atlas shrugged (book and movie) - wikipedia

8/3/2019 Atlas Shrugged (Book and Movie) - Wikipedia

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Atlas Shrugged

First edition cover

Author(s) Ayn Rand

Country United States

Language English

Genre(s)Philosophical novel, mystery

fiction, science fiction

Publisher Random House

Publication date October 10, 1957

Media typePrint (hardback and

paperback)

Pages 1168

ISBN

ISBN 0-394-41576-0(hardback edition)

ISBN 0-452-01187-8
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(paperback edition)

OCLC Number 412355486

Atlas Shruggedis a novel byAyn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States.Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be hermagnum opusin the realm of fiction writing.[1]Atlas Shruggedincludes elements ofmysteryand science fiction,[2]and it contains Rand's most extensive statement ofObjectivism in any of her works of fiction.

The book explores a dystopian United Stateswhere many of society's most productivecitizens refuse to be exploited by increasing taxation and government regulations anddisappear. They are led byJohn Galt. Galt describes the strike as "stopping the motor ofthe world" by withdrawing the minds that drive society's growth and productivity. In

their efforts, these people "of the mind" hope to demonstrate that a world in which theindividual is not free to create is doomed, that civilization cannot exist where everyperson is a slave to society and government, and that the destruction of the profit motiveleads to the collapse of society. The protagonist, Dagny Taggart, sees society collapsearound her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry.

The novel's title is a reference to Atlas, a Titan of Greek mythology, who in the novel isdescribed as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders" .[3]The significance of thisreference is seen in a conversation between the characters Francisco d'Anconia and HankRearden, in which d'Anconia asks Rearden what sort of advice he would give to Atlasupon seeing that "the greater [the titan's] effort, the heavier the world bore down on his

shoulders". With Rearden unable to answer, Francisco gives his own response: "To shrug".

The theme ofAtlas Shrugged, as Rand described it, is "the role of man's mind inexistence". The book explores a number of philosophical themes that Rand wouldsubsequently develop into the philosophy of Objectivism.[4][5]It advocates the core tenetsof Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and expresses her concept of human achievement. Indoing so, it expresses many facets of Rand's philosophy, such as the advocacy of reason,

individualism,capitalism, and the failures of government coercion.

Atlas Shruggedreceived largely negative reviews after its 1957 publication, but achieved

enduring popularity and consistent sales in the following decades.

Context and writing

Rand referred toAtlas Shruggedas a mystery novel, "not about the murder of man's body,but about the murder and rebirth of man's spirit".[6]Her stated goal for writing the
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text was "to show how desperately the world needs prime movers and how viciously ittreats them" and to portray "what happens to a world without them".[6]

Rand remarked that the core idea for the book came to her after a 1943 telephoneconversation with a friend, who asserted that Rand owed it to her readers to write a

nonfiction book about her philosophy. Rand replied, "What if I went on strike? What if allthe creative minds of the world went on strike?"[7]Rand then set out to create a work offiction that explored the role of the mind in human life and the moralityof rational self-interest,[8]by exploring the consequences when the people "of the mind" go on strike,refusing to allow their inventions, art, business leadership, scientific research, or new

ideas to be taken from them by the government or by the rest of the world. LeonardPeikoffnoted that "Atlas Shruggeddid not become the novel's title until Rand's husbandFrank O'Connor made the suggestion in 1956." The working title throughout her writing

was The Strike. According to Barbara Branden, the change was made for dramatic reasons:Rand believed that titling the novel "The Strike" would have revealed the mystery elementof the novel prematurely.[9]

To produceAtlas Shrugged, Rand conducted research on American industry, specificallythe railroad industry, which forms a key element in her novel. Her previous work on aproposed (but never realized) screenplay based on the development of the atomic bomb,including her interviews ofJ. Robert Oppenheimer, was used in the portrait of thecharacter Robert Stadler and the novel's depiction of the development of "Project X". Inorder to do further background research, Rand toured and inspected a number ofindustrial facilities such as the Kaiser Steel plant, rode the locomotives of the New YorkCentral Railroad, and even learned to operate the locomotive of the Twentieth CenturyLimited (and proudly reported that when operating it, "nobody touched a lever except

me").[7][10]

