Atlas Shrugged has an extremely black-and-white quality; either you are an embodiment of highest virtues or you are unredeemably evil. There is no middle ground. All the characters in this book are as if they had come from some sort of a Baroque opera. No doubt, Atlas Shrugged would have benefited, if it had had a better editor.
Like Albert Einstein the physicist (and the philosopher), Ayn Rand has an absolute belief in the law of causality. One could not help but wonder what her views on quantum mechanics and Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle were.
Atlas
Notwithstanding these flaws, the book makes many a good point:
- Reason is the main epistemological tool of acquiring knowledge about reality. Thinking and rational mind are what separate us most clearly from other animals. - Do not apologize for your virtues. - Altruism, when forced upon by the State, is a grave sin. - Mankind makes quantum leaps forward by brilliant and free individual minds. - In its core, capitalism is a system of individualism, thus inherently capable of making quantum leaps forward (in science, innovation, etc). - Communism, or any collectivism for that matter, cannot work, not even in theory. Enforced socialism is to be opposed. (Ayn Rand's views on socialism and capitalism were probably influenced by Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich A. Hayek).
I find it rather fitting that exactly 50 years after Atlas Shrugged was published (1957), the Nobel Prize in economics (2007) was awarded to Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin, and Roger Myerson for their work on mechanism design, which deals with the problem of arranging "our economics interactions so that, when everyone behaves in a self-interested matter, the results is something we all like." Since the 18th century, we know (thanks to Adam Smith and Adam Ferguson) that the pursuit of self-interest is not a zero-sum game.
The book is worth the reading effort. It will induce you to think about the nature of humanity, the perils of far-left egalitarianism, and what the struggle for happiness is all about (needless to say, Ayn Rand was no closet Aristotelian).
Atlas Shrugged
Alojz Kajinic, Ph.D.
Availibility : N/A
Atlas Extra-Duty Garage (12'x24') Overview
The Atlas Extra-Duty Garages are some of the strongest on the market! With added features such as corner brackets, industrial grade PE fabric skylight and a woven steel cable Roof Truss System to stand up to the elements, they're ideal temporary structures for all your storage needs. "Pass-thru" access makes storing automobiles, boats, ATV's or personal watercraft a breeze. Easy to assemble too! 2" Powder Coated Steel frame w/1.5" roof purlins Side rails for extra strength Foot Pads included Roof Truss System Cover is fitted to frame with drawstrings 6'3" Side Height 8'4.5" Center Height Dimensions 12' x 24' Weight: 270 lbs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment