Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, depicts interplay of two forces: regulated economic freedom and free-market system. This paper describes the philosophy and the practical stances of both the schools of thought within the context of events that occur in the book.
ATLAS SHRUGGED
Atlas Shrugged is a fictional account, which depicts the causes, the results, and the ultimate connotations attached to the moral and philosophical self-destruction that the mankind, in general, is slipping into in a gradual fashion. The most significant cause and hence the philosophy behind this moral decadence is the lack of belief in the morality of self-interest. And the vehicle through which this is perpetuated is the governmental control featuring diminishing economic freedom. Therefore the plot of Atlas Shrugged revolves around diminishing economic freedom resulting in intellectual stagnation. However there exists an opposing force that provides a directly opposite plan of action with a directly opposite belief system. Those belonging to this school of thought are intellectual and highly capable, rebelling against a society that preaches altruism, a society that teaches struggling victims that sacrifices for the sake of others is proper and moral, a society that indoctrinates its youth with a vicious, destructive skepticism. In this society, need is the most important claim to virtue, and so the most productive, capable men are forced into virtual enslavement by a vicious code of directives intended to eliminate all economic class distinctions. On the other hand, the philosophy behind economic controls is depicted to be upheld by the people of government in the form of economic regulations and controls. The plot of the book depicts these two factions by building up the story, which is continually shifting in focus between the first and the second categories. It is in the interplay of the characters and the plot, within the context of the government regulations that the philosophical...
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