Book Review: ATLAS SHRUGGED, by Ayn Rand, 1957 (September 2009)
I have wanted to read ATLAS SHRUGGED for over 20 years. I first learned about the book and its author in college, when a classmate of mine read it and tried to persuade me to tackle its formidable subject matter. Back then, as a student pursuing a BA in English, I was up to my eyebrows in other literature that was assigned by my professors, and the various other required readings of my coursework. After getting a taste of lengthy tomes by Thomas Mann, DH Lawrence and some guy named Dostoevsky, I really wasn’t excited about the prospect of trying to squeeze in a novel written in 1957 by a Russian cum American who decided to write a 1,200 page novel on the virtues of capitalism.
For those who have not heard of Ayn Rand, she (yes, she; I thought for many years that Ayn was a Russian name for a man) was born in the Communist Soviet Union and somehow managed to arrive in America in the 1940s and fully embraced the spirit of American capitalism and what both the American and the Industrial Revolution had done for this country. All I knew about ATLAS SHRUGGED was that it was some broad piece of fiction about how the entrepreneurs of this country controlled the agenda of America. Let me give you a brief synopsis of the book; and for those who are enticed to read it, I won’t give a away the ending of the book here, but will do so at the end of this review for those of you who don’t wish to commit three months to read the book (this is how long it took me – I started it Memorial Day weekend and finished it Labor Day weekend –ironic for reasons which you shall soon learn).
PLOT: What would happen if the Prime Movers of this country – i.e., the Industrialists, the Entrepreneurs, the lovers of free enterprise who yearn for freedom to produce with minimal government interference – decided that the growing intervention of the government was so intrusive that THEY decided to go on strike? Not the workers that they employ, but they, the very drivers of a free economy, decide to lay down their arms and disappear into an unknown location, leaving the American economy in the hands of those government bureaucrats who love to tinker, mingle and interfere with private business, taxing and redistributing the wealth that these prime movers had created.
To put it in a modern context: What if Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Michael Dell, Sam Walton (were he alive) and others like them simply walked away, said “enough” and let the government take over private industry ? To some of my liberal friends, this probably sounds like a fantasy that only Ted Kennedy could have dreamed up. To Ayn Rand, it was a nightmare scenario that she wrote 52 years ago that appears to be eerily coming true. (Think General Motors becoming Government Motors, etc.)
The main characters in this story are: Dagny Taggart, the heroine of the story, whose family pioneered the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad, and who runs that railroad with her liberal, politically-correct brother, Jim. Hank Reardon, a metallurgist who discovers a new kind of alloy to make steel for railroads and other building purposes; Francisco D’Anconia, a Spanish billionaire whose family had, for three generations, perfected copper mining across Europe and the Americas; and, finally, the novel’s mysterious character, John Galt, who represents the ideal of the American Entrepreneur.
The reader is introduced to John Galt in the book’s opening line, in the form of a question that is asked repeatedly throughout the first 800 pages: “Who is John Galt?” This question is a “catch phrase” of the characters in this novel, and throughout the book, at key junctures in the plot development, the aforementioned characters (lacking any answers to the dizzying efforts of the government to mess with their business) ask this question rhetorically. We don’t really know who John Galt is, or why people are asking this question throughout the first two-thirds of the book.
However, slowly and surely, Rand begins to decode this question, and we learn the following: John Galt was the brightest and most promising entrepreneur that America had ever produced. He was inventing and developing a motor that ran off of kinetic energy. His invention, if refined and mass produced, would have saved billions of dollars in energy costs and revolutionized the way businesses was done and the way common people could live. His engine could drastically have improved the quality of life of people across the world. However, Galt mysteriously disappeared 12 years prior to the novel’s opening, and most people believe that he – much like the mythical world of Atlantis – never really existed and that the ideals that surround him are mere fiction.
One by one, the “movers” or entrepreneurs introduced in this novel mysteriously disappear. The reader does not know if they are being wiped out by the government, or if they are leaving of their own accord. What is obvious is that their departure slowly begins to trigger higher and higher levels of government intervention. And the results are disastrous. Rand has a knack for creating perfectly despicable government characters that show up on the scene. Imagine Nancy Pelosi , Harry Reid and Rahm Emmanuel arriving to save the day every time a business goes under, proclaiming that they will run the business with a spirit of “altruism.” Their real agenda is wealth redistribution. They introduce unions and fair labor practices which further cripple American business. The aforementioned main characters are fighting valiantly to oppose government intervention. Their frustration levels build to a crescendo as their business associates and fellow industrialists disappear without warning.
