Stunned, Shocked, Shaken……………and Wise
This is what I am feeling now, oh! Forgot to tell you, just finished ‘Atlas Shrugged’…..my first encounter with a philosophical novel, rather philosophy...
Could I understand it?…..cannot say, so do not ask me if I agree with the philosophy or not. But one thing is sure; it has shaken all my premises, the way to look at world.
Who is John Galt?
If I try to sum up what the novel means to me it may be following…..
1. Living for oneself i.e. a man can be in his natural self (and thus happy) only when his behavior is determined by no external influence of society.
2. Being free of guilt; of being selfish, of seeking pleasure, of being oneself. And of course, no guilt of animal desire…you got it, sex. Do not look always for moral sanction. That is the tool of world to tame men.
3. Living for sake of ‘life’ not for sake of living. It’s the zeal of your work that drives us, to be happy, to give your best.
4. It is the ‘doer’ who moves the world, not the ‘thinker’. Action and its result is the only truth which can be proved.
5. The political message; Socialism versus Capitalism…….Marx said "From everyone according to his ability, to everyone according to his need". Ayn Rand has flouted this hypothesis of Marx. According to her, it forces people to compete for incompetence as the incompetent is benefited most by this hypothesis.
I am still struggling to find out what message the novel conveys. I have a feeling that its pity and mockery of a great work that I could take out only this much from it, but these are my limitations. I cannot help mentioning two lines from the novel ……….
"Who is the most depraved type of human being?
The man without a purpose"
"There is an unspeakable evil in the world, you know it and there is no use dwelling on details of it. You must work a little harder. Just a little harder. Don’t let it win"
