“Who is John Galt?” The famous opening line of Ayn Rand’s masturbatory hymn to entitled capitalist “heroes.” Since the second move in the “Atlas Shrugged” series is set for an October release, I think it necessary to dive into exactly who John Galt is and how he differs from the real world we inhabit.
The main character, Dagny Taggart, spends the majority of “Atlas Shrugged” looking for this Galt cunt and the corporate strikers he recruits, and names a train line in his honor. Eventually she finds the would-be Prometheus in hiding; and, no surprise, he withdrew his genius in protest against social welfare. He quit because of the taxes and the leeches. Like South Park’s Eric Cartman, Galt essentially said, “Screw you guys… I’m going home.”
Conservatives who hold Rand and Galt in reverence often talk about the entitlement of the lower classes—but what of the Galt’s entitlement? How is that this whining, entitled douchebag captures the Rand-lover imagination? It’s as big a fuckin’ mystery as Galt’s identity.
Brief digression: Rand loved to describe her idealized capitalist hero as a modern Prometheus. You know, the Greek titan who stole fire and gifted it to humanity, then found himself bound to a rock to have his liver plucked out daily by an eagle. It’s rather odd that Rand should find her capitalist hero analogue in the mythical Prometheus. It’s far more accurate to say that her heros and, indeed, the current form of capitalist gods in general, were much more like Zeus, who had originally withdrew fire from humanity. Prometheus thus becomes something more like the open-source movement or hackers, who recognize that humanity benefits from readily available technology instead of ideas and inventions hidden within a phalanx of patents, trade secrets, greed, fear and lawsuits.
If fire were to be “discovered” now, one of Rand’s heroes would patent, market and sell it as his own creation. “Mine, mine, mine! Wah! You can’t steal fire unless you pay me residuals. Wah! Where’s the government to make sure the plebes aren’t stealing fire from me! Wah, wah, waaaaah!” Lawsuit.
Imagine for a moment if Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg—three titans of technology—had become so obsessed with the problems of taxation and social welfare “mooches” and “leeches” that they simply quit. There would be no MacBook, no Windows, no Facebook, no Xbox, no iPhone, no Arab Spring (or a smaller version anyway), no iPad, and no public companies from which high-flying investors might milk obscene profits. Steve Jobs did spend decades suing Microsoft and Google, trying to litigate them out of copying his patents—but he didn’t just take his ball and go home. And Gates, in spite of Microsoft’s considerable tax payments (we can argue about the US’s corporate rate, of course), as well as his personal tax rates, is working tirelessly to give his money away. Gates has also called for higher taxes.
And who could argue that Jobs and Gates are not the ideal Randian heros? Along with Apple, Gates’s Microsoft brought the gift of personal computing to the masses. The benefits have far outweighed the drawbacks. We have a more open society because of personal computers and the Internet (more on the internet’s creators vs the Randian hero archetype below).
Jobs may have been a tyrant and ruthless businessman, but he was also a visionary—a visionary who did not spirit away his inventions or hide his genius because he disliked how his money was redistributed into social programs. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, has claimed over and over again that he is not interested in money. Facebook’s less-than-stellar performance on Wall Street indicates that he is far more interested in invention than either corporate revenues or taxes. He’s too busy evolving social media technology to stomp his feet at the moochers and leeches and withdraw to his home like John Galt and Eric Cartman.
The creators of the Internet, which involved many people over many decades, culminating with Tim Berners-Lee’s creation of the World Wide Web—which allowed you, dear reader, to sit on your duff and read this article—didn’t care much about money either. Berners-Lee didn’t become a billionaire because of his creation, but the birth of the internet was one of history’s great Prometheus moments.
But here’s the beauty of the human mind and the mathematical constants of the universe: somebody else would have! Humans can and often do create and innovate things independently and sometimes simultaneously. Gottfried Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus independent one another. Almost every culture on Earth independently invented its own quantities for symbols. The Hindu-Arabic numerals won out eventually because they made calculation easier and more elegant, leading to an explosion in scientific discovery that is still ongoing.
If Galt were real and he had created the Internet, he never would have given it away for free, first of all; and, if he’d sensed that his creation would bump him up into a new tax bracket and help fund social welfare programs, he would have stomped off into a mountain lair and pouted.
Witness Galt’s arrogance in Rand’s 70-page objectivist propaganda address, in which he plays the victim card:
“All the men who have vanished, the men you hated, yet dreaded to lose, it is I who have taken them away from you. Do not attempt to find us. We do not choose to be found. Do not cry that it is our duty to serve you. We do not recognize such duty. Do not cry that you need us. We do not consider need a claim. Do not cry that you own us. You don’t. Do not beg us to return. We are on strike, we, the men of the mind.”
Fuck John Galt and fuck all those jackasses who idolize him. This country and world are filled with captains of industry and technology who go on creating.
