I just started Atlas Shrugged

[uberllama42]

Any input, other than "turn back now"? I read The Fountainhead in high school, and I found Rand's writing style fascinating in some ways but ultimately too contrived. Her characters are compelling but unrealistic. I find myself drawn into the story, despite its length. It's akin to Tolkien- a massively long work of fantasy.

As for Objectivism, it makes a lot of sense if you can ignore the fact that laissez-faire capitalism is absolutely soul-crushing to 95% of the people who live under it. Rand and her devotees never seem to have trouble with that part of it.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. Isn't a huge chunk of that huge book one long speech by the main character? Wherein all the Randian

principles are espoused/reinforced? I heard it's dozens of pages or more. Talk about contrived, sheesh.

The only people I know of who ever were truly enthusiastic about Rand were pretentious high school or college Republicans, and greedy Right Wingers because it validated their world view.

[jakem]

3. its a big speech

but as the book is 1000 some pages, i wouldn't say a big chunk of it-

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

10. I skimmed over the speech, but found the book interesting.

Would not read it a second time though.

[uberllama42]

13. I haven't gotten that far yet

But I know there is a very long speech laying out Objectivism somewhere in the bowels of the thousand-page tome. She later excerpted the speech for a book about objectivism, which kind of makes the 200-plus chapters of the book seem pretentious.

[chaumont58]

2. Years ago, I worked with an objectovist, or what ever Randiods are called

He talked me into reading some of her books. For xmus that year, my wife found a used hardbound copy of Atlas Shrugged, that still had the dust jacket. I read about 30 or 40 pages, put it down, saying: this is like something written in high school! I never read anymore. One of my dogs wound up eating part of the book. I didn't miss it.

[regnaD kciN]

20. Even worse...I once had one as a girlfriend...!

Our relationship went fine, until she decided that I needed to read "the most important books ever..." :crazy:

[closeupready]

23. Shame on you. You should be charged with cruelty to animals.

:rofl:

[Fredda Weinberg]

4. Well, I call it Atlas Drugged, but did enjoy it. And yes, it does

validate the world view of a small percentage ... but it's an influential minority.

Rand was sexually liberating for me - part of my transition from parochial thinking. While she challenges our egalitarianism, she also broke free of gender roles that we would find stifling.

So if you don't believe that all of us are created with equal potential, the relationship between those who can and those who have and want more will continue be a struggle ... whether you use Marxian or Randian analysis.

[silverweb]

5. There's plenty of good to be found in it.

But by all means, quickly scan through/gloss over the tedious long speeches.

[Deja Q]

6. I just started Atlas and I shrugged.

Mother Goose told better fairy tales... though I must admit, she stopped just short of describing the king prepared Humpty Dumpty as an omelet (and how)...

[Deja Q]

7. Objectively speaking, the inidivudalist mindset only when one is entitled to prosper from it.

:shrug:

Uh-oh, I just did an Atlas.

:shrug:

Just did it again.

Some people on forums (not DU, thankfully) thought Ayn was a man... I rest my case. Everyone else's too; they are dumb.

[uberllama42]

14. Wait, her followers thought she was a man?

Or just people who happened to be discussing the book?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. I find it important to reread such works, much like

I actually read mao's little red book, and am in the midst of karl marx' works. Too many people claim to be followers of an "ism" and seeing it in practice, compared to the original ideas, is always enlightening. That also applies to that fairy tale, the bible, and its christian followers.

[uberllama42]

15. I firmly believe that if more people read the bible

and actually made an effort to comprehend the fairy tales in it, that the number of Christians would be much smaller. This past semester I was in a religion class with about 20 Catholics, and most of them seemed to be really surprised when I brought up Judges 1:19, where God loses a battle because the other side has iron chariots. I think that passage speaks volumes about how the bible was compiled: it is an amalgamation of two different traditions with very opposite ideas about God. Hence all the contradictions.

I'm impressed by the level of cognitive dissonance a fundamentalist has to practice when he reads that passage. No mean feat. On the level of pretending that "a rising tide raises all boats."

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Re;Atlas Shrugged...

Well...Angelina Jolie is in the movie...http://imdb.com/title/tt0480239/

[Orrex]

11. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[DemInBuckhead]

12. I liked Fountainhead more than Atlas Shrugged

My complaint about Rand's writing style is that she basically has two characters in her books (at least those I've read) and those two characters take on different forms. There are her heroes and her villians and all of the heroes talk exactly the same way (same vocabulary, same phrases, same everything) and the villians are the same way.

