Atlas Shrugged portrays great businessmen as heroic, productive thinkers, and it venerates capitalism as the only social system that leaves such minds free to create and produce the material values on which all of our lives depend. It gives philosophic and esthetic expression to the uniquely American spirit of individualism, of self-reliance, of entrepreneurship, of free markets.
Why read Atlas Shrugged?
Atlas Shrugged has attracted an energetic and committed fan base. Each year, the Ayn Rand Institute donates 400,000 copies of works by Rand, including Atlas Shrugged, to high school students.
How many copies of Atlas Shrugged does the Ayn Rand Institute donate?
Each year, the Ayn Rand Institute donates 400,000 copies of works by Rand, including Atlas Shrugged, to high school students.
What genre is Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged?
Atlas Shrugged includes elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance, and it contains Rand's most extensive statement of Objectivism in any of her works of fiction. The theme of Atlas Shrugged, as Rand described it, is "the role of man's mind in existence".
Where did Atlas Shrugged rank on the New York Times best seller list?
Atlas Shrugged debuted at number 13 on The New York Times Best Seller list three days after its publication. It peaked at number 3 on December 8, 1957, and was on the list for 22 consecutive weeks.
What is Atlas Shrugged about?
What is the similarity between Atlas Shrugged and Sarbanes Oxley?
Is socialism dead?
Has Atlas shrugged changed the world?
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About this website
Why is Atlas Shrugged so controversial?
Atlas Shrugged is one of the most controversial books in modern literature. It is a passionate defence of Rand's belief that the world is best served when individuals act entirely in their own rational self-interest. Or, to put it more bluntly, they act selfishly.
What economic system is Atlas Shrugged about?
That is the real story of capitalism. It is not a system in which the helpless “needy” are exploited by the immoral “greedy.” It is the story Rand tells in Atlas Shrugged. Capitalism is a system in which each individual is free to flourish and prosper and deal harmoniously with others.
What is the message of Atlas Shrugged?
The theme of Atlas Shrugged, according to Ayn Rand, “is the role of the mind in man's existence.” It is the mind, the story shows, that is the root of all human knowledge and values — and its absence is the root of all evil.
What does Ayn Rand say about capitalism?
Rand argues that capitalism is “a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.” In practice, this means that a capitalist society is one in which the government performs a single function: it protects individual rights by banning “ ...
Is Ayn Rand a socialist?
Rand opposed collectivism and statism, which she understood to include many specific forms of government, such as communism, fascism, socialism, theocracy, and the welfare state. Her preferred form of government was a constitutional republic that is limited to the protection of individual rights.
Is Atlas Shrugged a banned book?
Atlas Shrugged While there is no evidence that the book has been banned in the U.S., many have expressed their dissatisfaction with the book's promotion of selfishness as moral fortitude, as well as its critical view of government.
Is Atlas Shrugged an allegory?
Yet few novels have had an impact as enduring as Atlas Shrugged, a dystopian allegory in which captains of industry struggle against stifling regulations and an over-reaching government and one by one close down production, bringing the world economy to its knees.
What is the root of money Atlas Shrugged?
In her book Atlas Shrugged, one of Ayn Rand's famed characters Francisco d'Anconia counters the assertion that “money is the root of all evil”. Against the backdrop of a party, Francisco argues that money is merely a symbol- a symbol of exchange, of value, of man's mind and, of honorable and honest trade.
What is John Galt's philosophy?
As the plot unfolds, Galt is acknowledged to be a philosopher and inventor; he believes in the power and glory of the human mind, and the rights of individuals to use their minds solely for themselves.
What did Einstein think about capitalism?
According to Einstein, the profit motive of a capitalist society, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, leads to unnecessary cycles of booms and depressions, and ultimately encourages selfishness instead of cooperation.
What did Einstein say about capitalism?
“[Capitalism] as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of evils. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.
What does Bill Gates think of capitalism?
Bill Gates speaking at the 2019 WEF in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23rd, 2019. With a net worth of $97 billion, capitalism has been good to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and he thinks it's a good system.
What were the economics of the north and south based on?
The northern economy relied on manufacturing and the agricultural southern economy depended on the production of cotton. The desire of southerners for unpaid workers to pick the valuable cotton strengthened their need for slavery.
What was Franco's economic policy?
Francisco Franco's regime sought to provide for Spain's well-being by adopting a policy of economic self-sufficiency. Autarky was not merely a reaction to international isolation; it was also rooted in more than half a century of advocacy from domestic economic pressure groups.
Was the Civil war about economics?
It is clear that economics was only one factor in the Civil War. Nevertheless, the economic tension between North and South contributed greatly to political tensions. In addition, economic realities were largely responsible for the Union's victory.
What is Objectivism in economics?
Objectivists reject alternative notions of rights, such as positive rights, collective rights, or animal rights. Objectivism claims that the only social system which fully recognizes individual rights is capitalism, specifically what Rand described as "full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism".
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Atlas Shrugged - read free eBook by Ayn Rand in online reader directly on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader.
