Atlas Shrugged: Perceptions Exposed Money

Atlas Shrugged: Perceptions Exposed Money and the desire for it is the cause of much strife in the world. Many believe that wanting to make more money is evil, immoral, or selfish. Ayn Rand explores this issue in her novel, Atlas Shrugged. There are two views in the novel; one believes that wanting to make money is a good and healthy thing while the other believes that it is immoral to want money, although they understand there is a very real need for it.

The difference between these two views of money can be the difference between satisfaction and discontent. Those who want to make money understand the value not only in the dollar but the value in creating something that is of value. There is something driving the need to create other than the simple need to create. Those that want to make money understand what makes the world go around literally. We live in a world that depends upon legal tender and this practice has gone on for centuries.

Those that want to make money have simply adjusted to this concept and are doing the best they can to experience a good life as a result of that realization. They do not mind making money and they see nothing wrong with wanting more. This notion is what drives the free market. Without the ability to make money doing the things one loves, everything changes. Without incentive, the market dies and capitalism dies with it.

Rand's point is that money is a significant aspect of this world and it is not evil to want to make it. Evil emerges when people want money without wanting to earn it for themselves. The government understands the difference between these two types of people and seeks to destroy the achievers because they are the most difficult to control. The difference between thee two views of money parallels the different views of life, achievement, and happiness.

The achievers are not afraid to make money and they are constantly coming up with ideas to do that. Dagny, Reardon, and Galt are examples of these kinds of individuals. Rand attempts to link money to happiness through the aspect of work and creation. While we often think of creation as an artistic endeavor, Rand illustrates how creation and artistry exist in many forms. Additionally, it is the spark of creativity that drives the desire to create.

While many might argue that artists would create and builders would build regardless of money is irrelevant because there is money and that drives society. From this perspective, the heroes in the novel do not necessarily seek profit but they have found a way to make a profit from doing what they love. This is not greed and Rand spends a great deal expounding on this very issue. One character through which Rand delves into this topic is Francisco.

At the dinner party scene, he mentions the notion of money being the root of all evil at the dinner party. The morality of money becomes Francisco's point to prove but it also points to social and economic aspects of money as well. Francisco does not perceive money as being bad. In fact, money is a necessary medium of exchange across the world. Man gives money importance. "Money is made possible only by men who produce" (Rand 410), Francisco states.

From this perspective, money is the very foundation upon which many societies are built. Man has given money the power to be used as a means to exchange for goods and services. In short, man has given money value. Everything in society stems from the system of trade and exchange and this is the basis for all interaction, regardless of what country one lives. This places money is a particularly moral position because it is through the use of money that exchange for goods and services is possible.

Money, therefore, gives people what they deserve. They can purchase goods and services they need or want. "Money permits you to obtain for your goods and your labor that which they are worth to the men who buy them" (388), Francisco says and with this, he encapsulates the free market system. To take the value of one's work away is to eliminate the foundation of the free market. Rand explores this notion by expounding upon an often misconstrued quote regarding money and the love of it.

James Taggart, who leads the Looters, is determined to believe that money is the root of all evil. He needs to believe this not only for himself but also for those that follow and place their trust in him. He declares that money is the root of all evil and that it "can't buy happiness, Love will conquer any barrier and social distance" (392). These kinds of platitudes are nice to hear but they do not pay the bills.

It is extremely important that the Looters believe these concepts, however, because they keep everyone on the same level, which leads to a lack of individuality and an overall sense of nihilism. James Taggert's philosophy brings people down instead of lifting them up and encouraging a sense of importance in the world. James Taggart resists at every opportunity the realization of what he is encouraging, which is a life of emptiness and lack. Orren Boyle and Bertram Scudder reinforce this attitude and conduct.

They are "men who used words as a public instrument, to be avoided in the privacy of one's own mind. Words were a commitment. Carrying implications which they did not wish to face" (393). With this, we see how these men know that what they speak is wrong. They realize that they are not equipping people to be their best but they also know they are products of the government. Rand also explores how the Moocher and Looters destroy lives with the tramp, Jeff Allan.

Dagny encounters him on the Comet when he confesses to her that he actually voted for a plan in which 'each to work according to his ability, but would be paid according to his need" (660-1). Hard work was never rewarded and those who did not work as hard made the same amount of money regardless. This system removes the incentive to work. It also removes any happiness that might be associated with work.

Those who ran the company did not believe that happiness was important but he tramp, proves otherwise. The plan corrupted everyone involved, Jeff tells Dagny that the plan "turned decent people into bastards, and there was nothing else it could do -- and it was called a moral ideal!" (665). The truth lies in his question, "What were we supposed to work for? For the love of our brothers? What brothers? For the bums, for the loafers, the moochers we saw all around us?" (665).

Here Rand illustrates that when the incentive to work is removed, there is very little left in the world. Mankind functions best when there are rewards for achievement. The government would love individuals to think otherwise because when people pursue their individual dreams they are more dangerous and more difficult to control. However, control kills.