Rand's self-identified literary influences include Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoyevsky,Edmond Rostand, and O. Henry.[11]In addition, Justin Raimondo has observed similaritiesbetweenAtlas Shruggedand the 1922 novel The Driver, written byGaret Garrett,[12]whichconcerns an idealized industrialist named Henry Galt, who is a transcontinental railwayowner trying to improve the world and fighting against government and socialism. Incontrast, Chris Matthew Sciabarra found Raimondo's "claims that Rand plagiarized...TheDriver" to be "unsupported",[13]and Stephan Kinsella doubts that Rand was in any wayinfluenced by Garrett.[14]Writer Bruce Ramsey observed, "Both The DriverandAtlas

Shruggedhave to do with running railroads during an economic depression, and bothsuggest pro-capitalist ways in which the country might get out of the depression. But inplot, character, tone, and theme they are very different."[15]

In order to persuade Rand to publish her novel with Random House, publisher BennetCerfproposed a "philosophic contest" in which Rand would submit her work to variouspublishers to judge their response to its ideas, so she could evaluate who might bestpromote her work.[16]Because of the success of Rand's 1943 novelThe Fountainhead, the
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initial print run was 100,000 copies. It marked a turning point in her life, ending hercareer as novelist and beginning her tenure as a popular philosopher .[17]

Synopsis

Setting

Atlas Shruggedis set in an alternate dystopian United States at an unspecified time, inwhich the United States has a "National Legislature" instead of Congress and a "Head ofState" instead ofPresident. Writer Edward Younkins noted, "The story may besimultaneously described as anachronistic and timeless. The pattern of industrialorganization appears to be that of the late 1800s...the mood seems to be close to that ofthe depression-era 1930s. Both the social customs and the level of technology remind oneof the 1950s."[18]Many early 20th-century technologies are available, and the steel andrailroad industries are especially significant; jet planes are described as a relatively new

technology, and television is a novelty significantly less influential than radio. Whilemany other countries are mentioned in passing, there is no mention of the Soviet Union,no reference to World War II or the Cold War. It is implied that the countries of the

world are converting to big government statism, along vaguelyMarxist lines, in referencesto "People's States" in Europe and South America. Great Britain, for example, is now the"People's State of England". It is implied that the monarchy has been abolished, butScotland is mentioned separately. There are also plot elements that refer tonationalization of businesses in these "People's States", as well as in America. The "mixedeconomy" of the book's present is often contrasted with the "pure" capitalism of 19thcentury America, wistfully recalled as a lost Golden Age.

[edit] Structure

The novel is divided into three parts consisting of ten chapters each. Robert James

Bidinotto noted "the titles of the parts and chapters suggest multiple layers of meaning.The three parts, for example, are named in honor of Aristotle's laws of logic...Part One istitled 'Non-Contradiction'...Part Two, titled 'Either-Or'...[and] Part Three is titled 'A Is A,'a reference to 'the Law of Identity'."[19]

Plot summary

As the novel opens, protagonist Dagny Taggart, the Operating Vice President of TaggartTranscontinental, a giant railroad company originally pioneered by her grandfather,attempts to keep the company alive during difficult economic times marked bycollectivism and statism. While Dagny runs the company from behind the scenes, herbrother, James Taggart, the railroad's President, is peripherally aware of the company'stroubles but will not make any difficult choices, preferring to avoid responsibility for anyactions while watching his company go under. He seems to make irrational decisions
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such as preferring to buy steel from Orren Boyle's Associated Steel, rather than HankRearden's Rearden Steel, despite the former continually delaying delivery of vital rail. Inthis as in other decisions Dagny simply goes ahead with her own policy and challengeshim to repeal it. As this unfolds, Dagny is disappointed to discover that Francisco

d'Anconia, a true genius and her only childhood friend, first love, and king of the copper

industry, appears to have become a worthless playboy who is destroying his family'sinternational copper company, which has made him into one of the richest and mostpowerful men in the world.

Hank Rearden, a self-made steel magnate of great integrity, has recently developed a

metal alloy called Rearden Metal, now the strongest and most reliable metal in the world.Hank chooses to keep the instructions to its creation a secret, sparking jealousy anduproar among competitors. False claims are made about the danger of the alloy and arebacked by government agencies. As a result of this, pressure is put on Dagny to useconventional steel but she refuses. Hank's career is hindered by his feelings of obligationtoward his manipulative wife, mother, and ungrateful younger brother, who show noappreciation for everything he provides for them. Dagny also becomes acquainted with

Wesley Mouch, a Washington lobbyist initially working for Hank Rearden, whom hebetrays. Mouch eventually leads the government's efforts in controlling all commerce andenterprise, intentionally destroying the common man's opportunity to build a largelysuccessful, free market business. The reader also becomes acquainted with Ellis Wyatt,the sole founder and supervisor of the successful enterprise Wyatt Oil. He is a young, selfpossessed, hard-working manone of the few men still loyal to Dagny and Hank's effortsin pushing for a system of business free of government meddling and control.