Finally, we get the critical reveal to the novel (unfortunately, the reader is 800 pages into the book before this key event transpires): John Galt exists and is alive. And, he is systematically persuading America’s entrepreneurs to give the government exactly what it wants – a business landscape free of profit-motivated leaders who act in their own self-interest. This is where the book takes an almost “science fiction” turn. The “movers” are all now living in a secret hideaway in the Rocky Mountains, where they have created a capitalistic utopia where everyone works, no one receives anything for free, and where the gold standard is the basis of money. Entrepreneurs gain access by invitation only to this enclave, and once there, they agree to never go back to normal civilization until the government decides to step aside and give entrepreneurs the freedom they need to lead.
For Ayn Rand, much like Adam Smith who wrote THE WEALTH OF NATIONS some 200 years before her, acting in self-interest is the highest virtue that a man can exhibit. Adam Smith wrote of the “invisible hand” of the American economy, that guided the butcher and the baker in the 1700’s to act greedily. By acting in greed, the pragmatic outcomes resulted in a fierce free enterprise system that promoted competition. And this competition resulted in excellent products created with great efficiency. And this efficiency resulted in lower costs. And the “unintended consequences” of all of this ultimately benefitted the “common man” by the availability and affordability of excellent products that were produced under a system with little to no government interference. Smith’s writings were the inspiration of America’s Economy until World War II, where American policy drastically shifted with the Great Depression and FDR’s New Deal. (More comments on this later).
At this point, you are either enticed to read this novel or not. For those who are, read on for some additional thoughts about why this novel is worth the read, but how its underlying themes are dangerously opposed to a Christian world-life view.
First of all, a few comments on Ayn Rand: The woman never chooses to say in 20 words what she can say in 200. That is to say, the sheer volume of this work is almost overwhelming. Speeches by main characters last for dozens of pages. Two cases in point: Francisco D’Anconia has a speech on the merits of greed and the goodness of money that lasts 10 pages (move over, Gordon Gecko); and, the climatic ending where John Galt himself hijacks the national telecommunications system and delivers a soliloquy on his philosophy (err, Ayn Rand’s philosophy) last for 60 --- yes SIXTY – painstaking pages!
This leads me to my second comment on reading Ayn Rand: If you appreciate allegory and metaphor and something that leaves a little to the imagination, ATLAS SHRUGGED is not for you. Rand sees no shame in making her characters overtly didactic – that is, they bludgeon you with the philosophy of Objectivism (Rand’s world life view would come to be known as this). It’s not just a baseball bat to the head…it’s an all-out, in your face assault rifle that leaves no stone unturned as to where the author stands on the topic of governments and capitalism.
Ayn Rand is a philosopher in a novelist body. I found parts of the book to be heavy handed and overtly preachy. But, by the end of the book, there is no confusion as to where she stands. So, if you find yourself frustrated with the subtle allegories of other contemporary American literature, you might enjoy the 2 x 4 to the head that is ATLAS SHRUGGED.
I need to include my own opinion of Objectivism. This school of thought is that Man’s chief objective is to pursue his own happiness and self interest with full respect for individual rights. In fact, each of the main characters in this book say the following phrase verbatim, at least once:
“I swear – by my life and my love of it – that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.”
To followers of Objectivism, self-reliance is the highest virtue. Those born with the smarts to be entrepreneurs should be in charge, and those without such smarts – well, let’s just say that Rand would have very little use for you (us!). I have to wholeheartedly reject this self-absorbed view of life. Rand is able to conveniently avoid the topics of “what to do with the impoverished” or “what to do with the mentally ill or mentally retarded people” of the world. In her novels, only two types of people exist: Those who do, and those who mooch of those who do! It’s a naïve and black and white approach that simply avoids the reality that not everyone can run their own business.
As a Christian, I am forced to deal with Rand’s ideas, and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Bible teaches that if a man does not work, he should not eat (II Thessalonians 3:10) and backs this notion up in I Timothy when it exhorts men to take care of their immediate families, and if they don’t – they are called “worse than unbelievers.” So, this type of laissez faire approach appeals to many Christians. However, a Christian would be hard-pressed to swallow Rand’s hook altogether. There are just too many Biblical mandates to deny one’s self in the Bible. And according to Rand, one should not only NEVER deny oneself, one should ALWAYS act in his own selfish best interests.
