Wow! Fabulous Joe.Point for you.

As a consultant, I gotta say "Ouch!!!!"

Three groups of people.
Producers: Those that provide goods and services from their own efforts..
Looters: Those that take from the producers by force (law) and redistribute to-----
Moochers: Those that demand as their right the fruits of productive efforts which they can not and will not obtain on their own.

When asked about Atlas Shrugged I say at it's most basic level it lays out the relationship between the individual and the group (society as a whole) ,

Atlas Shrugged answers the question, What is the meaning of life and how do I live it?

Good summary, but who exactly do you see going on strike? Looks to me like plenty of young entrepreneurs (Tesla Motors, for instance, is one of many) are having a go at it. Maybe if the consultants and investment bankers went out, we'd all be better off.

wow joe. wonderful. I wish I could give you more thumbs up.
I swear by my life and love it...

In 1961 at age 24 while starting a career in Wall Street banking, I was floundering intellectually in a rented basement apartment struggling desperately to make sense of basic philosophy and the obvious contradictions in politics when I saw a physically small woman challenging the physically large titans of American Industry and National Media Men on a TV public affairs panel. I did not recognize her name but watched her grow physically before my eyes as she questioned and answered the challenges and criticisms of these men who seemed to shrink in size before her robust responses. She spoke with clarity, simplicity, profundity and strength without wasting a word. By contrast they waffled and garbled unintelligible explanations of their points of view. They were only clear in their distaste of this woman.
That moment changed the direction of my life. I called the station to find her name. I rushed to the library to read Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, both non-stop. Those novels changed my life. It was for me already true that I admired capitalism and its entrepreneurism, its incentives and rewards for individual excellence and effort. But it was Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged that codified the principles and explained how and why they work and are a benefit to all. Atlas Shrugged gave me the foundation to understand and to articulate the meaning and importance of independent rational thinking, of acting on one’s own reasoning in pursuit of one’s own happiness, and the meaning of pride and the pleasure in doing one’s best whether it was well enough or not.
Atlas Shrugged provided me with the fuel to strive to succeed, to continue when I didn’t, with the explanation of why dedicated effort in one’s career was a worthy ideal, and with the knowledge and understanding of how and why critics of individual effort will never understand and never experience the pride and joy of self-achievement. In a nutshell, Atlas Shrugged is not only one hell of an inspiring story but the concrete portrayal of a complete systemic and very livable philosophy. Thank you, Ayn Rand.

Atlas Shrugged tells the story of what happens -- and why -- when the best minds in the world go on strike.

It's the story about a man who said he would stop the motor of the world - and did!

The original title of Atlas Shrugged, The Strike, gives us a clue to what Ayn Rand saw as the theme of the book. It is a period of time when the men and women of ability purposely withheld their labor of mind and body in order to set our nation back on the path a few men who had gained political power had diverted it from. This is the story of how the strike played out over 12 years.

Atlas Shrugged is a futuristic story from 1957 of an America where a "social justice" utopia is established. The resulting loss of freedom and economic collapse are a chilling warning of the predictable result. For America, the future is now...

I second that...

I second that...

Individualism vs Collectivism.

Atlas shrugged is a mystery novel about how overregulation and corrupt politicians destroy the economy. Brilliant engineers and industrialists - and others - retire and disappear. It is happening in US - NOW.

Atlas Shrugged is about Heroes and Mediocrities.
Atlas Shrugged is about their ways of thinking and acting, making decisions and making a choice in everyday life.
Atlas Shrugged is about the world without Heroes and the world without Mediocrities.
Atlas Shrugged makes us think who we are in everyday life.
(Sorry for my English, I hope the idea is clear.)

I like it! Bravo!!

Atlas Shrugged is about government control of the economy, encompassing, among other things, allocation of resources, the effect this control has on a) the Laws of Supply & Demand and, b) on productive and honest people.

Atlas Shrugged a book written before it’s time. Author Ayn Rand writes about a free society that systematically loses its freedom by a government who goes after the destruction of private businesses which we know is the core to the success of a functioning free society. Accomplished by implementing unconstitutional laws, the violation of rights, over regulations, raising taxes, and fees. Does this sound familiar? Who is John Galt? It’s essential you find out!

Atlas Shrugged is very timely for our country right now. It is the story of magnificent minds and creative leaders who forge new paradigms of excellence in their businesses. But the parasites and small minds use government take control of their ability to produce in such a way that shackles the heroes - the giants of industry, and also punishes them for production. The parasites of society are rewarded for non-productivity. One man, John Galt, stands up to this injustice and shows them that it is better to withdraw from this evil paradigm which will destroy their spirits. One by one, the great minds of the nation disappear and walk away from what they have created. Where do they go? To a place that fosters and rewards brilliance and productivity.

A group of men- steered by one man-who hold the world accountable for their irrational beliefs and actions simply by taking them at their word and giving them precisely what they asked for. Justice.

Nice but to opaque and ambiguous.

Atlas Shrugged is a novel that explores how society should and should not organize itself, and how individuals should and should not conduct themselves, in order to bring the highest possible standard of living to the greatest number of people.