Atlas Shrugged is a stupid book
This gave me the lolzzzz!
Serious question, why was Dagny so whoreish in the book?
My only qualm with nonsense whathaveyous like that linked page is that anyone will actually think half of that information resembles accuracy in the slightest.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
I like the part where it says Atlas Shrugged is a 10,000,000 page brick and then, in contrast, says Anthem was written on three toilet papers. HA!
RT @ Mejia77: I think a key point of the book was missed here.
For a (much shorter) story with a similar theme, read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut.
FIRST: All of these 'producers' in Atlas Shrugged: It was not mathematically possible for them to keep going in the present system. Rearden gave it his all, and the state STILL brought his company down. Dagny gave it her all and the railroads collapsed anyway. Galt just realized the end result of it all sooner and got out of the way so it could happen. In the words of AA: "Don't enable, let them find their own bottom."
It's no more of a "I'll show you and pout" type story than is a heroin addict hitting bottom. Eventually, the mother has to lock the door when the junky son comes demanding money.
SECOND: Fully half of the bad guys in the book are 'business' people. It's not a dispute between the 'haves' and 'have nots', but instead between the 'takes' and 'take nots'. Rand herself would never have approved of the bank bailouts, corporate welfare, and 'too big to fail' fleecing of the people. She called them the second stringers or 'men of the double standard'. Although I don't think in her wildest dreams that the second stringers would come from the RIGHT side of the aisle, which happened in the Bush years.
For a (much shorter) story with a similar theme, read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut.
Good to know! And here's the children's book version.
An Island Called Liberty.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keyw...
I've heard ads recently for "An Island Called Liberty".
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
.
Is the Dork Queen, Ann Coulter, a re-incarnation of Ayn Rand?
Our society is built on an inherent laziness, people want rewards without the tribulations; people want the cake but they don't want to invest any time in baking, and they can't even afford the eggs. Everyone wants the luxury, but no one wants to work for it.
Obama rode a tidal wave into the White House on a platform based on only raising the taxes of people that make more than $250,000 a year. So this is how success is rewarded, your own hard work is taken and distributed to support those that did not have the same ambition that you did. Being punished for another persons failings where you have succeeded, that makes perfect sense...
Society needs to take some responsibility for themselves, and learn some work ethic as well. You can't expect to be granted something that you don't deserve, you need to work for it. You have to make success for yourself, and sometimes that involves putting in some fucking time and effort.
It should be no other way.
Yeah, you seem to forget the fact that the children of the rich get good educations and in turn become the rich. If you're born into a family with a parent or parents that work for minimum wage, it doesn't matter how much 'ambition' you have, the odds are your not going to a good college. Don't confuse people in high income situations with ambitious, talented individuals. 99% of the time, they didn't have to work to get where they are. Don't get me wrong, some do. Sad fact: most don't. Separate note. What kind of selfish asshole can't pay some taxes of their 250,000 dollar income. What a joke. People live in extravagance while all around the world their are people starving. If they can't give a little more of their money in taxes, because they make so much more, well fuck them, I'm glad the gun is in the room.
Thank you for proving my point.
Step back. Evaluate. Recognize.
I'm worried by the fact that you seem to link paying taxes to compassion for starving children.
It would be way more efficient to not pay taxes and give $ to private charities who actually help starving children.
I'm sorry, you actually believe inciting violence against groups you don't like is a good idea? Because ethics of reciprocity imply that it would be okay for those same groups you don't like to use violence against you.
Put the gun down. Then we'll talk.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
Yeah, it was so stupid that it's still a best seller over 50 years after it was published! Since you're so super-intelligent, what have you written? 
In matters of style, swim with the current;
In matters of principle, stand like a rock.
you. i like you.
Great avatar too.
He's okay.
It really is a stupid book though. I hated it.
I refuse to read it, now. I don't like the idea of romanticizing these kinds of philosophies. It puts the bitter taste of propaganda in my mouth.
Si vis pacem, para bellum
I read Anthem. Good idea. In my opinion, even though I haven't written anything remotely popular (I'm not even published), I thought that it was a great idea but the writing was boring. I think that this was the first time this theme was introduced (I'm probably wrong) but was done better countless other times (1984, Equilibrium, etc.). Furthermore. I heard that Atlas Shrugged was Anthem with more details. Again, this is probably wrong, but it stuck with me. To sum it all up, I wouldn't be opposed to reading this book but, after reading Anthem, there are so many other books I want to read before it.
Anthem sucked.
Trollposter also sucks.
Atlas is on the bestseller list for the same reason Dianetics is on the bestseller list. Both faux religions have foundations that buy tens of thousands of copies each year, the profits of which are used to buy still more copies of their respective bibles.
Fact: Regardless of what you think of Rand's philosophy, only a neophyte tool would consider anything she wrote to be "great literature".
Tuffy the Dump Truck may rarely increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The risk may be greater if you have heart disease or increased risk for heart disease (for example, due to smoking, family history of heart disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes), or with longer use. Tuffy should not be taken right before or after heart bypass surgery. Also, Tuffy may infrequently cause serious (rarely fatal) bleeding from the stomach or intestines. This effect can occur without warning symptoms at any time while taking Tuffy. Older adults may be at higher risk for this effect. (See also Precautions and Drug Interactions sections.) Stop taking Tuffy and get medical help right away if you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects: bloody or black/tarry stools, persistent stomach/abdominal pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, chest/jaw/left arm pain, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes, slurred speech. Ask your doctor if Tuffy is right for you.
Anthem was pretty fucking awful.
Well I finished are here are my thoughts:
1) The book is too damn long! This book could have been about 500 pages less and still been too long. I dont need ten pages worth of descriptions when two sentences could have sufficed.
2)The writing style is something left to be desired. Rand dates herself with her writing style. You will always know that this book should be set in the 1940'/1950's
3)I like the overall story. If you can take the story out from a lot of the drivel, it becomes a much better book.
4)Being a Libertarian, I understand a lot of what this book says, however, I think Rand sells mankind short. Maybe Im an optimist, but she basically says that only certain great people achieve certain great things and they are the only ones that can, and frankly, I find that a little insulting. I have more faith in human kind, hell we survived an ice age! Now I know you can say , well this book is fiction, but I dont agree with that. She injected her personal philosophy into the book to tie the story together,and because of this , the book cant really be called a straight fiction book. I also understand that she is writing from the perspective of seeing what went on in communist Russia during the time.
3) The ending sucked, I did not like it at all. I wont ruin it for the people who have not read it, but come on! She couldnt do better than that?
4) I do like how she made sure that there was a line between the 'business man' and 'the looter'/ corpratist ( A point I agree with Gig on 100%).
Overall its a decent book, I like some of the themes, the rebellion, the evil of communism/collectivism/big government.
I can also see how this book gets misiterpruted by all sides. The socialists of society find this book to be the most evil, yet the corporate goons use this book as a rallying cry. Rea dit for what it is, one womans diatribe against communism, that she personally witness growing up. This was her answer.