While economic conditions worsen and government agencies continue to enforce their

control on successful businesses, the nave, yet weary mass of citizens are often heardreciting the new, popular street phrase, "Who is John Galt?" This sarcastic phrase is givenin response to what tend to be sincere questions about heavy subjects, wherein theindividual can find no answer. It sarcastically means, "Don't ask important questions,because we don't have answers", or more broadly, "What's the point?" or "Why bother?"

Dagny begins to notice the nation's brightest innovators and business leaders abruptlydisappearing, one by one, under mysterious circumstances, all leaving their top industrialbusinesses to certain failure. The most recent of these leaders to have vanished is Dagny'sfriend Ellis Wyatt, who, like the others, has suddenly disappeared into thin air with no

warning, leaving nothing behind except an empty office and his most successful oil wellnow spewing petroleum and fire high into the air (later to be named "Wyatt's Torch").Each of these men proves to be absent despite a thorough search put on by ever-anxiouspoliticians, who've now found themselves trapped within a government that has been"left to dry", by its leaders in business utterly helpless without them.

In a romantic subplot, Dagny and Hank fall deeply in love. Rand refers to their love as apurer kind of love than the one that most men and women experience. These two people
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have a similar purpose in life, and they see in each other a kindred soul. In the universe ofthe novel, men and women with purpose are rare and, to an extent, deified thusmaking their love especially sacred. Hank and Dagny go on a vacation drive across theUSA. They discover, amongst the ruins of an abandoned factory, an incomplete motor

that transforms atmospheric static electricity into kinetic electricity. Deeply moved by the

significance of a motor which has the potential to completely transform the world, Dagnysets out to find the inventor.

In the final section of the novel, Taggart discovers the truth about John Galt, who isleading an organized "strike" against those who use the force of law and moral guilt to

confiscate the accomplishments of society's productive members. With the collapse of thenation and its rapacious government all but certain, Galt emerges to reconstruct a societythat will celebrate individual achievement and enlightened self-interest, delivering a longspeech (seventy pages in the first edition) serving to explain the novel's theme and Rand'sphilosophy ofObjectivism, in the book's longest single chapter.[20]

Themes

Philosophy

The story ofAtlas Shruggeddramatically expresses Rand's philosophy ofObjectivism:Rand's ethical egoism, her advocacy of"rational selfishness", is perhaps her most well-known position. For Rand, all of the principal virtues and vices are applications of the roleof reason as man's basic tool of survival (or a failure to apply it): rationality, honesty,

justice, independence, integrity, productiveness, and pride each of which she explainsin some detail in "The Objectivist Ethics".[21]Rand's characters often personify her view ofthe archetypes of various schools of philosophy for living and working in the world.Robert James Bidinotto wrote that "Rand rejected the literary convention that depth andplausibility demand characters who are naturalistic replicas of the kinds of people wemeet in everyday life, uttering everyday dialogue and pursuing everyday values. But shealso rejected the notion that characters should be symbolic rather than realistic. "[19]andRand herself stated, "My characters are never symbols, they are merely men in sharperfocus than the audience can see with unaided sight. . . . My characters are persons in

whom certain human attributes are focused more sharply and consistently than inaverage human beings."[19]

In addition to the plot's more obvious statements about the significance of industrialiststo society, and the sharp contrast it provides to the Marxistversion of exploitation andthe Labor theory of value, this explicit conflict is used by Rand to draw widerphilosophical conclusions, both implicit in the plot and via the characters' ownstatements.Atlas Shruggedportrays fascism, socialism and communism any form ofstate intervention in society as systemically and fatally flawed. In addition, positionsare expressed on a variety of other topics, including sex, politics, friendship, charity,
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childhood, and many others. Rand said that it is not a fundamentally political book, but ademonstration of the individual mind's position and value in society.[22]

Rand argues that independence and individual achievement enables society to surviveand thrive, and should be embraced. But this requires a rational moral code. She argues

that, over time, coerced self-sacrifice must cause any society to self-destruct.

