Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, Depicts Interplay

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, depicts interplay of two forces: regulated economic freedom and free-market system. This paper describes the philosophy and the practical stances of both the schools of thought within the context of events that occur in the book.

ATLAS SHRUGGED

Atlas Shrugged is a fictional account, which depicts the causes, the results, and the ultimate connotations attached to the moral and philosophical self-destruction that the mankind, in general, is slipping into in a gradual fashion. The most significant cause and hence the philosophy behind this moral decadence is the lack of belief in the morality of self-interest. And the vehicle through which this is perpetuated is the governmental control featuring diminishing economic freedom. Therefore the plot of Atlas Shrugged revolves around diminishing economic freedom resulting in intellectual stagnation. However there exists an opposing force that provides a directly opposite plan of action with a directly opposite belief system. Those belonging to this school of thought are intellectual and highly capable, rebelling against a society that preaches altruism, a society that teaches struggling victims that sacrifices for the sake of others is proper and moral, a society that indoctrinates its youth with a vicious, destructive skepticism. In this society, need is the most important claim to virtue, and so the most productive, capable men are forced into virtual enslavement by a vicious code of directives intended to eliminate all economic class distinctions. On the other hand, the philosophy behind economic controls is depicted to be upheld by the people of government in the form of economic regulations and controls. The plot of the book depicts these two factions by building up the story, which is continually shifting in focus between the first and the second categories. It is in the interplay of the characters and the plot, within the context of the government regulations that the philosophical motivation and the practical stances of both the schools become apparent. As the U.S. economy descends into a haze of hopelessness and corruption, malicious and greedy beings take power and seek to enslave the greatest of America's industrialists through government regulations. Dagny Taggart is one such corporate executive who is divided and hence enslaved. She is burdened by the growing influence of the regulations, but her great love for her railroad (the business that she is in) motivates her to continue her struggle. Dagny appears divided because she can sense the existence of a solution of her dilemma but is not in conscious knowledge of it. The unexplained disappearance of men who possess dynamic and focused minds is her connection or bridge to the second school of thought. Meanwhile she is forced to fill crucial positions with incompetent, weak-willed men. As her workforce becomes less and less capable, Dagny takes on more and more responsibility. Industrial materials such as machine parts and raw metals become scarce. This pattern convinces Dagny that there is indeed a better way of being than the existing one to which the most capable of men are attracted. In the midst of her turmoil, she stumbles upon the incomplete model of an amazing invention, an engine capable of gathering static electricity from the air and producing huge amounts of power. Dagny vows to find the man behind this motor who, as the story unfolds, is the founder of the second school of thought. Through several twists of destiny, she manages to seek founder of the opposing school of thought. The founder, John Galt leads Dagny to a town populated by the greatest of the retired industrialists. They are on strike, trying to demonstrate to the world that they are the driving force of civilization. Despite her newfound knowledge and ardent desire to belong to this philosophically superior category of people, Dagny decides to return to the world. Meanwhile the first category headed by the government seeking tighter control over the crucial steel industry, stages a violent strike in its mills. At this boiling point, Galt assumes control of every radio frequency in the country and delivers an astounding, brilliant speech, a declaration of principles and protest making his knowledge public. He states his philosophical orientation, which says that reality exists as an objective absolute. Facts would remain facts, independent of man's feelings, wishes, hopes, or fears.

Reason is man's only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival. In addition, this philosophy maintains that man is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others, nor sacrificing others to himself. In other words, one's need does not give me an automatic claim to other's wealth. It should be earned. The practical solution to this theory is the promulgation of the ideal political-economic system of laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange, to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man's rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. There should be a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.

Both the societies, the one marked with altruism and the second opposing it, are represented through the characters of this book who belong to either the classification of rationality or irrationality. Those few who do not completely fit within one category or the other are specifically designed to demonstrate the conflict between the two forces within the framework of a single life. John Galt is therefore the representative of the second school of thought. He is the ultimate human being, a man completely immune to fear and suffering. He represents the ideal, the true and the right in human form. The battle he fights is the most difficult and profound in the history of the human race. His soldiers are the men of the industrial intelligentsia and their weapon is the only truly invincible weapon on earth: the power of reason. He represents at first a sense of futility and fear in the face of inexplicable decay, but eventually grows into its complete and final meaning: a sense of fear in the face of inevitable and just decay. Galt is a symbol of objective human justice.