Philip Kaifer Reaction 8

Part three of Atlas Shrugged has left the realm of the plausible and begun to explore more fanciful and unlikely ideas. John Galt’s Atlantis exists as some sort of safe haven protected from the outside world by some sort of bubble shield and powered by what we now know is his magical motor. I assume that Atlantis is Rand’s representation of the perfect world that would result should all the looters in this world disappear and only the hard-working, successful individuals remain. Of course, I am not going to try and take part three literally. I do not believe Ayn Rand was actually trying to say that the world would actually become as dysfunctional as it does in her novel, and that there would be a secret sect of worthy people living in hiding in the mountains of Colorado. Interpreting it as a figurative picture of the nation, I do see understandable, though shortsighted, parallels between the nation Rand portrays and the United States. There are definitely people who take advantage of our political system, including politicians and businessmen, but there are also people like the beggar on the very first page of the novel who are stuck being poor and are reliant of the government not because they choose to be, but because without government assistance they would die. 

This whole idea, of whether government should provide services to the less fortunate or not, reminds me of the debate between pro-life and pro-choice ideals. Individuals on the pro-life side of the debate say that life is sacred, and should be preserved. Yet, once those babies are born, what happens to them? Some go up for adoption as infants; some parents keep their kids, even if their status means that these kids will have a very hard life. Then there are quite a few who are born to single, homeless mothers who may have other priorities such as where can they get their next fix; these babies are much more common than you would expect. 

All in all, I am not enjoying Atlas Shrugged very much. Rand’s political ideas are not very well thought through and they represent those of selfish individuals who are incapable of thinking beyond anyone but themselves. If anything, reading this book has more than anything fortified my opposing viewpoints and made me feel more secure in my opinions. I expect that the rest of the novel will be just as unjustified as the first two parts.