Haha yes I see why the John Galt thing is a good laugh. Why why why would anyone drop that kind of font/colour combos on here? Yes I'm probably the more conservative one. Who's familiar with the book by Ayn Rand? I've found it interesting having a read through the markets/economies threads. Almost reads like mmmmmm shiny is the last remaining bastion of libertarian values? How do the rest of you reconcile the recognition of real money/hard assets with the lefty rubbish? I would have thought that anyone believing in any f that rubbish was more of a a paper promises kind of bloke?
I found Atlas Shrugged hard to read. There are valuable ideas in the book but, for me, Rand's writing style was a bit long-winded. One important thing that book shows is that big business is often behind the push for collectivism. Galt, the independent entrepreneur, is in conflict with crony capitalists who use their friends in government to attack him. A lot of conservatives can never see this connection between Socialism and a certain kind of big business. Galt makes a decision to deny his creativity and productivity to the parasitic state. We should ask ourselves how much we want to feed the parasite.
I really enjoyed The Fountainhead at the time, (teenager), possibly helped along by a faint ambition hinting at a career in architecture. By the time I got around to Atlas Shrugged, some years had passed and it seemed very turgid, and exactly what it is, a polemic disguised as a piece of fiction, or vice versa, depending on your political inclination. I think I got about half way through before skimming most of the rest. I didn't get "the message" but I read opponent and proponent treatises to see what the fuss was. I tend towards the practical philosophies. lol.
Atlas Shrugged was turned into a 3 part trilogy. Not exactly Oscar winning stuff but watchable. Available on Achieve.org. https://archive.org/details/AtlasShruggedTrilogy
"Atlas Shrugged was turned into a 3 part trilogy. Not exactly Oscar winning stuff but watchable. Available on Achieve.org. https://archive.org/details/AtlasShruggedTrilogy" Come on you lazy buggers, I've slogged through the 1,060 pages of ATLAS SHRUGGED 3 times, only to have tears in my eyes during the last 1/2 of the novel, - because I knew she was talking to myself & the producers of the world, as distinct from the grifters & grafters who scheme & plan to take the fruits of our labour from us.
Read the book. A Movie is like a cooking show, you will not get the feel for it unless you experience it.
I read about half of Atlas Shrugged, then gave up and skimmed the rest. Rand had good ideas but I don't think she was much of a writer. I should check out her other books, though.