Similarly, Rand rejects faith (that "short-cut to knowledge", she writes in the novel, whichin fact is only a "short-circuit" destroying knowledge), along with any sort of a god orhigher being. Rand urges the rejection of anything claiming "authority" over one's ownmind apart from the absolute of existence, itself. The book positions itself againstreligion specifically, often directly within the characters' dialogue.

Sanction of the victim

The concept "sanction of the victim" is defined byLeonard Peikoffas "the willingness ofthe good to suffer at the hands of the evil, to accept the role of sacrificial victim for the'sin' of creating values".[23]This concept may be original in the thinking of Rand and isfoundational to her moral theory: she holds that evil is a parasite on the good and canonly exist if the good tolerates it. Atlas Shruggedcan be seen as an answer to the questionof what would happen if this sanction were revoked. When Atlas shrugs, relieving himselfof the burden of carrying the world, he is revoking his sanction.

ThroughoutAtlas Shrugged, numerous characters admit that there is something wrongwith the world that they cannot identify; frequently, they are struggling with the idea ofsanction of the victim. We first glimpse the concept when Hank Rearden feels he is duty-

bound to support his family, despite their hostility towards him; later, the principle isstated explicitly byDan Conway: "I suppose somebody's got to be sacrificed. If it turnedout to be me, I have no right to complain." John Galtvows to stop the motor of the worldby persuading the creators of the world to withhold their sanction: "Evil is impotent andhas no power but that which we let it extort from us", and, "I saw that evil wasimpotent...and the only weapon of its triumph was the willingness of the good to serve it".

In Rand's view, morality requires that we do not sanction our own victimhood. Sheassigns virtue to the trait of rational self-interest. However, Rand contends that moralselfishness does not mean a license to do whatever one pleases, guided by whims. Itmeans the exacting discipline of defining and pursuing one's rational self-interest. A codeof rational self-interest rejects every form of human sacrifice, whether of oneself to othersorof others to oneself.

Government and business

Atlas Shruggedendorses the belief that a society's best hope rests on adopting a system ofpure laissez-faire. Rand's view of the ideal government is expressed by John Galt, who
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says, "The political system we will build is contained in a single moral premise: no manmay obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force", and claims that "norights can exist without the right to translate one's rights into reality to think, to workand to keep the results which means: the right of property". Galt himself lives a life of

laissez-faire capitalism as the only way to live consistently with his beliefs.

In the world ofAtlas Shrugged, society stagnates when independent productive achieversare socially demonized and even punished for their accomplishments.[24]Independenceand personal happiness had flourished to the extent that people were free, andachievement was rewarded to the extent that individual ownership of private property

was strictly respected. This is in line with an excerpt from a 1964 interview withPlayboymagazine in which Rand states "What we have today is not a capitalist society, but amixed economy that is, a mixture offreedom and controls, which, by the presentlydominant trend, is moving toward dictatorship. The action inAtlas Shruggedtakes placeat a time when society has reached the stage of dictatorship. When and if this happens,that will be the time to go on strike, but not until then. "[25]

Rand characterizes the actions of government employees in a way that is consistent withpublic choice theory, describing how the language ofaltruism is used to pass legislationthat is nominally in the public interest (e.g., the "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule", and "TheEqualization of Opportunity Bill") but which in reality serves special interests andgovernment agencies at the expense of the public and the producers of value .[26]

Property rights and individualism

"Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an

approaching looter."[27]

Francisco d'Anconia,Atlas Shrugged

Rand's heroes must continually fight against "parasites", "looters", and "moochers" whodemand the benefits of the heroes' labor. Edward Younkins describes Atlas Shruggedas"an apocalyptic vision of the last stages of conflict between two classes of humanity thelooters and the non-looters. The looters are proponents of high taxation, big labor,

government ownership, government spending, government planning, regulation, andredistribution."[28]

"Looters" confiscate others' earnings by force ("at the point of a gun") and includegovernment officials, whose demands are backed by the implicit threat of force. Someofficials are merely executing government policy, such as those who confiscate one state'sseed grain to feed the starving citizens of another; others are exploiting those policies,such as the railroad regulator who illegally sells the railroad's supplies for his own profit.Both use force to take property from the people who produced or earned it.
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"Moochers" demand others' earnings on behalf of the needy and those unable to earnthemselves; however, they curse the producers who make that help possible and are

jealous and resentful of the talented on whom they depend. They are ultimately asdestructive as the looters destroying the productive through guilt, and appealing to

"moral right" while enabling the "lawful" looting performed by governments.

