Atlas Shrugged Francisco D\'anconia Romanticizes

Atlas Shrugged

Francisco d'Anconia romanticizes money in his lengthy speech at Jim and Cheryl's wedding. He states that money is the root of good, not evil, because money represents the triumph of the human mind and creative spirit. Money is essentially the physical manifestation of the power of rational thought. D'Anconia's views on money form the central thesis of Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged. All of the novel's heroes: Dagny Taggart, Hank Rearden and John Galt share d'Anconia's belief in the primacy of individualism and capitalism. D'Anconia articulates what some of the other central characters embody in their lives. For example, John Galt, the statuesque hero of Atlas Shrugged, creates the "strike of the mind" in response to the government's attempt to usurp the free flow of capital and ideas. His name reflects the centrality of money to the novel's theme: Galt sound similar to gelt, a slang term of German and Yiddish origin denoting money. The meaning of Galt's name is underscored by his heroic stature. The protagonist of Atlas Shrugged, Dagny Taggart, also upholds the book's central theme of the beneficence of money. Her commitment to reason, independence, and industry reflect d'Anconia's words. Her lover, Hank Reardon also embodies the book's core philosophy. Rearden is supremely productive: he channels every bit of his energy and mental powers into productivity and, by extension, the creation and accumulation of capital. His company is run according to the code of value set forth by d'Anconia in his wedding speech, but only after the chaotic and tragic events that take place during the course of Atlas Shrugged is Rearden able to witness first hand and understand the true value of money and the human mind. In spite of the enemies' successful attempts to thwart capitalism and individualism, d'Anconia's vision and philosophy prevails as the central theme of Rand's book.

The villains of Atlas Shrugged attempt to control the flow of capital and of creativity. Their main goal is a socialist state in which the greatest thinkers and entrepreneurs stifle their natural inclinations. The socialist vision is inarticulate, unlike d'Anconia's well-thought out and articulated speech in favor of capitalism and money. The socialist power, moreover, is portrayed by Rand as being de-individuated: it is more of a nebulous force that parallels the collectivism that underlies the political philosophy. People like Wesley Mouch and James Taggart represent the evils inherent in a socialist government but not because they orchestrated it. Moreover, they don't necessarily denounce d'Anconia's love of money. In fact, many of the book's villains also seem to love money, albeit in a less noble way. Orren Boyle pursues capital accumulation for a love of money but he actually represents the antithesis of what d'Anconia was trying to say at the wedding. Boyle is an inferior businessman, one who does not earn money because of the value of his ideas but because of his ability to cheat. Likewise, Dagny's brother James doesn't so much believe that money is evil so much as he believes that money is not a natural extension of human reason. Jim's means of making money is through connections and manipulation, not through creativity and intelligence. Therefore, characters like Orren Boyle and James Taggart represent the antithesis of what d'Anconia was trying to say about money.

Like John Galt, Wesley Mouch's name is meaningful to the theme of Atlas Shrugged: "Mouch" looks and sounds like "mooch," one of the ultimate evils that d'Anconia denounces at Jim and Cheryl's wedding. Mouch becomes one of the novel's clear villains as a government bureaucrat. His dictatorial economic regime is the embodiment of evil, not money. He mooches off of others' ideas in order to accumulate capital. His appropriation of Rearden Steel is an act antithetical to d'Anconia's theory about human productivity and therefore bolster's the book's central theme. Rather than channeling innate intelligence and creativity into productivity and capital, people like Wesley Mouch and Jim Taggart seek to make money through corruption. Other sources of evil that offer counterpoints for d'Anconia's beleifs include the impotent Dr. Stadler, who falls pray to the socialist government forces and stifles his own productivity. Dr. Stadler therefore supports the book's main premise that money flows from intellectualism, science, and reason because he fails to capitalize on his own scientific prowess.

Through characters like Stadler, Mouch, and Jim, the meaning behind d'Anconia's speech is enhanced. The novel's true heroes do not succeed in their quests to extricate industry from government control. Their failure does not indicate the failure of capitalism; nor do their failures disprove d'Anconia's beliefs about money. Rather, the failed strike and the failed business enterprises of the book's central characters prove Rand's implication that socialism corrupts the human spirit and thwarts the flourishing of the human mind.