Atlas Shrugged Part 1 - YouTube
A powerful railroad executive, Dagny Taggart, struggles to keep her business alive while society is crumbling around her. Based on the 1957 novel by Ayn Rand.
What is Atlas Shrugged about?
On the 50th anniversary of its publication, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand’s epic about a group of businessmen who rebel against a society that shackles and condemns them, is everywhere. Hardly a day goes by without a mention of the novel in the media or by some prominent celebrity or businessman as the most significant book he’s read. Meanwhile, Ayn Rand’s novels, including Atlas Shrugged, are being taught in tens of thousands of high schools. And last year sales of the novel in bookstores topped an astonishing 130,000 copies — more than when it was first published.
What is the similarity between Atlas Shrugged and Sarbanes Oxley?
The similar ity is no accident: the justification for these government programs is the needs of the uninsured, the so-called public interest, and the necessity to curb the selfishness of businessmen. Without a moral revolution, we cannot win true economic or political freedom.
Is socialism dead?
Socialism as a political ideal is dead. But the morality that spawned it — from each according to his ability, to each according to his need — still haunts us. So long as need and the “public interest” are regarded as moral claim checks on the ability of the productive, the continued growth of the government’s control over the economy and our lives is inevitable.
Has Atlas shrugged changed the world?
Though it has changed individual lives, it has not changed the world. But I believe it could — and should.
Who Is John Galt?
I decided finally to read Atlas Shrugged after seeing that question go “viral” with the release of the movie. What the hell does it mean?
Who is Ayn Rand?
Ayn Rand (1905-1980) was a Russian-American writer who developed a philosophical system she named “Objectivism.” Her first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved spectacular and enduring success. Through her novels and nonfiction writings, which express her unique philosophy, Rand maintains a lasting influence on popular thought.
How many pages is Rand's rant?
Did I say the book was long? Rand was in desperate need of an editor. This book could be shorted to at least half of its size and still get most of its points across. There is a rant by John Galt that is over 40 pages long and could have been condensed into 10 pages maximum.
Where is Larry Ludwig?
Back in the ’90s, I helped create some of the first financial websites for firms like Chase, T. Rowe Price, and ING Bank, and later went on to work for Nomura Securities. He’s had a passion for investing since he was 20 years old and has owned multiple businesses for over 20 years. He currently resides in Long Island, New York, with his wife and three children.
What is the title of the book Atlas Shrugged?
The working title of the novel was The Strike, but Rand thought this title would reveal the mystery element of the novel prematurely. She was pleased when her husband suggested Atlas Shrugged, previously the title of a single chapter, for the book. The title is a reference to Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology, who is described in the novel as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders". The significance of this reference appears in a conversation between the characters Francisco d'Anconia and Hank Rearden, in which d'Anconia asks Rearden what advice he would give Atlas upon seeing "the greater [the Titan's] effort, the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders". With Rearden unable to answer, d'Anconia gives his own advice: "To shrug".
What is Atlas shrugged?
412355486. Atlas Shrugged is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. Rand's fourth and final novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing. Atlas Shrugged includes elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance, and it contains Rand's most extensive statement of Objectivism in any ...
What was Rand's last book?
Atlas Shrugged was Rand's last completed work of fiction. It marked a turning point in her life—the end of her career as a novelist and the beginning of her role as a popular philosopher.
What is the book Atlas Shrugged named after?
The novel was named after the mythological Atlas. The working title of the novel was The Strike, but Rand thought this title would reveal the mystery element of the novel prematurely. She was pleased when her husband suggested Atlas Shrugged, previously the title of a single chapter, for the book.
What is the title of the book The Strike?
The working title of the novel was The Strike, but Rand thought this title would reveal the mystery element of the novel prematurely. She was pleased when her husband suggested Atlas Shrugged, previously the title of a single chapter, for the book. The title is a reference to Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology, who is described in the novel as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders". The significance of this reference appears in a conversation in which Francisco d'Anconia asks Rearden what advice he would give Atlas if "the greater [the Titan's] effort, the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders". With Rearden unable to answer, d'Anconia gives his own advice: "To shrug".
How many chapters are there in Atlas Shrugged?
The novel is divided into three parts consisting of ten chapters each. Each part is named in honor of one of Aristotle 's laws of logic: "Non-Contradiction" after the law of noncontradiction; "Either-Or", which is a reference to the law of excluded middle; and "A Is A" in reference to the law of identity. Each chapter also has a title; Atlas Shrugged is the only one of Rand's novels to use chapter titles.
When was Atlas Shrugged published?
Atlas Shrugged received largely negative reviews after its 1957 publication, but achieved enduring popularity and ongoing sales in the following decades. After several unsuccessful attempts to adapt the novel for film or television, a film trilogy based on it was released from 2011 to 2014.
What is the meaning of Atlas Shrugged?
In Atlas Shrugged, Rand likens billionaire industrialists to Atlas, in the sense that they metaphorically carry the world's economies on their shoulders, but are widely despised by everyone else. In the novel, these billionaires get tired of over-regulation and the disdain directed towards them by everyone else, so they decide to go on strike (thus 'shrugging off the weight of the world's economy') and the world essentially falls apart.