Looting and mooching are seen at all levels of the world Atlas Shruggedportrays, fromthe looting officials Dagny Taggart must work around and the mooching brother HankRearden struggles with, to the looting of whole industries by companies like AssociatedSteel and the mooching demands for foreign aid by the starving countries of Europe.

One of the novel's heroes, Francisco d'Anconia, indicates the role of "looters" in relationto money itself:

"So you think that money is the root of all evil?... Have you ever asked what is the root ofmoney? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods producedand men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men

who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money isnot the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or the looters who take itfrom you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what

you consider evil? ... Not an ocean of tears nor all the guns in the world can transformthose pieces of paper in your wallet into bread you need to survive tomorrow. ...

Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money ismen's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave itsowners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men intothe arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values... Paper is a mortgage on wealth that

does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is acheck drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the

victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'"[27]

Theory of sex

"Through Dagny's associations...Rand illustrates what a relationship between two self-actualized,equal human beings can be...Rand denies the existence of a split between the physical and the mental,the desires of the flesh and the longings of the spirit. "[29]

Mimi Reisel Gladstein,Ayn Rand and Feminism: An Unlikely Alliance

In rejecting the traditional altruistic moral code, Rand also rejects the sexual code that, inher view, is the logical implication of altruism. InAtlas ShruggedRand introduces atheory ofsex that is based in her broader ethical and psychological theories. Rather thanconsidering sexual desire a debasing animal instinct, Rand portrays it as the highestcelebration of human values, a physical response to intellectual and spiritual values thatgives concrete expression to what could otherwise be experienced only in the abstract.
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InAtlas Shrugged, characters are sexually attracted to those who embody or seem toembody their values, be they higher or lower values by Rand's standards. Characters wholack clear purpose find sex devoid of meaning. This is illustrated in the contrastingrelationships ofHank Reardenwith Lillian Rearden and Dagny Taggart, by the

relationships ofJames Taggartwith Cherryl Brooks and with Lillian Rearden, and finally

in the relationship between Dagny and John Galt.

Fictional technology andAtlas as science fiction

Technological progress and intellectual breakthroughs in scientific theory both figure

prominently inAtlas Shrugged, leading some observers to classifyAtlas in the genre ofscience fiction. Writer Jeff Riggenbach notes, "Galt's motor is one of the three inventionsthat propel the action ofAtlas Shrugged", the other two being Rearden Metal and thegovernment's sonic weapon, Project X.[30]Other fictional technologies included in thestory are refractor rays (Gulch mirage), a sophisticated electrical torture device (the FerrisPersuader), voice activated door locks (Gulch power station), palm-activated door locks(Galt's NY lab), and a process for extracting oil from shale. Riggenbach adds, "Rand'soverall message with regard to science seems clear: the role of science in human life andhuman society is to provide the knowledge on the basis of which technologicaladvancement and the related improvements in the quality of human life can be realized.But science can fulfill this role only in a society in which human beings are left free toconduct their business as they see fit."[31]

Reception

Atlas Shruggeddebuted onThe New York TimesBestseller List at #6 three days after itspublication date.[7]It remained on the list for 21 weeks, peaking at #4 for a six-weekperiod beginning December 8, 1957.[7]

"Both conservatives and liberals were unstinting in disparaging the book; the right saw promotion ofgodlessness, and the left saw a message of greed is good. Rand is said to have cried every day as thereviews came out."

Harriet Rubin (2007) inThe New York Times[6]

Atlas Shruggedwas generally disliked by critics, despite being a popular success. The

book was dismissed by some as "a homage to greed", while author Gore Vidal describedits philosophy as "nearly perfect in its immorality".[6]Helen Beal Woodward, reviewingAtlas ShruggedforThe Saturday Review, opined that the novel was written with "dazzlingvirtuosity" but that it was "shot through with hatred".[32]This was echoed byGranvilleHicks, writing forThe New York Times Book Review , who also stated that the book was"written out of hate".[33]The reviewer forTimemagazine asked: "Is it a novel? Is it anightmare? Is it Superman in the comic strip or the Nietzscheanversion?"[34]In themagazineNational Review, Whittaker Chambers calledAtlas Shrugged"sophomoric" and
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"remarkably silly", and said it "can be called a novel only by devaluing the term" .[35]Chambers argued against the novel's implicit endorsement of atheism, whereby "Randianman, like Marxian man is made the center of a godless world".[35]Chambers also wrotethat the implicit message of the novel is akin to "Hitler's National Socialism and Stalin's

brand of Communism" ("To a gas chamber go!").[35]