And though Rand’s book is more of a thought experiment than anything, her biggest lie—which goes unmentioned in “Atlas Shrugged’s” pages—is that there are always upstart dreamers ready to take the place of the old guard or the Galts of this world, whether they be small business owners or corporate titans. Randians, particularly those in the GOP, idolize Galt because like the fictional character, they are obsessed with the idea that they are victims and that their achievements have not been properly recognized. (Incidentally, psychopaths are also often upset with the masses for not recognizing their genius or achievements.)
If “Atlas Shrugged” had been real, Americans would have laughed at the jackass and his minions and seized the opening.
September 13, 2012 at 8:18 pm, Justin M. Lesniewski said:
Atlas Shrugged Part 2 will be in theaters October 12th, 2012.
November 20, 2012 at 10:35 am, Dustin Weida said:
Apparently it caused Obama to win.
So much for that shitty movie "changing the elections" LMAO!!!
February 21, 2013 at 5:27 pm, Arfy Warfy said:
Dustin Weida, what have you contributed to humanity lately, aside from using up good air and consuming.
September 14, 2012 at 3:39 am, John S. said:
Intelligent people will read the book, and decide for themselves, good luck spending your life attempting to destroy something that can't be destroyed.
September 16, 2012 at 1:28 pm, DJ Pangburn said:
The Bible has been around for thousands of years, John S., and it’s full of both truths and bullshit, too. I fully expect Ayn Rand and “Atlas Shrugged” to stay with those who love it and who pass it on to future generations.
Indeed, I enjoy having that sort of “philosophy” around for all to see and judge for themselves. I would never want it to disappear; it’s too interesting arguing the book’s merits and flaws with its acolytes.
DJ
September 14, 2012 at 10:47 am, Bryan Sandridge said:
go back to watching south park.
September 14, 2012 at 7:44 pm, Joel Schottenfeld said:
This would be funny if it wasn't so sad. To hate Rand is to hate life. I always enjoy these tirads against AR..they are quite funny.
November 20, 2012 at 10:37 am, Dustin Weida said:
She hates yur Jesus…how sad for conservatives ugly greedy "hero" to hate what you guys love so much. LMAO!!! Its so funny!
December 21, 2012 at 12:23 am, Timothy C. McDonald said:
Dustin Weida Assumption seems to be your biggest tool……Must be why you are so angry that you're not getting paid more for pulling the french fries out of the frier.
February 21, 2013 at 5:26 pm, Arfy Warfy said:
Tim, I would have said that Dustin is pulling french fries out of his own ass and he's whining because it only pays minimum wage. How do I know? Anyone that uses "yur" is doomed to ridicule when there's adults around.
September 15, 2012 at 12:22 pm, Apollo N. Morales said:
If John Galt had asked for subsidie for his invention then he would be an entitled douchebag.
November 20, 2012 at 10:45 am, Dustin Weida said:
Or if he fails to give all the workers who helped make him rich a livable wage…Does this book even MENTION the poeple who do the real labor for these guys? What about the workers who built the main characters rail road? Or do capitalists think things magically appear if you throw all your investment money at it.
November 22, 2012 at 2:58 am, Apollo N. Morales said:
Actually Galt isn't rich. And what does a "livable wage" have to do with the value of your labour? It has no affect at all, no more than being a really good person has an effect on the law of gravity. Hitler will hit the ground just as fast as Thomas Edison if they both fell off the same building. The fact that you can't feed your kids as a floor sweeper will not make being a floor sweeper more valuable work. If you can't feed your kids doing that kind of work, then either get a better job or lower your expences.
Work means nothing without integrating thought behind it. All the hard work in the world doesn't ammount to anything without somebody directing thought to action to achieve a goal.
April 29, 2013 at 1:44 am, Frank James Spencer said:
"Does this book even MENTION the poeple who do the real labor for these guys?"
Learn to read and get back to us. You are so lazy you won't read the book, I would never employ such a useless cunt as yourself. Useless by YOUR choice may I add.
Dustin Weida you really are Wesley Mouch.
Now get off your lazy Mouch ass and invent something, otherwise you are free to take a one way trip to the paradise of North Korea.
September 15, 2012 at 8:38 pm, Jonathan Krull said:
I think you missed the point of the book. You write "Imagine for a moment if Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg—three titans of technology—had become so obsessed with the problems of taxation and social welfare “mooches” and “leeches” that they simply quit. There would be no MacBook, no Windows, no Facebook, no Xbox, no iPhone, no Arab Spring (or a smaller version anyway), no iPad, and no public companies from which high-flying investors might milk obscene profits."
Okay. It's not about taxation or social welfare, it's about the government saying "You didn't build this yourself, you need to share it with those who didn't do a thing to create it." Zuckerberg may not be concerned with money, but if the government tried to seize his creation and give it to the guys who already failed at Myspace (and at the same time let the NSA read all your Facebook conent), he'd be shitting in his hoodie and probably ready to say "Screw you guys, I'm going home." And in Galt's Gulch, we'd still have MacBooks, Windows, Facebook, Xbox, iPhone, iPad, etc. But you wouldn't, when the lights go out.
Quick question because you don't make it clear in your article. Have you read Atlas Shrugged or are you just cheating off Cliffnotes and Paul Ryan?
