Sunday, October 6, 2013

Alan Armony Reaction #8

I’m really starting to enjoy the story of Atlas Shrugged after the part I just finished reading. When Jeff Allen told the story of John Galt I knew that early on in the final part of the book we would finally get to meet him. The system that Jeff Allen describes in the Twentieth Century Motor Company is very interesting. It seems to me very similar to a communist-type system in which everyone must work equally hard. However, this means that someone who is smarter or stronger needs to do more work simply because they are better. This is not fair because the point is that everyone does the same amount of work—not the same percentage of work. Also, these men were sure to lose all their incentive. Why work if everyone is benefiting the same no matter how hard each individual works? It makes sense that all the men lost their dignity and tried to hide their strength or wit, so that they wouldn’t have to do extra work.


When I found out John Galt is the man staring back at Dagny after her plane accident, I was overjoyed. I had been waiting so long to finally meet him and this was the perfect time. However, the next chapter is too fantasized. A mountain with a screen to hide it from the rest of the world with everyone living in harmony? Sounds a little too much like Neverland to me. Finally, I enjoyed the reference John makes to the title of the book when he explains to Dagny that those who go on strike are those who “bear the world on their shoulders”—much like Atlas.

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