The Ayn Rand Recap for Tuesday September 3rd, 2013
Posted by JustinLesniewski 10 years, 8 months ago to Culture
At the start of every week we here at Atlas Productions will spotlight and respond to the previous week’s most pervasive, popular, and pointed tweets about Atlas Shrugged and its author Ayn Rand.
Monday 8/19:
“@JohnFugelsang I'm glad that editor made Ayn Rand re-title it ‘Atlas Shrugged’ from ‘It's Totally Moral To Be A Big Selfish Douchebag.’”
* * *
Ayn Rand heard Fugelsang-type attacks and responded directly with her nonfiction book “The Virtue of Selfishness,” an intentionally provocative title. Atlas Shrugged is a fictional and less provocative book about the importance of the freedom to live your own life.
Monday 8/19:
“@MichaelSacal The strangest thing in Atlas Shrugged Part II was Teller's cameo. He speaks in it!”
* * *
It’s true. Teller, one half of the iconic Las Vegas magic act Penn & Teller, appears in “Atlas Shrugged Part II” … and speaks! We tried to fit into Penn’s schedule, but it didn’t work. If you want to see Penn’s “audition tape” go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqMKD9lrE...
Friday 8/23:
“@MarthaPlimpton Ayn Rand thought smoking symbolized man's control over nature. If that's not enough to discredit her on every single level, forget it”
* * *
Just because Ayn Rand had a character say smoking was good doesn’t mean everyone should think smoking is good. Like any good author, Rand was using symbolism to demonstrate a variety of perspectives on her point-- namely, the heroism and beauty of an individual human life.
Thursday 8/29:
“@meew my favorite problem w/ Atlas Shrugged. Like Dagny Taggart's ever going to scrub toilets.”
“@alendrel One of my primary beefs with Ayn Rand: if everyone is John Galt, who works in the factories?”
* * *
John Galt, Dagny Taggart, and all the characters in Atlas are fictional and are not meant to represent real people. The Gulch and its residents are meant to represent the best in humanity and the strength of a free economy: when a person can choose to do what he wants, his/her work will benefit everyone.
Oh, and Dagny probably did scrub a toilet. After her plane crashed in the Gulch, she became John Galt’s live-in maid to pay for her medical bills.
Monday 8/19:
“@JohnFugelsang I'm glad that editor made Ayn Rand re-title it ‘Atlas Shrugged’ from ‘It's Totally Moral To Be A Big Selfish Douchebag.’”
* * *
Ayn Rand heard Fugelsang-type attacks and responded directly with her nonfiction book “The Virtue of Selfishness,” an intentionally provocative title. Atlas Shrugged is a fictional and less provocative book about the importance of the freedom to live your own life.
Monday 8/19:
“@MichaelSacal The strangest thing in Atlas Shrugged Part II was Teller's cameo. He speaks in it!”
* * *
It’s true. Teller, one half of the iconic Las Vegas magic act Penn & Teller, appears in “Atlas Shrugged Part II” … and speaks! We tried to fit into Penn’s schedule, but it didn’t work. If you want to see Penn’s “audition tape” go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqMKD9lrE...
Friday 8/23:
“@MarthaPlimpton Ayn Rand thought smoking symbolized man's control over nature. If that's not enough to discredit her on every single level, forget it”
* * *
Just because Ayn Rand had a character say smoking was good doesn’t mean everyone should think smoking is good. Like any good author, Rand was using symbolism to demonstrate a variety of perspectives on her point-- namely, the heroism and beauty of an individual human life.
Thursday 8/29:
“@meew my favorite problem w/ Atlas Shrugged. Like Dagny Taggart's ever going to scrub toilets.”
“@alendrel One of my primary beefs with Ayn Rand: if everyone is John Galt, who works in the factories?”
* * *
John Galt, Dagny Taggart, and all the characters in Atlas are fictional and are not meant to represent real people. The Gulch and its residents are meant to represent the best in humanity and the strength of a free economy: when a person can choose to do what he wants, his/her work will benefit everyone.
Oh, and Dagny probably did scrub a toilet. After her plane crashed in the Gulch, she became John Galt’s live-in maid to pay for her medical bills.
My guess is Ayn Rand was aware of this concept and turned it around, taking the mostly likely examples to be attacked and using them to make her case; very in your face approach. Hank and Dagny’s passion was for their work. Profit is the gage which proves the worth of an idea in action. When Dagny was losing money on the Mexican line she cut down service. Government intervention attempted to bastardize the gage by running a campaign to discredit Rearden metal thereby making it unprofitable, this was an affront to Mr. Rearden’s work and he refused to capitulate. This is made clear when he asks that gov’t moocher “Is Rearden metal good?” Ayn Rand attacked these snipes; you’ve got to admire her for that.
“@alendrel One of my primary beefs with Ayn Rand: if everyone is John Galt, who works in the factories?”
John Galt worked for Dagny's railroad albeit sweeping floors and other menial tasks. That others chose to work at other jobs were just that, their choice. After the fall and everyone that followed John Galt moved to the Gulch, nobody worked in the mills and factories. There was no one left that knew how to run them.