I'd rather be a productive, entitled douchebag than a whining, looting, mooching, dumbass douchebag like yourself. Go pout in a corner because Ayn Rand might have (almost) taken away your MacBook and "your" arab spring… while I'll be celebrating the people who did in fact give me those things.
November 20, 2012 at 10:34 am, Dustin Weida said:
"You didn't build this yourself, you need to share it with those who didn't do a thing to create it."
And when has this ever happened?
December 03, 2012 at 8:05 am, Dock Drumming said:
Why does it seem that the people responding DJ Pangburn's article have MUCH MORE insight than the author of the article?
December 04, 2012 at 6:44 pm, Michael Diaz said:
Dustin Weida Hmm to quote Obama "You didn't build that!" enough said
December 21, 2012 at 12:19 am, Timothy C. McDonald said:
Could be because the DJ Pangburn doesn't even have the insight to tie his own shoes.
February 21, 2013 at 5:23 pm, Arfy Warfy said:
Because they do.
September 16, 2012 at 10:45 am, $ | Bell Book Candle said:
[...] Who is John Galt? A whining, entitled douchebag (deathandtaxesmag.com) [...]
September 18, 2012 at 8:43 pm, Jack Clagett said:
I believe you're confused about the word "entitlement".
It has some negative connotations, and you know that.
conservative use it often to put down proponents of social welfare.
so you think it's clever to throw it back at 'us'.
but 'entitlement' is only negative when referring to unearned entitlement.
Every man and woman on earth IS ENTITLED to the fruits of their labor.
Anyone who says otherwise is a thief and a liar and probably has (dare I say it) a false sense of entitlement.
Unfortunately this kind of discussion is not your aim.
You are really just insulted by Ayn Rand because she convicts you.
Lashing out like this and using ridiculous comparisons like Galt to Cartman are your only way of easing your conscience.
You can only make it a joke for so long.
September 18, 2012 at 9:03 pm, Chris Dodson said:
Liiiiike.
September 18, 2012 at 10:50 pm, Gabriel Vega said:
When you put it that way…
September 18, 2012 at 11:10 pm, Gabriel Vega said:
I have a number of issues with Rand but the asshole that wrote that article needs to suck a hard one and get a healthy dose of reality. One of the glaring inconsistencies is that figures like Gates, Jobs and other captains of industry is that they have been compensated handsomely for their brilliance and not by the government or any other entity, they found things that just worked and that everyone wants. If they had spent their lives in obscurity and wasted their talents they would have had no one to blame but themselves and some one else just as brilliant would have filled that void. But they didn't and they have been recognized for their genius because they worked very hard and sacrificed an incredible amount of time and effort to build their dreams. They, like those giants before them, sucked the marrow from life and asked nor gave no quarter and have fucking succeed. I find that most excellent. I plan on building an empire. If I don't, it is my own fault for not making my dream happen, but if I do, you better believe I will reap that reward and nothing and no one will stop me.
November 20, 2012 at 10:32 am, Dustin Weida said:
Jack…You are 100% right…the problem…WORKERS ARE NOT PAID ENOUGE. The thing is boss man tells us how much our labor is worth and more often than not workers are underpaid and so called "job creators" are overpaid. This will always create gilded ages followed by depressions and then fixed with progressivism. I dont think ANY liberal in the history of humanity has ever said some lazy sob doing nothing deserves anything. The problem conservatives have it in their mind is that the magical 47% of the populations does no work at all when in fact they DO. Our current form of welfare gives much more money to poeple who are working or who have worked and are going to work again soon. Please show me this mass of lazy bums doing nothing and getting a check for it!? Srry but they do not exist!
December 06, 2012 at 5:48 am, Brian D Hoff said:
Bingo…
February 21, 2013 at 5:31 pm, Arfy Warfy said:
DJ Pangburn (whoever) is undoubtedly one of those bloggers sitting around in their underwear at the computer console wishing they had a job. Too funny. So ignorant. So sad.
March 21, 2013 at 11:03 pm, Dawn Sindelar said:
Well said…!
September 20, 2012 at 5:05 pm, Brew in Haus said:
Just a suggestion… If you wish to make an argument of any kind and you wish it to be taken seriously; don't just throw insults and name calling around because people don't take them seriously and it makes you sound like a fool. Also, use specific facts and specific points to illustrate your position. And lastly, do enough research and seek enough understanding of the subject that you can actually present an intelligent argument. Your rant makes no valid points, is based on a misunderstanding of the premise of the story, and is completely comprised of opinion. You are in over your depth.
October 09, 2012 at 12:34 am, Steve Jackson said:
ok then….you got this…i'm out and giving you the leadership role…i got this…sorry but I'm betting on me with my group of leaders…good luck…and God bless.
October 09, 2012 at 2:21 am, Christopher L. Rankin said:
So am I to gather that you believe we all should be forced to work for the betterment of society?
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." – Adam Smith (and he had it right!)
It is not society's right to benefit from the gifts, hard work, and talents of others without providing just compensation for it. And in a free society, if the person doing the hard work or employing his or her talents commands enough demand, then that person has the privilege and right to determine his or her own wage. It's that simple.