The negative reviews produced responses from some of Rand's admirers, including aletter byAlan Greenspan to The New York Times B ook Review, in which he responded toHicks' claim that "the book was written out of hate" by saying, "...Atlas Shruggedis acelebration of life and happiness. Justice is unrelenting. Creative individuals and

undeviating purpose and rationality achieve joy and fulfillment. Parasites whopersistently avoid either purpose or reason perish as they should. "[36]Greenspan had readunpublished drafts of the work in Rand's salon at least three years earlier .[37]In anunpublished letter to theNational Review, Leonard Peikoffwrote, "... Mr. Chambers is anex-Communist. He has attackedAtlas Shruggedin the best tradition of the Communists by lies, smears, and cowardly misrepresentations. Mr. Chambers may have changed a fewof his political views; he has not changed the method of intellectual analysis andevaluation of the Party to which he belonged." National Review did not publish theletter.[38]

Positive reviews appeared in a number of publications. Richard McLaughlin, reviewingthe novel forThe American Mercury, compared it toUncle Tom's Cabinin importance.[39]

Well-known journalist and book reviewer John Chamberlain, writing inThe New YorkHerald Tribune, foundAtlas Shruggedsatisfying on many levels: science fiction, a"Dostoevsky" detective story and, most importantly, a "profound political parable".[40][41]However, Mimi Reisel Gladsteinwrites that reviewers who have "appreciated not only

Rand's writing style but also her message" have been "far outweighed by those who havebeen everything from hysterically hostile to merely uncomprehending".[42]

Former Rand friend, associate, business partner and lover Nathaniel Branden, to whomthe book was originally dedicated, has had differing views of "Atlas Shrugged" in his life.He was initially quite favorable to it, praising it in the book he and Barbara Branden

wrote in 1962 called Who is Ayn Rand?[43]After he and Ayn Rand ended theirbusiness/romantic relationship in 1968, both he and Barbara Branden repudiated theirbook in praise of Rand and her novels.[44]As of 1971 though, in an interview he gave to"Reason" he listed some critiques, but concluded, "But what the hell, so there are a few

things one can quarrel with in the book, so what? ATLAS SHRUGGED is the greatestnovel that has ever been written, in my judgment, so let's let it go at that."[45]

But years later, in 1984, two years after Rand's death, he argued that Atlas Shrugged"encourages emotional repression and self-disowning" and that her works containedcontradictory messages. Branden claimed that the characters rarely talk "on a simple,human level without launching into philosophical sermons". He criticized the potentialpsychological impact of the novel, stating that John Galt's recommendation to respond to
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wrongdoing with "contempt and moral condemnation" clashes with the view ofpsychologists who say this only causes the wrongdoing to repeat itself.[46]Rand herself,however, would not have regarded a novel as needing to portray such "ordinary" humaninteraction at all, even if an entire philosophy of life does need to address this.[47]

Praise, criticism, influence, and renewed popularity

Over the years, Atlas Shruggedhas attracted an energetic and committed fan base. Eachyear the Ayn Rand Institute donates 400,000 copies of works by Ayn Rand, includingAtlas Shrugged, to high school students.[6]According to a 1991 survey done for the Libraryof Congress and the Book of the Month Club,Atlas Shruggedwas situated between TheBible and M. Scott Peck'sThe Road Less Traveledas the book that made the mostdifference in the lives of 5,000 Book-of-the-Month club members surveyed, with "A largegap existing between the #1 book and the rest of the list".[48] Modern Library's 1998nonscientific online poll of the 100 best novels of the 20th century[49][50]foundAtlas rated#1 although it was not included on the list chosen by the Modern Library board of authorsand scholars.[51]

In 1997, the libertarian Cato Institute held a joint conference with The Atlas Society, anObjectivist organization, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the publication ofAtlasShrugged.[52]At this event, Howard Dickman ofReader's Digeststated that the novel had"turned millions of readers on to the ideas of liberty" and said that the book had theimportant message of the readers' "profound right to be happy" .[52]

The C-SPAN television seriesAmerican Writers listed Rand as one of twenty-two surveyedfigures of American literature, though primarily mentioning The Fountainheadrather

thanAtlas Shrugged.[53]

Rand's impact on contemporary libertarian thought has been considerable, and it isnoteworthy that the title of the leading libertarian magazine,Reason: Free Minds, Free

Markets, is taken directly from John Galt, the hero ofAtlas Shrugged, who argues that "afree mind and a free market are corollaries".

The Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises admired the unapologetic elitism ofRand's work. In a private letter to Rand written a few months after the novel'spublication, he declared, "...Atlas Shruggedis not merely a novel. It is also (or may I say:first of all) a cogent analysis of the evils that plague our society, a substantiated rejectionof the ideology of our self-styled "intellectuals" and a pitiless unmasking of the insincerityof the policies adopted by governments and political parties... You have the courage totell the masses what no politician told them: you are inferior and all the improvements in

your conditions which you simply take for granted you owe to the efforts of men who arebetter than you."[54]
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Acclaim has not been unanimous. Nobel Prizewinning economist and liberalcommentator Paul Krugman alluded to an oft-quoted quip[55]in his blog: "There are twonovels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life:The Lord of the RingsandAtlasShrugged. 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. "[56]

"I know from talking to a lot of Fortune 500 C.E.O.'s that Atlas Shruggedhas had a significant effect ontheir business decisions, even if they don't agree with all of Ayn Rand's ideas."

John A. Allison, former CEO ofBB&T[6]

In the late 2000s, the book gained more media attention and conservative commentatorssuggested the book as a warning against a socialistic reaction to the finance crisis.Conservative commentators Neal Boortz,[57] Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh[58]haveoffered high praise of the book on their respective radio and television programs.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas had citedAtlas Shruggedalreadyin 2006 as among his favorite novels.[59] Republican CongressmanJohn Campbell said forexample: "People are starting to feel like we're living through the scenario that happenedin [the novel]... We're living inAtlas Shrugged", echoing Stephen Moore in an articlepublished inThe Wall Street Journalon January 9, 2009, titled "Atlas ShruggedFromFiction to Fact in 52 Years".[60]

The sales ofAtlas Shruggedhave since then sharply increased, according toTheEconomistmagazine andThe New York Times.The Economist reported that the fifty-two-

year-old novel ranked #33 among Amazon.com's top-selling books on January 13, 2009

and that its thirty day sales average showed the novel selling three times faster thanduring the same period of the previous year. With an attached sales chart, The Economistreported that sales "spikes" of the book seemed to coincide with the release of economicdata. Subsequently, on April 2, 2009, Atlas Shrugged ranked #1 in the "Fiction andLiterature" category at Amazon and #15 in overall sales .[61][62][63]Total sales of the novel in2009 exceeded 500,000 copies.[64]

Film and television adaptations

A film adaptation ofAtlas Shruggedwas in "development hell" for nearly 40 years.[65]In

1972, Albert S. Ruddyapproached Rand to produce a cinematic adaptation, but Randinsisted on having final script approval, which Ruddy refused to give her, thus preventinga deal. In 1978, Henry and Michael Jaffe negotiated a deal for an eight-hour AtlasShruggedtelevision miniseries on NBC. Michael Jaffe hired screenwriter Stirling Silliphantto adapt the novel and he obtained approval from Rand on the final script. However, in1979, with Fred Silverman's rise as president of NBC, the project was scrapped.[66]
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wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Ringshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged#cite_note-54http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman#Political_viewshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize


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Rand, a former Hollywood screenwriter herself, began writing her own screenplay, butdied in 1982 with only one-third of it finished. She left her estate, including the film rightstoAtlas, to her student Leonard Peikoff, who sold an option to Michael Jaffe and EdSnider. Peikoff would not approve the script they wrote, and the deal fell through. In

1992, investor John Aglialoro bought an option to produce the film, paying Peikoff over $1

million for full creative control.[66]

In 1999, under Aglialoro's sponsorship, Ruddy negotiated a deal with Turner NetworkTelevision (TNT) for a four-hour miniseries, but the project was killed after the AOL Time

Warner merger. After the TNT deal fell through Howard and Karen Baldwin obtained the

rights while running Phillip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment. The Baldwins leftCrusader and formed Baldwin Entertainment Group in 2004, taking the rights to Atlas

Shruggedwith them. Michael Burns ofLions Gate Entertainment approached theBaldwins to fund and distribute Atlas Shrugged.[66]A draft screenplay was written by

James V. Hart[67]and re-written byRandall Wallace,[68]but was never produced.