This point is made known towards the book’s end, where Rand rails against the “mystic spirits” who have invented God as means to manipulate lower-thinkers into obedience. As John Galt says in his 60-page swan song: “Faith in the supernatural begins as Faith in the superiority of others.” And to Ayn Rand, no person worth their salt would ever rely on another person for help.
I admire Rand’s passionate dedication to self reliance. I was inspired by the characters who worked so hard to grow their businesses. I loathed the government characters she has created, as they very much mirror today’s self-serving, spineless, mooching politicians (on both sides of the aisle) who only wish to hear themselves congratulate each other for their noble redistribution of other people’s wealth. Trust me, I would never advocate for the government to take even one more cent of my money in taxes.
However, I stop at the book’s approach to charity (or lack thereof). In Rand’s world, no one should ever be the recipient of charity. I disagree! If you’ve been blessed, than you really have a requirement to help other people – whether it’s financially or just by practicing good old fashioned human kindness and compassion. Unfortunately, because so many people are selfish and don’t practice personal charity and giving, the government has stepped in to deal with how to provide social services to people with serious needs. The church, in particular, is not exempt from criticism here. Somehow the conservative church in America has given social causes completely over to the government and to the liberals. I think this is a shame. I am encouraged to see my own church and many other evangelical ones finding their sense of social consciousness and practicing charity – even if it doesn’t include a Gospel presentation. (“Forasmuch as you were to the least of these…”).
The problem of the poor is age-old. Jesus even said, “The poor will be with you always.” That said, I think we should try like crazy to help people in need. If we don’t, the government will just keep on taking our money and will do a far worse job of administering the charity!
So…do I recommend this book? I do for a few reasons: One, it is highly relevant right now as the government and this country struggles for solutions to the failures of big business. Even Ayn Rand confesses (through John Galt’s mouth) that the government serves three major purposes: 1) to provide police protection for citizens. 2) to provide a national defense against aggressive and hostile countries; and 3) to provide a court system which can encourage and enforce the rule of contract law. I absolutely agree with this position. You will enjoy this book if you also agree with a minimalist role of government.
Secondly, I recommend this book because it will really challenge your intellectual capacity to defend (or maybe discover) your own world-life view. The Germans have a word for this -- weltanschauung -- which is their cool world for “knowing what it is you believe.” So, what’s your weltanschauung on the proper role of government? Are we better off with it…or without it?
Finally, I think reading a good, long book gets you away from the TV and helps keep you disciplined to use your imagination, do less sitting around and generally increase your knowledge base.
Now, I am sorry to tell you that if you don’t read this book, you will likely have the chance to see a soon-to-be produced major Hollywood film of it. Yes, it’s true, Angelina Jolie has apparently either bought the rights, or, at minimum, agreed to play the lead heroine, Dagny Taggart. It’s hard to believe that this book has never been made into a movie, but then again, at 1,200 pages, the screenwriter(s) has his work cut out for him. I predict, as usual, the movie will never be as good as the book. The film is scheduled to be released in 2011. I can only judge the book: I give it three (3) stars out of five.
THE ENDING:
So, what happens in the end? Well, John Galt is captured by the authorities and, because he is so brilliant, the government asks him to serve as an Economic Dictator to provide some inspiration to the masses that the “prime movers” have decided to come back out of seclusion. Of course, Galt will never agree to compromise his political/religious convictions, which forces the government officials to torture Galt to get him to “give in.” Meanwhile, the Taggart Transcontinental railroad goes belly-up. (There are no more copper mines, no more steel mills, and no more industry, and consequently, no more reasons to need a railroad; in fact, the book’s final pages usher in the return of the covered horse and buggy just to underscore how backwards society will be if government stays in charge. ) Dagny Taggart and John Galt have had an emotional love affair throughout the book, and the book ends with the three main characters – Dagny Taggart, the steel-magnate Hank Reardon, and the copper miner Francisco D’Anconia – rescuing John Galt out of captivity (with the ease of something out of Hogan’s Heroes), and returning to their mountain retreat. Most of America now resembles downtown Detroit, and the country is in complete disarray.
As the book closes, Taggart and Galt survey the landscape from their mountaintop perch (some months later), and Galt exclaims: “The road is cleared, we are going back to the world.”
FYI: There was never a sequel.