One can argue that John Galt was selfish. But in reality he has the right to determine what he does and what he provides… even if it means that thousands (or millions) may suffer if he withholds his talents. Anything else would be considered enslavement.
November 20, 2012 at 11:00 am, Dustin Weida said:
No one will suffer if he withholds his "talents", because there will ALWAYS be others who can come up with the same damn things. But people WILL suffer if he gives himself all the money and his workers next to nothing. I am so sick of your guys talking about "fruits of labor" and you IGNORE the workers over and over again. Its ok to give your workers nothing? Even when they worktheir asses off?? But if some over paid rich man has to pay .0000001% more in taxes then someone else then HE is the one being stolen from? Weath is not created be one self absorbed ass hole working for himself…Weath is created by EVERYONE WORKING together. If you dont pay your workers then you are tyrant worthy only of DEATH.
November 21, 2012 at 5:42 am, Dan Wright said:
What in the book gives you the impression that the workers are working for nothing? I don't think anyone is considering the workers the leechers. But the millions of idiots sitting on their asses sucking off the government tit don't deserve any bit of what I produce, and yet they get it in the form of government handouts. You know your society is fucked when it systematically punishes success and rewards failure.
November 21, 2012 at 6:00 am, Dan Wright said:
And I also dissagree that "there will always be others who can come up with the same things" It not only takes a bit of ingenuity, but an incredible amout of drive and energy to create the amounts of wealth you seem to have a problem with. You don't see the hundreds of thousands of hours poured into a project like Facebook or Microsoft to make it work. Those people who create that kind wealth are driven in a way that you and I are not. For me to EXPECT Microsoft to GIVE me anything that I didn't earn is simply unbelievable. And yet that is EXACTLY what we have come to expect in society.
December 12, 2012 at 1:46 am, Chris O'Loughlin said:
Dustin Weida – Seems to me that if "the workers" are being so mistreated, they have the option of working elsewhere. Just because someone owns a business does NOT mean it was created in order to supply jobs – supplying jobs is a byproduct of business…businesses are created in order for the owner to make money – plain and simple. Even "the government should take care of everyone from cradle to grave", tax and spend liberals start businesses for only one reason – yep, to make money.
If you truely believe all that you have just written in your rant, shouldn't you be sending money to 3rd world countries instead of buying more "things" to fill your life? In this country, even the poorest of the poor would live like kings in most of the rest of the world – the rest of the world suffers due to YOUR overindulgent riches meant to pamper yourself at the expense of those actually starving (you know, the ones with distended stomachs who haven't eaten in days or weeks?).
Until YOU put YOUR money to work taking care of those who are suffering while you grow richer and richer in possesions and comfort, why should wealthy business owners bow to your cries of "evil corporations"? You are no different then they are – you are just as evil, but sit at a slightly smaller table in order to count your money…
December 21, 2012 at 12:24 am, Timothy C. McDonald said:
They are not slaves, they are free to market their valuable labor elsewhere……That's the point.
January 05, 2013 at 12:16 am, Missy Boles Rodriguez said:
Dustin, it seems to me that you either never read the book, or you didn't understand what you read. There is never any implication that the workers were taken advantage of (except maybe by the government). "I swear by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." Anyone who doesn't live by that philosophy is a leech and THEY are the ones we should all be afraid of. You owe me nothing and I damn sure owe you or anyone else anything!
January 17, 2013 at 2:42 am, Brandon Rudd said:
Ordinary people hate extraordinary people, because they make them feel inadequate. While they are not inadequate, so much as the other is extra-adequate. I believe in being rewarded for doing great things. Great things are difficult to accomplish. When you play a video game and beat it, do you just want the credits to roll, or do you want an ending to tie it all together and finish the story? If I through great strife and labor of my own take the time to learn, research, invest, produce, sell, and make profit, how can you begrudge me my just reward?
February 20, 2013 at 3:56 am, Michelle Mattingly said:
@Dustin Weida You big whiney baby go out and make it happen for yourself and stop complaining how it isn't fair…I am so sick of dumb$^^%$ like you. Take care of yourself or go somewhere else where you and your collectivist friends can take care of each other and leave the rest of us alone!
March 30, 2013 at 7:48 am, Doris Liliana Seay said:
YOU ARE A COMMUNIST!
April 29, 2013 at 1:34 am, Frank James Spencer said:
Michelle Mattingly
Dustin Weida is Wesley Mooch! lol
October 10, 2012 at 5:45 pm, Westin Smith said:
DJ Pangburn is a prime example of a far left liberal looter.
October 10, 2012 at 10:35 pm, Jacob Huey said:
This is one of the most ridiculous pieces I have ever read. None of the "heroes" in the novel care a damn about wealth for themselves. That is shown multiple times in the book. Their main goal, which the "moochers" do not realize, is to provide a world in which everyone can live together, quite happily, as long as they are willing to work for what they receive.