In May 2010, Brian Patrick O'Toole and Aglialoro wrote a screenplay, intent on filming inJune 2010. Stephen Polkwas set to direct.[69]However, Polk was fired and principalphotography began on June 13, 2010 under the direction of Paul Johansson.[70]Thisresulted in Aglialoro's retention of his rights to the property, which were set to expire on

June 15, 2010. Filming was completed on July 20, 2010,[71]and the movie was released onApril 15, 2011.[72]Dagny Taggart was played byTaylor Schilling and Hank Rearden byGrant Bowler.[73]

While the film was met with a generally negative reception from professional critics wholargely critiqued the film's production and cast over the films ideological positions,

audience ratings soared to 80% with nearly 13,000 reviews. Due largely to limited fundingfor marketing the movie, box office performance suffered with less than $5 million in totalbox office receipts.[74]

See also

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References

1. ^Rand, Ayn.Journals of Ayn Rand, edited by David Harriman. (1997) Dutton. ISBN 0-525-94370-6 p.704 Harriman quotes from a 1961 interview in which Rand says, "Atlas Shrugged

was the climax and completion of the goal I had set for myself at the age of nine. It

expressed everything that I wanted of fiction writing."2. ^Gladstein, Mimi (1999). The New Ayn Rand Companion. Westport: Greenwood Press.

p. 42. ISBN 0-313-30321-5.3. Âs recorded in Hesiod's Theogony, Atlas holds the sky in punishment for waging war

against Zeus.4. ^Michael Shermer. The Mind of the Market. (2008). Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-7832-0, p.

XX5. ^"Scandals lead execs to 'Atlas Shrugged'" USA Today, September 23, 20026. âbcdefAyn Rand's Literature of Capitalism by Harriet Rubin,The New York Times,

September 15, 20077. âbcd"History of Atlas Shrugged". Ayn Rand Institute. Retrieved July 22, 2010.8. ^Rand, Ayn (1986). Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. Signet. p. 150. ISBN 0-451-14795-2.9. ^ Branden, Barbara (1986).The Passion of Ayn Rand. Garden City, New York: Doubleday &

Company. p. 291. ISBN 0-385-19171-5. OCLC 12614728.10. ^David Harriman, edit.,Journals of Ayn Rand, pp. 311-344, 566-578, 617; Michael Berliner,

edit.,Letters of Ayn Rand, pp. 311,378, 381-383, and 457-459, and "letter to Isabel Paterson",Feb. 7, 1948, pp.188-193.

11. ^Rand, Ayn, "Favorite Writers", reprinted in Schwartz, Peter, edit., The Ayn Rand Column,Second Renaissance Books, 1991, pp. 113-115.

12. ^Raimondo, Justin (1993). Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of theConservative Movement. Center for Libertarian Studies. ISBN 1-883959-00-4.

13. ^ Sciabarra, Chris Matthew (March/April 1999). "Books for Rand Studies". Full Context11(4): 911.

14. ^ Kinsella, Stephan (October 2, 2007). "Ayn Rand and Garet Garrett".Mises EconomicsBlog. Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved October 7, 2009.

15. ^Ramsey, Bruce (December 27, 2008). "The Capitalist Fiction of Garet Garrett". Ludwigvon Mises Institute. Retrieved April 9, 2009.

16. ^ "History of Atlas Shrugged Development". Ayn Rand Institute. Archived from theoriginal on April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.

17. ^Younkins, Edward (2007). "Preface".Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 1.ISBN 0754655490. "Atlas Shrugged is the demarcation work and turning point thatculminated [Rand's] career as a novelist and propelled her into a career as a popularphilosophizer"

18. ^Younkins, Edward Wayne.Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged: A Philosophical and LiteraryCompanion. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007 ISBN 0-7546-5549-0, 978-0-7546-5549-7. pp. 9-10.

19. âbcRobert James Bidinotto. "Atlas Shrugged as Literature". The Atlas Society. RetrievedApril 10, 2009.

20.Âtlas Shrugged, Centennial Edition, Signet, 1992. Peach Wilkins21. Ôn Rand's normative ethics see also Smith, Tara, The Virtuous Egoist: Ayn Rands

Normative Ethics Cambridge University Press, 2006 ISBN 978-0521860505 .
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