Who is Atlas in the book?
From Wikipedia: The title is a reference to Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology, who is described in the novel as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders". [b] The significance of this reference appears in a conversation between the characters Francisco d'Anconia and Hank Rearden, in which d'Anconia asks Rearden what advice he would give Atlas upon seeing "the greater [the Titan's] effort, the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders". With Rearden unable to answer, d'Anconia gives his own advice: "To shrug".
Is there a long history of people repeating the same tired nonsense that they heard rather that actually be informed?
There is a long history of people repeating the same tired nonsense that they heard rather that actually be informed themselves.
What is the book Atlas Shrugged about?
The book is “Atlas Shrugged,” Ayn Rand ’s glorification of the right of individuals to live entirely for their own interest. For years, Rand’s message was attacked by intellectuals whom her circle labeled “do-gooders,” who argued that individuals should also work in the service of others. Her book was dismissed as an homage to greed.
What was Rand's free market philosophy?
Rand’s free-market philosophy was hard won. She was born in 1905 in Russia. Her life changed overnight when the Bolsheviks broke into her father’s pharmacy and declared his livelihood the property of the state.
How many copies of Ayn Rand books are offered to high school students?
Every year, 400,000 copies of Rand’s novels are offered free to Advanced Placement high school programs. They are paid for by the Ayn Rand Institute, whose director, Yaron Brook, said the mission was “to keep Rand alive.”
What was the name of the magazine that Rand wrote about the murder of man's body?
Rand’s magazine, The Objectivist, later published several essays by Mr. Greenspan, including one on the gold standard in 1966. Rand called “Atlas” a mystery, “not about the murder of man’s body, but about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit.”. It begins in a time of recession.
Who is Alan Greenspan?
One of Rand’s most famous devotees is Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, whose memoir, “The Age of Turbulence,” will be officially released Monday. Mr. Greenspan met Rand when he was 25 and working as an economic forecaster.
Who is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks?
Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who was born in 1958, and John P. Mackey, the chief executive of Whole Foods, who was 3 when the book was published, have said they consider Rand crucial to their success. The book’s hero, John Galt, also continues to live on.
Who was Rand's most serious reader?
Rand had a reputation for living for her own interest. She is said to have seduced her most serious reader, Nathaniel Branden, when he was 24 or 25 and she was at least 50. Each was married to someone else.
What is Atlas Shrugged about?
On the 50th anniversary of its publication, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand’s epic about a group of businessmen who rebel against a society that shackles and condemns them, is everywhere. Hardly a day goes by without a mention of the novel in the media or by some prominent celebrity or businessman as the most significant book he’s read. Meanwhile, Ayn Rand’s novels, including Atlas Shrugged, are being taught in tens of thousands of high schools. And last year sales of the novel in bookstores topped an astonishing 130,000 copies — more than when it was first published.
What is the similarity between Atlas Shrugged and Sarbanes Oxley?
The similar ity is no accident: the justification for these government programs is the needs of the uninsured, the so-called public interest, and the necessity to curb the selfishness of businessmen. Without a moral revolution, we cannot win true economic or political freedom.
Is socialism dead?
Socialism as a political ideal is dead. But the morality that spawned it — from each according to his ability, to each according to his need — still haunts us. So long as need and the “public interest” are regarded as moral claim checks on the ability of the productive, the continued growth of the government’s control over the economy and our lives is inevitable.
Has Atlas shrugged changed the world?
Though it has changed individual lives, it has not changed the world. But I believe it could — and should.
About The Author — Ayn Rand
Who Is John Galt?
- I decided finally to read Atlas Shruggedafter seeing that question go “viral” with the release of the movie. What the hell does it mean? The book has had a recent resurgence because of the events of recent years. With government bailouts, Cash for Clunkers, TARP, TALF and other alphabet soup government programs, it's no wonder. For those not familiar with the story, it could be take…
A Good Discussion of The Book
- Fox Business News' John Stossel had a show devoted to the discussion of Atlas Shruggedthat gave some additional insight into the book. The episode speaks better than I can in a 1000-plus word post. You can find the episode on YouTube, and I have included the first part below:
An Accurate Picture of Entrepreneurship
- If you never owned a business, it's kind of hard to understand what a business owner goes through on a weekly basis. At least in the beginning, this book accurately reflects the different pressures an entrepreneur must deal with. It perfectly captures the blood, sweat and tears a business owner goes through. It captures the spirit of why to go into business: Yes, profit is part …
Rand Needed An Editor
- Did I say the book was long? Rand was in desperate need of an editor. This book could be shorted to at least half of its size and still get most of its points across. There is a rant by John Galt that is over 40 pages long and could have been condensed into 10 pages maximum. Since the book is so big, it can be an effective weapon to smack a socialist across the side of the head. The plot is, i…
Summary
- Perhaps Atlas Shruggedshould be read not for its literary merit, but for its philosophical view. I've always known most of the points made in this book to be true, but Rand adds more confirmation. If you are entrepreneur, most of what's discussed in this book should not be a surprise. However, if you come from a progressive or liberal viewpoint, it might be a big eye-opener. You also might …