October 11, 2012 at 10:47 pm, Michael Schlachter said:
In this thread: Butthurt Social Darwinist Ayn Rand/John Galt COCK Suckers. I hope you pieces of shit all die in a fire. I'm going to be thinking of you dipshits when your flagship douchenozzle ron paul/rand paul/paul ryan/romtard fucking ass monkies reach the end of the line of the "objectivist" fail train.
October 12, 2012 at 8:14 pm, Tom O'Doherty said:
But Mike, don't you understand, these people did it ALL BY THEMSELVES. The parents that raised them, the teachers that taught them, were just interfering, if other people would just get out of the way then they could realize their full potential. Ayn Rand literally believed that no one helped her achieve what she achieved. She was so myopic that the glaringly obvious reality that we're in an interrelated, interdependent world escaped her
October 13, 2012 at 3:36 am, Jeff Smolinski said:
hagagahajahaha
October 13, 2012 at 4:21 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
Insects (and I know this will get the hackles of the insecure darwinist howler monkeys up) are the most successful ambulatory species on the planet because they are the most cooperative, and they'll be here long after we've either committed collective suicide, or else traded in our "monkeys with car keys" modality for the "enlightened self interest" model…it's going to be interesting to see what happens…
October 15, 2012 at 12:50 am, Lord Soth said:
Another angry, gay liberal from the land of fruits and nuts.
October 15, 2012 at 4:23 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
Substantive response
October 15, 2012 at 10:14 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOINSUWOqyo&NR=1&feature=endscreen
October 18, 2012 at 9:16 pm, Christopher L. Rankin said:
Or Rand just realized that a person has a right to claim full ownership and reap the benefits from their work. Or Rand just realized that things such as welfare systems are a waste of effort that allow the perpetually lazy to steal (yes, steal) from the rest of society.
Perhaps you folks will learn a little more when you graduate from college and join the real world. Don't worry – President Romney will make sure there's a better economy out there for you, so you can find decent paying jobs.
And once you earn that money, you're more than welcome to waste it by giving it to the poor and lazy. I'd just appreciate it if you would keep your desires to steal the benefits of MY work and give it to others in check, so that I may maximize the enjoyment I'm entitled to receive.
October 19, 2012 at 4:41 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
@ Christopher L. Rankin And you don't even see that facebook is welfare, how much did you pay for your facebook profile? (And I'm not endorsing receiving without adding, you're at least contributing considered thought to a discussion, but be on guard against myopic conclusions)…I run a business, but I understand that the money I earn is directly proportional to how well my employees do, so in effect a large part of my welfare depends on what other do, life is not lived in a vacuum
October 19, 2012 at 6:44 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_-W2FDqSgE&feature=related
October 19, 2012 at 6:59 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
And if you think there's a substantive difference between Obama and Romney, then God help you
October 19, 2012 at 2:00 pm, Christopher L. Rankin said:
@Tom, I get what you're saying and understand that a significant part of a business's success is tied to its employees' work. Customer satisfaction, which is obviously directly linked to profits (and even continuity), is directly related to how employees perform… and that's especially important as many areas of our country have transitioned to a service-oriented economy.
However, at the end of the day I'm sure you would agree that employees are just that… employees. They're not the ones whose capital is invested in the business (unless they're also stockholders). They're also not the ones who are necessarily taking the big risks for the business. These two factors alone should entitle business owners to significantly larger amounts of the profits.
And at the end of the day, that's what happens – businesses hire employees for the lowest mutually agreeable wage that can be negotiated, employees work hard for raises, bonuses, and promotions, and we're all happy – with one exception: the lazy people who don't want to work, yet expect to be provided for by our government. It's those folks who I oppose. And a government that supports taking money from you and I to support those people indefinitely needs to change its perception of "fairness", as taking from those who are productive to give to those who provide no benefit whatsoever is hardly what I'd call fair.
October 21, 2012 at 1:39 am, Ken Stump said:
You are a fool Tom O'Doherty.
October 21, 2012 at 8:32 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
You substantiate yourself well, continue
October 21, 2012 at 8:39 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
If that's all you have, name calling, I'll call you out, let's have a real discussion about what's really going on
October 21, 2012 at 8:45 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
Ken Stump Tell me why I'm a fool
October 21, 2012 at 9:02 pm, Kenyon James Hopkins said:
So be an insect Tom. How much of your income do you share with your mother, father, teachers, and the crossing guard at your elementary school- without which you would have most certainly been creamed by a Mack Truck because you weren't evolved enough to check both ways? I will choose to live my life the way I want and not have to answer to the queen bee thank you. You feel free to bee the drone. bzzz
October 21, 2012 at 10:52 pm, Tom O'Doherty said:
I'm not saying I want to be an insect, but we can certainly benefit by making note of their cooperative nature, if things keep going the way they are we're not going to survive much longer as a species
October 21, 2012 at 11:10 pm, Kenyon James Hopkins said:
Cooperation is fine. I cooperate with my boss, do my job and I'm rewarded with a paycheck. I cooperate with the cashier at the grocery store. I cooperate with m neighbors if they need a hand. But Government controlled/mandated "Cooperation" is in fact NOT cooperation. It's borderline slavery. I have nothing against those that want to form communions and labor together for their common good so long is that is what they choose to do. Being forced into such a situation is entirely different.
