Leadership is just another talent/skill, as is the ability to coordinate the work of many to create something much greater than one could create alone. Galt did this in creating the Gulch, after all! He could have moved there alone and disappeared forever, but that wasn't enough for him, so he did what he saw before him to do.

I also believe that what they built would be simple structures, they were not into the "trappings' and structures of wealth and stature, they were there to create and live.

Nice counterpoint.

The last sentence, "This question can only have been posed by someone that has not understood Objectivism.", was a little too judgmental, in my humble opinion.

But: What do I know? He is getting the votes...! ;-)

This is precisely the point.

Many of those who had developed into those turning the engines of the world welcomed the opportunity to go back to the simpler production of building a house, cooking a meal, or planting some food. Heck, I know *I* welcome those opportunities! The simplicity is in knowing that your neighbors are doing the same and not expecting you to work for their sakes, too. We can certainly share our skills amongst one another in exchange for value in return, but never forced, coerced, or otherwise taken under duress. The distinction makes all the difference.

thanks for your story stargazer. many share exactly what you've been through

I mean to suggest only one thing: some people do define themselves by the job they trained for, whether in university or in trade school.

The original author seemed to suggest that John Galt was in error in refusing to reach out to anyone who trained himself to lay bricks--especially if he had all the baggage that would have made him VOTE to RATIFY a runaway Constitutional Convention. (I admit I invented that. Rand didn't go into great detail on why "Congress" became a mere "Legislature" and the "President" was now a "Head of State." She said she did not want to sully those institutions by attaching them to the story's villains. And the book was already too big to have that kind of explanation. But if I were writing a prequel, I would use that device.)

Of course one who lays brick is not necessarily a bricklayer by trade. And Rand makes the point in the novel. Notice that an awful lot of university professors, who resigned or got fired for trying to teach the truth, turned to laying brick because no one else was available, and they didn't have a university for them to teach in. Only a few were fortunate enough to continue in their former professions or lines of work. (Ragnar Danneskjöld is a special case. Instead of laying brick or sawing clapboard in Galt's Gulch, he is seizing loot carriers on the high seas. I wanted to see more of thim than the mentions in the newspapers.)

I've no doubt that I could build a house, complete with plumbing etc. What stands in my way is regulation. I've watched 'the authorities' thwart the plans of a close friend with a similar aim, & for no good reason. I won't waste my time feeding 'their' lust for power.

I had heard of AS a long, long time ago, but had never had time to read it. Then, following my decision to close my business and liquidate everything, not leaving a thing for the "profit" of the moochers which are devouring our nation, I finally read the book. Then I read it on audio book, and again. In it, I discovered justification for every action I'd taken. I discovered I was a striker. I discovered why I was so much happier than before.

Life is good in the gulch.

In short: We are all capable of doing things that we could never envision ourselves doing...until we are faced with the challenge.

Nothing inspires more than necessity....

yes, 3D printers. and styrofoam
I disagree on the initial question. smart people focus on lots of stuff, sometimes in very specific areas. You make good points

John Galt did not just select the captains of society, he chose those that worked hard and did more than they had to do. Also I got the opinion that these people returned to society and worked at a low level job that actually kept things moving, perhaps to look for more to bring in. Otherwise there never would be enough people to make it work.

Doesn't Scifi mean Science Fiction? What's vs. between the two? And YOU were on a scifi site??

RIck, welcome! I'm in love! best comments of the day! such great points. I was just introduced to Heinlein yesterday on another post about science fiction vs scifi. I'm gettin a book! lol love it!

just so, irose and pirate

They used 3D printers to print their homes. Had to say it sorry. I am sure they were smart enough to do it themselves. The hardest working person I have ever known was a self made millionaire that employed me. I would come home everyday and fall asleep from exhaustion. I never enjoyed a job as much as that one. The question posed here seems to assume that these people have never worked in their lives.

wow, geo. no wonder newcomers to Objectivism feel spurned when they ask realistic questions....jus sayin

have you read Calumet K? Rand was inspired by this novel and you words reminded me of it-
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15755...

beautiful prose mack!

welcome, dirtybird! Hey, many people people reading the book the first time have questions like this. Did you get every Rand "point" the first read through? Many producers in the world are going about their business and diligently when they "discover" AS. Tell him something else he doesn't know! ;)

I've been a bricklayer for 39 years. At an early age I knew i did not want to be behind a desk and I wanted to work with my hands. I'm very proud of what I do and have made a comfortable life for myself. I believe in the free market system and know that if I'm going to make money, the company I work for has to make money.

great points jsw! welcome!

Heinlein once commented - though one of his characters about what a person should be capable of

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
— Robert Heinlein

I suspect you'll find you can do more than three or four things on that list, and it's not conclusive. Most people can do more than just their specialty. I've help build 3 houses, everything from digging the hole for the foundation, to pouring it, building walls, roofs, painting, making cabinets, wiring, plumbing, etc. I don't work in construction, I spent most of my life sitting at a desk programming computers. I can also rebuild an engine, and I could and would do all my own maintenance, if I could justify the cost of the necessary tools.

I've worked as a Firefighter, and EMT, an Electronics tech, a landscaper, a Handyman, and probably a dozen other things. I'm not an expert in any of them but it wouldn't stop me from doing them if it were necessary.

I've never fought a war, I've never planned an invasion - well actually I have, but it was only a game, I'm still alive so dying gallantly is unchecked but everything else on the list I've done. Oh, it wasn't a hog, it was a deer.

I see no reason to think Galt, or Wyatt, or Rearden were any less capable, I'd say significantly more capable (although fictional).

People who think of themselves as self-reliant, as productive, are generally capable of doing any number of things they've never tried, even if the first attempt fails.

Your premise that the successful business leaders didn't have other skills is not consistent with Rand's novel.

Although Francisco inherited his family's mining business, remember that while he was in school, he went out, anonymously, to work at other mines. Starting from the bottom up, relying only on his skills, he became the owner of his own mine, which I believe he said was the mine he was most proud of.

When Dagny retreated to her cabin, she could not sit around idly moping. In the weeks she spent there, she restored it to pristine condition.

When one of Rearden's furnaces broke out, sending his workers scattering, he dove in with precision and the manual skill necessary to plug the breach. Of course, while being helped by Francisco.

But all this is beside the point. Even in such a massive tome as AS, Rand didn't take the time to fully describe the Gulch community. Of course you would need residents performing all levels of work, from trash collection to engineering. The point that you seem to have missed is that every one of the people in the gulch would perform their chosen functions from a common philosophy. I will provide a service or goods to you so long as you provide me with something I value just as much. Value for value. That really is the point of the book, isn't it ?

All wealth is created by labor. We have far too many people in society living off the work of others. The elderly, yes they deserve it, if they have labored. The get rich quick wall street schemes are simply people who developed a legal system to steal.

As a bricklayer I find this thread most interesting. As expected those who truly understand Rands philosophy have got it right. There's no reason to believe a lowly mason such as myself would have been excluded from the gulch simply because society concludes I work with my hands and not my mind. That I haven't amassed riches and fly job to job in my private jet.
If both Rand and I had the good fortune to have met there would be a chapter devoted to masons:) only kidding.
Building a home,road or sewer is not exactly rocket science. Any person who actually desires to do so can, emphasis on desire. If there's no will failure will surely follow. The OP either hasn't read the book or hates the message. I would suggest the OP never attempt to build their own home. Without the desire to achieve there's only failure left.