[uberllama42]

17. I agree- they are very black and white

Everyone is either one of the two or three titans who make the world run or one of the worthless parasites. It liked she closed her eyes and pretended the universe operated the way she wanted it to.

I have to wonder why she never became a robber baron herself. My guess is that she would say the paternalistic society she lived in didn't give her the chance. That's just the point, though: not everybody gets a chance, and you have no say over whether you get a chance or not. She builds this really powerful edifice to cover up that basic fact.

[regnaD kciN]

21. My complaint about her writing...

...is that she would have needed a lot more practice to get to the level of a second third-rate romance novelist.

But why would she need to, when she was surrounded by sycophants who showed their individuality by aping her every mannerism (since she smoked, not doing so was grounds for expulsion from her "disciples" -- no joke), and assuring her that she was both the greatest philosopher and the greatest novelist in the history of humanity? :eyes:

[Captain_Nemo]

16. I read it on vacation . I couldn't believe how many people came up to me and said

"I read that. Its such a great book." And, "I read that several times it was so good." I thought "I can barely get through it once let alone several times"

All I remember is the main character. I have an image of him as a torso with a block head who shows no emotion. Kind of like Dick Cheney only taller.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. Why would you do this to yourself?

It's an incredibly dull book, badly written, has ideas beneficial to no one, and is pure bs. Get away from it asap. Do better, more enriching things than read crap.

[provis99]

19. since you're on a roll, may I suggest L. Ron Hubbard next?

I wouldn't be surprise if a lot of Randoids are Scientologists, too.

[regnaD kciN]

22. Nah..."Mein Kampf" would be the logical progression...

:spank:

[superconnected]

24. I started reading - probably got 100 pages in and it was SLOOOW and

boring. I seriously wanted to edit it to get to the point because it didn't in that 100 pages which could have been covered in two.

A member on here talked me out of reading further. I'm so glad because putting down the book instantly improved my life. It was recommended by a rightwing nut who insisted it was the greatest book ever written. You know him regnad - he's a filmmaker with the first inital a. and the last name hunt. He wen't into selling amway shortly after insisting I read the book so I never saw him again.

[Mist]

25. The big fly in the punchbowl in Rand's philosopy is that

only the rich and powerful are entitled to have any self-interest. Apparently everyone else is too small to "deserve" being interested in themselves. I read "The Fountainhead" a few years ago, and felt like Rand was writing about an alternate reality--flat one-dimensional characters talking in a way I've never heard anyone talk. The only thing I liked was Howard Roark's ability to ignore what was expected of him, and just design the buildings he wanted to without compromise. Otherwise, the book was a waste of ink. I can't imagine reading "Atlas Shrugged." Can't take 1000 pages of flat unrealistic characters and stilted language.

[superconnected]

28. I think the philosophy behind it, as I've heard, is that, republicans

as far as religion and everything else apply how their fathers abused them and made them feel like they were worth nothing, they abuse everyone else and try to make others feel they are worth nothing - ie by making religion exclusive(instead of inclusive as Christ intended) by making up rules to not to let others be worthy of getting in(to Heaven) to make everyone else feel like nothing, and they also carry this over to their politics, financial, social and personal beliefs.

It's a terrible inferiorty complex where they believe they themselves deserve nothing - no success etc. And only the elite - the ruling class - like their father figure that they didn't deserve attention from, deserve success. They feel peers at their level must not deserve success.

In a nutshell, it's self loathing.

But we all knew that anyway...

Rand is saying the same thing - only a few(the elite) deserve to succeed and the rest aren't worthy. It's a psychosis. The books read like a miserable person wrote them because she is a miserable person.

[terryg11]

26. enjoyed fountain head more

her style is a little annoying at times, maybe too preachy in some instances for my taste. I enjoy discussing some of her views once in a while but as someone here has posted her views are often sooo black and white with nothing in the middle. It's hard to take someone's views seriously when her books that illustrate said views aren't realistic you know? Liberals, Progressives shouldn't be threatened by what she says but in some ways embrace it. If you have an issue or belief that you strongly believe in then get out there and live it, fight for it just dont oppress anybody in the process.

[heidler1]

27. IMO Ayn Rand is like Calvin who not only believed he knew what God wanted, but also believed he knew

who God would choose as being good enough to go to Heaven. Both are selling elitism, so was Hitler. We need people like that like needing another hole in the our heads. Huckabee is selling it , too. We never learn.

[Dr. Strange]

29. Have you gotten to the part where the guy makes a long speech...

espousing the virtue of selfishness?