My concern is when you say-we can benefit from their cooperative nature. I might disagree if I you are saying what I think you mean. If I choose to follow my own path my own dreams then a co-op would NOT benefit me personally in MY endeavors. A co-op is only free if you chose to it for your way of life.
October 22, 2012 at 4:47 am, Tom O'Doherty said:
Exceptionalism has its evolutionary function, heavy is the head that wears the crown, part of the burden of intelligence though is a high definition mirror facing you as yougo through life
November 20, 2012 at 10:41 am, Dustin Weida said:
Amazing that Rand thought of herself as some sort of Economic Boddhisattva?
November 20, 2012 at 10:50 am, Michael Schlachter said:
Christopher L. Rankin I'm 40 and self employed. My taxes and obamacare are going to help save you from that gravy bag you're growing under your chin. You can thank me later.
January 10, 2013 at 1:32 pm, Michael J Partusch said:
NONSENSE. "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey". EVERY ONE of the successful people in Atlas Shrugged appreciated and credited those who acheived to their own ability and in turn benefited or assisted another.
October 14, 2012 at 5:56 pm, Elliot D Hayes Jr said:
Your analysis of this work shows the shortsighted, knee jerk reaction that government run amok brings.
You fail to recognize the condition of government wealth redistribution, taxation, and infringement on personal liberties that this book outlines. The corruption of the government, in my humble opinion, should be the fear.
However, in stark contrast to the intent of the book, you have taken the position of those who ushered in the very thing that required the inventors, managers, and producers to go on strike.
What you are obviously too blind to see is that these creators didn't "take their toys and go home," they refused to continue to allow an oppressive, corrupt government to benefit and control the fruits of their labor.
Not one time did this book call for the elimination of taxation.
I don't see it as whining…I see it add the road we are on if we do not reverse the current power grab inWashington.
Maybe you would like the book much better if they picked up guns and started a violent civil war.
Also I might point out….they all left their toys
November 20, 2012 at 10:39 am, Dustin Weida said:
Rand and Galt and other losers like them want workers to be slaves. Gilded age bullshit should have DIED with that worthless whore Rand.
December 04, 2012 at 6:41 pm, Michael Diaz said:
Dustin Weida the whole point of the book is against slavery of the mind and spirit and body. Towards the middle of the book the government passes a law freezing wages, and forcing those who work to continue doing what they're doing. This type of philosophy endangers creativity since it forces the "slave" to simply produce to fill a quota, as opposed to producing to actually improve anything.
Currently the country is not as far along in it's socialization as the fictional US is in Rand's book. The book is just that fiction, but it serves as a warning to where society may end up if we continue this reckless path we're on.
Giving money away to those who don't work for it is only possible by stealing from those who do. Even with the legalized theft perpetrated by our government, the proverbial faucet can only run so long without something cutting the flow of money somewhere down the line.
Anyone with eyes can see that the tone of the country is becoming a rich vs poor mindset, and as in Rand's book, there are those rich industrialists who are shamed into giving away large sums of money to support a system that will only end in disaster. If you want to see where socialism/communism ends up just keep in mind Orwell's line "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". In the end all communist/socialist countries begin with the premise of everyone being equal singing Kumbaya around the camp fire, but they very quickly turn into an entity where the few hold power over the many.
December 21, 2012 at 12:21 am, Timothy C. McDonald said:
Dustin Weida You're not a slave of anything but your own limits…….Take your labor elsewhere. If it was valuable, you'd be compensated more for it than you are. It's no one else's fault your labor isn't as valuable as you think it is.
February 17, 2013 at 3:33 pm, Melvin Monzon said:
Dustin Weida, you do not see the point
If you have read the book or seen the movie, Galt was persuading productive people to stop working. Galt's perspective was that producers, inventors and investors are slaves to the idea of public good. The consumers are entitled to everything but the producer doesn't even have the right to be compensated for his efforts.
And so they go on strike.
The government doesn't see the significance that capitalism produce the products the public needs. And not just that, they also create employment opportunities. It is businesses that moves the economy, not the government. Inventors creates things, not bureaucrats. Self-reliance not politicians.
But you don't see things this way because you're a socialist. You enjoy being entitled to everything instead of hard work and self-reliance. Basically you're pro-slavery.
February 21, 2013 at 5:23 pm, Arfy Warfy said:
Dustin Weida, and so should you also cease to breath.
October 15, 2012 at 12:48 am, Lord Soth said:
You need to get a job and then get laid….by a woman!
October 19, 2012 at 7:47 am, Jim Walsh said:
You're an idiot.
October 19, 2012 at 4:06 pm, Ron Darlington said:
I think you missed the point. Ayn Rand was not advocating that these titans of innovation were heroes for waking away from an oppressive authority of regulation. Rather she was suggesting that government cannot progressively shackle or harness others minds.
November 20, 2012 at 11:05 am, Dustin Weida said:
Then its a good thing thats is not what progressivism is about then. Progressivism is all obout the idea that if workers are not justly paid then our economy will tank since workers are the LARGEST ASPECT OF THE ECONOMY.
November 21, 2012 at 6:16 am, Dan Wright said:
Ahh you see, you and I don't dissagree on everything. I think workers could and should be paid more. I have a much bigger problem with the government taking my tax money and giving it to someone who has made terrible choices in their lives. You know the ones I am talking about. Whining about not making enough money when they didn't have the forethought to graduate from high school, or didn't study enough to get a high paying job because they were too busy getting baked to be concerned about it; I have no sympathy for those fuckers. Socialism fails to differentiate between those who are motivated to work and those who aren't. All those sucking off the government are rewarded the same regardless of merit. That is the problem I have.
November 22, 2012 at 1:30 am, Dustin Weida said:
Dan Wright I want you to go apply for these government handouts if they are just so easy to get…to bad they do not exist in the way you have been brainwashed to believe they exist.
December 28, 2012 at 7:04 pm, Nick Williamson said:
Dustin, with respect, you clearly do not understand how an Economy works…
January 17, 2013 at 2:53 am, Brandon Rudd said:
My family is white, and we've had to have food stamps here and there. However, I still believe if I invent something that it's mine, and I'm free to profit from it. Should the worker's get paid more? Absolutely! But hating other people's success is just as bad as rich people hating people on welfare. Two ends of the spectrum. Individual achievement should be cultivated. We would have more "Masterminds" of Industry and Technology if we weren't so institutionalized and people gave a damn about everyone getting educated. Understanding that we are all in this together, but sometimes someone gets a great idea and runs with it. And appreciate that without jealousy or hate.
October 21, 2012 at 1:33 am, Ken Stump said:
DJ Pangburn is another liberal idiot. Somehow, DJ doesn't think your are entitled to the fruits of your labor. It seems other fruits and nuts are entitled to what you work for. And this is why socialism fails. As Ms. Thatcher so eloquently put it, socialism works great until you run out of other peoples money. And that is what John Galt is pointing out.
Now I'm sure we will hear the same lame slogan from DJ that we hear from all the other misinformed liberals. Every one should pay their "fair share". Yet, I doubt DJ can quantify any more than any other liberal just exactly what someones "fair share" is. Is 50% a "fair share"? 75%, 90%. How many liberals are willing to give up 90% of their income to the most inefficient wealth redistribution machine in the world, the government? Obama Sr. said 100% was a "reasonable" tax assessment. Any wonder his son (if he really is Obama's son) would be such a failure? It shouldn't be to anyone who understands actual economics.
October 21, 2012 at 4:19 pm, Trevor Kroger said:
The best thing about these takedowns of Rand are the comments. Nothing like a bunch of idiot cultists blabbering on 'cause they think they're smart.
October 21, 2012 at 7:58 pm, Arnold Rosenstock said:
Consider this: Suppose those titans of industry didn't pack up and go home. Rather, the investors, great and small, who supported their efforts became so mad as hell about being taxed on their profits that they wouldn't take it any more, folded up their wallets and went home. To disencentivize investment through increased taxes on profits threatens the depletion of the fuel for the engine of the world. Of course, the 'looters' or the 'entitled' as defined by Mr. Clagett below, would hardly be expected to recognize that threat, being so preoccupied with their philosphy of need.
October 22, 2012 at 4:07 am, Jimmie Stoltzfus said:
I seems you're missing the pint of the movie, I believe they're trying to bring across the point that government stunts the growth of ideas and forward progress. If you don't believe that, look at all the restrictions on the simple gas engine, we could be getting a lot more efficiency out of it, but for some reason its design has remained largely unchanged since it was invented..
October 25, 2012 at 3:46 pm, Scott O'Donnell said:
What a closed minded asshole you are. It's only a book.
October 28, 2012 at 1:35 am, Steve Skinner said:
Gates and Buffit give their money to the Gates foundation. If they trusted governmemt to spend it wisely they would have donated their billion$ to government. They didn't. Yet they want me to give more of my money to government. No thanks. That would be a waste.
November 03, 2012 at 11:17 am, Brian C. Sasso said:
Tim Berners-Lee has a net worth of 50 MILLION dollars. Not exactly an altruist.
http://www.therichest.org/celebnetworth/business/tech-millionaire/tim-berners-lee-net-worth/
November 03, 2012 at 11:40 am, Brian C. Sasso said:
Tim Berners-Lee has a net worth of 50 MILLION dollars. Not exactly an altruist.
http://www.therichest.org/celebnetworth/business/tech-millionaire/tim-berners-lee-net-worth/
Also, aren't those paid advertisements along the borders of this very article?
November 10, 2012 at 6:28 am, Harrison Jodeit said:
Your thoughts are as intricate and enlightening as warm shit. =] I fucking dare you to do the things you talk about. You talk about innovation, creation and progress as if they're little chores that anyone COULD do, if they really had the time and the motivation.
