Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand often cited as the second most influential book of all time.  This claim is based on a 1991 survey of Book-of-the-Month club members in which 2000 members responded by mail and voted Atlas Shrugged a distant second to the Bible.  This was hardly an unbiased, scientific survey and doesn’t deserve to be quoted as often as it is.  In 1998, Modern Library published a list of the 100 Best Novels and as you would expect Ulysses, The Great Gatsby, Lolita, and Catch-22 were in their Top Ten. They also conducted an online survey in which Atlas Shrugged came in #1.  However, the viracity of this survey is also deeply suspect because the Top Ten included three other Ayn Rand novels, two novels by L. Ron Hubbard, and The Lord of the Rings. Clearly, there are some passionate fans of the novel out there with too much time on their hands.  The critics have never liked Atlas Shrugged.  For example, columnist Paul Krugman said "There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

The novel is set in a dystopian, alternate United States.  The time of the story is unstated but the technology reflects the 1950’s, the recession economy echoes the 1930’s, and geopolitical environment of creeping socialism was Rand’s projection of a near future.  Dagny Taggert, the main character, runs a railroad.  Other main characters include a copper mine tycoon, an inventor of a new metal, and a mysterious presence bent on stopping the motor of the world.  Dagny struggles against the intrusive regulations of a government and society who believe the titans of business, industry and the arts have an obligation to take care of those who don’t contribute.  One by one, the titans disappear without a trace.  SPOILER ALERT.  Dagny locates the secret hideaway of John Galt who has convinced the world’s talent to strike rather than participate in their continuing oppression. The country collapses. In a 70 page speech, Galt calls for a new society that will celebrate individual achievement and enlightened self-interest (and Rand outlines the precepts of her Objectivism philosophy).

The novel is populated with god-like heroes and cartoonish villains.  The heroes Dagny Taggert, Hank Rearden, Francisco d’Anconia, and John Galt are all beautiful, witty, and sexy.  Even their sweat has purpose and drive.  The villains James Taggert, Wesley Mouch, Floyd Ferris, Lillian Rearden strive with Wiley Coyote-like fortitude to undermine the efforts of the heroes.  My favorite character, though, is Eddie Willers, the common man who sees the damage being done by the strangling conditions – but does not take a stand.  Eddie is left alone in the desert at the end of the novel, his fate undetermined. I think by leaving Eddie in Limbo, Rand leaves the reader to consider where he stands against similar forces in our own America. 

Atlas Shrugged was first published in 1957 and has never been out of print.  Go into any bookstore and there it will be.   It has had a perennial place on college dorm room bookshelves for five decades now.  The influence of the novel is impossible to measure but it is often mentioned by CEO’s, inventors, and even government officials as one of the books that heavily influenced them.  As our society and our government have become more controlled by big corporations, it seems that Rand has won.  And yet, with Atlas Shrugged on their desks, there is no end to the hand-wringing by right-wing pundits that our nation is sliding into a pit of socialism just like in the novel.  It is telling that sales of the book jumped after the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent bailouts.  But regardless of politics, Atlas Shrugged conveys a compelling message: that innovation and invention need free reign if civilization is to prosper and survive.

Question of the Day: What does the phrase "Who is John Galt?" mean?