In times of great peril, danger, or distress we often look to someone or something to give us comfort and a feeling of safety. When our ideas are attacked we look to someone who shares our ideas. This is quite evident of the recent rise in references to Ayn Rand's magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged and its title character, John Galt.
References to John Galt, it seems, are everywhere nowadays. Doing an Internet news search for John Galt brings back almost 400 articles, news stories, and opinion pieces on the man. But who is John Galt?
John Galt is a pivotal character in the nearly 1,200 page Atlas Shrugged written by Russian expatriate Ayn Rand that praises individual liberty and capitalism. Published in 1957 this novel fictionalizes a dystopic American future where government intervention into the economy has wrought further economic turndown that extends and deepens the depression.
In looking for someone to blame for their ills, the leaders of the country and those who are suffering begin to blame the rich. They chastise them for their ideas, their high profits, and their wealth. These attacks prompt these people, led by John Galt, to go on strike - to stop producing and stop manufacturing new ideas and new products. They still work, but instead of inventing new medicines or new inventions, they work shoveling coal or as a brakemen on railroads.
Many conservatives and capitalist minded individuals see parallels between the plot of the novel and what is happening today. These people believe the government has gotten us into this current economic crisis through their meddling and is making it worse by attacking prosperity, increasing those dependent on government, and increased regulations and bad decisions.
At the Rick Santelli-inspired "tea parties,” you often see signs held by glum protesters proclaiming, "Atlas will shrug," "Atlas has shrugged," or just the ubiquitous "Who is John Galt?"
Article comments
1 - JackDoitCrawford
Thanks for this article. I think that if people would read, understand and apply Ayn Rand's ideas to their lives, we would all be better off. As her hero in The Fountainhead said, "The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing." And that was in 1943.