Was Ayn Rand Right, 52 Years Ago?
January 11, 2009 by FCD Administrator
Filed under Current, Guest Articles
By Stephen Moore (Wall Street Journal) | Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read “Atlas Shrugged” a “virgin.” Being conversant in Ayn Rand’s classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only “Atlas” were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I’m confident that we’d get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.
Many of us who know Rand’s work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that “Atlas Shrugged” parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.
Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity <<<Read the Full Story>>>
Rand is almost prophetic in her writings. I read atlas shrugged for the first time about 5 years ago. I remember then, thinking that those very events she spoke of were beginning to take place. Currently my close friend is reading the book. I think the difference between the actions of Politicians in the book and in real life, are even more of a blur to him than they were for me. I firmly believe that before congress passes any more bailouts, they should read or re-read the words of this great author.
This article is ironically enjoyable to one who has read Atlas Shrugged. This article inspires me to reread the book that opened my eyes to seeing through the fallacy of government intervention into economics.
Rand was definitely smarter than the entire current administration.
I am just finishing “Atlas Shrugged” for the first time and have been truly amazed at the similarities between what Rand wrote 50+ years ago and today’s political response to our economic crisis.
However, I take issue with the following statement in this article: “If only “Atlas” were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I’m confident that we’d get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.” The government officials are already attaining their desired ends – more power.
In order to truly get out of this current financial mess, it is the people who need to read this book. Until the people rise up and demand that government officials follow principle, we will just keep getting more of the same ill-conceived economic plans which benefit the politically connected at the expense of the rest of society.
I remember when I read Atlas – I thought the storyline was a little far-fetched and absurd. That’s when I first started taking real note of what was happening in the government in detail. We’re lucky first of all that the nations producers aren’t disappearing and second that there still is a thread by which the US Constitution currently hangs. We should band together and change the thinking in the US from the ground up because it’s obviously getting worse as we try to accomplish it from the top down. Another good book you might enjoy is “The Devil’s Advocate” by Taylor Caldwell.