A Note: I put this in here instead of in The Workshop or in Media Central because of the political discussion that is bound to follow. I was thinking June has 30 days and Atlas Shrugged has 30 chapters. As much as this book gets bandied about here, I wonder how much of it has really been read and discussed. We have some fiarly intelligent folk on both sides of the Rand argument and I think it would be interesting to have everyone just read one chapter per day and discuss the chapter. So, grab your copy off the shelf, get it from the library, download it illegally from the Internet, or bebop down to your local bookstore and drop the ten bucks on the book and start reading. Tomorrow is June 1. We'll start discussing Part 1 "Non-Contradiction" : Chapter 1 "The Theme" tomorrow.
The book is nothing but a self-indulgent, faux-intellectual wankfest. It's not worth the time it would take to burn it.
I've read enough Rand to know she's not my cup of tea. A friend of mine got me started, saying I reminded him a lot of Howard Roark. I think he meant it as a complement (principled and unconcerned with other people's opinions), but after I read the book I thought 'wow, you really think I'm an asshole, don't you?' LOL. There's some great themes in Rand's work, and I agree in principle with her commentary in Atlas Shrugged, but she takes it to extremes, and I don't consider it any more a viable look at an alternate society as I do most of the dystopias. It basically slaps you in the face and says, 'this is what you should think.' I can understand why some emulate it, but it's only one aspect of a truth, not a great philosophical work. IMHO, obviously.
I read Rand religiously as a teenager. But not since. I don't think I could have an intelligent discussion about her work. But please continue. It won't stop me from heckling from the cheap seats. Unless of course you're chicken. (Like shep.)
I'm not going to reread the book chapter by chapter, but I too might take the Statler and Waldorf position here...
I've read it a couple of times myself. It's not that great a piece of literature, IMO, but it does present the Libertarian position pretty well in an entertaining format. I'm not going to read it again right now. I've got a stack of stuff I'm trying to work through as it is. I may have some comments here and there as things come to mind. Sounds like a worthy topic.
Ah, Garamet thinks we've come of age. Which considering the context probably means senile and covered in our own feces.
What a coincidence! I just started reading Atlas Shrugged (my kid's copy) a few days ago. It's a pretty interesting story so far, but since I'm not too bright.....I don't know shit about metaphore, symbolism, etc. Thus, I would not be able to add anything worthwhile to the discussion.
Is that how you picture Storm these days? I simply meant that some of you were finally emerging from his shadow.
A circle jerk for the DAS KAPITAL of the right? Hey, let's have one for hitler's book too and the holy trinity is complete
While Das Kapital may be equally insipid as a matter of economic philosophy, it's a much better novel than Atlas Shrugged.
It doesn't even pretend to be a novel. It is what it is. Rand's book wouldn't do terrible bad with little pictures in them - which might be prudent anyway given the target audience.
Yeah, that was kinda my point. In the world of birth control, Das Kapital is abstinence and Atlas Shrugged is prayer.
Excellent idea, and I'd love to join. I'll have to catch up in a few days though, since my copy isn't here and I won't be able to get one until Wednesday.
Yes, at first I was happy to be learning how to read. It seemed exciting and magical, but then I read this: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I read every last word of this garbage, and because of this piece of shit, I am never reading again!
