanks for giving back to [ ] community."
Often it's a youth league or vague, amorphous project. These projects happen annually and part of the ritual is to raise "awareness." then there is a big event where everyone pats one another on the back. It's the strangest sense of duty I can come up with but is a wildly effective and productive model for the benefit of......well, that's always the question. The event "raises" money or awareness but the cost of the event is not just in the very currency the group was hoping to to use to enrich the cause. The cost is the acceptance of a false pity and false reward. These events are designed to make you feel good about your intentions and hang the results! This kind of thinking keeps pity alive and dang-your duty feels good-you are always primed and ready to help-the poor, the marginalized, the manufactured needy. Americans love this but forget that they do not have a duty to give back. What did they "take"? Every productive day does more for their "community" than any other single action. But few teeshirts tout that fact except the ones from the store above.

Wonderful stuff, I may have actually learned something even. Do you really think Mr. Thompson was the anti-hero though? I don't recall there really being a polar opposite to Galt in the book.