So do it. Explain the Higgs' field to me, compose me a melody; build me an internal-combustion engine. (or for that matter, an integrated circuit) I fucking dare you to do one really profound thing, in any field you want.
And until then I'd appreciate it if you'd keep that kind of filth to yourself.
November 22, 2012 at 1:27 am, Dustin Weida said:
You morons might have a point if unemployment benefits and walefare were given for a lifetime without any requirments or restrictions…they are not. There is a cut off point that conservatives gleefully ignore time and time again. If you honestly think there is a group of people demanding government give them other peoples money for the rest of their lives then you have been brainwashed by your own bullshit…please for the love of god…show me proof that these moochers exists…they do NOT! If they did I would not like them either and would be standing right beside you!…you think I like working 2 shifts everyday if there was literally others out there getting a free ride for their whole damn life? The world you guys are claiming exists, is in your own damn syphilitic brains!
December 06, 2012 at 10:48 am, Jory Kirkendoll said:
"To address long-term welfare dependency, TANF placed a five year lifetime limit on assistance, but allowed states to exempt up to 20 percent of such cases"
So strictly speaking, the opportunity is there for 20 percent to make a career out of welfare
January 05, 2013 at 12:34 am, Missy Boles Rodriguez said:
Dustin, I don't know where you are living, but you thinking there are not people (and a lot of them) living off of government handouts is very naive. I have overheard many people talk about how they are working the system and have been for many years. Half of the apartment complexes in the Tampa area are section 8 and you can only live there if you are under the poverty level or are on government assistance. There is a Massive complex called The Projects where ONLY people on government assistance can live (for free). Anytime you want proof, feel free to come to Tampa and drive down 22nd street. You will get a huge eye opener!
April 29, 2013 at 3:55 am, Frank James Spencer said:
"There is a cut off point that conservatives gleefully ignore time and time again. "
Why do you assume people on here are "conservatives"?
May 02, 2013 at 4:45 am, Wm Tilton said:
This Agency (Tampa Housing Authority) currently administers 3,026 public housing units and 7,935 Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). Tampa's population is roughly 350K so that is about 3%. With a waiting list of over 10,000, most of whom will never get any assistance. Not quite so eye-opening.
November 10, 2012 at 6:55 am, Harrison Jodeit said:
Do you have a job? A car you've earned through your own effort; et cetera? If so they're mine now.
What? Why the fuck should you feel entitled to your shit? If John Galt was evil for being so greedy then the same applies to you. Give me your stuff you whining, entitled douchebag.
Again, I dare you to do any one truly original thing, you disgrace to our species.
November 10, 2012 at 1:37 pm, Kelly Jodeit Barnes said:
Harrison- you need to find more conservative and republican friends who will comment on your posts. lol
November 10, 2012 at 4:09 pm, Harrison Jodeit said:
Story of my life.
April 14, 2013 at 10:57 pm, Michael Bailey said:
BRILLIANT COMMENT……I just wanted to give you a shout out….clear and concise comment on socialism that manages to say more than most books on the subject. Thanks Harrison!
November 10, 2012 at 2:45 pm, Larry Ganschow said:
Now I know the socialist or "Occupy" view point on "Who is John Galt?"
November 10, 2012 at 4:25 pm, Harrison Jodeit said:
And one more thing.
"Do not cry that it is our duty to serve you. We do not recognize such duty. Do not cry that you need us. We do not consider need a claim. Do not cry that you own us. You don’t."
You call that arrogance? You hate him for his unwillingness to be your slave?
That's exactly why you hate Atlas Shrugged so much. It's an accurate depiction of the way the world works, and YOU are the antagonist. The irony of it is that in your hatred of free will you give the most damning evidence against your own dogma- and conversely, the evidence of how right Ayn Rand was.
Succinctly; John Galt is a man who refuses to live as a slave or a slave-driver, and you hate him so because you want to enslave your fellow human beings. The proof is in your own words.
November 10, 2012 at 4:44 pm, Harrison Jodeit said:
"Conservatives who hold Rand and Galt in reverence often talk about the entitlement of the lower classes—but what of the Galt’s entitlement?"
You are unable to make the distinction between earning and stealing. A dollar gained by selling lemonade and a dollar given to you by the government; it's only a dollar to you. You lack any concept of production or individual rights.
"Prometheus thus becomes something more like the open-source movement or hackers, who recognize that humanity benefits from readily available technology instead of ideas and inventions hidden within a phalanx of patents, trade secrets, greed, fear and lawsuits."
"If fire were to be “discovered” now, one of Rand’s heroes would patent, market and sell it as his own creation. “Mine, mine, mine! Wah! You can’t steal fire unless you pay me residuals. Wah! Where’s the government to make sure the plebes aren’t stealing fire from me! Wah, wah, waaaaah!” Lawsuit."
You feel entitled to existing technology; whatever other people have achieved, you feel that they should just give it to you and you resent them for not doing so. Interestingly, you also fail to make the distinction between government actions and private actions.
"Imagine for a moment if Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg—three titans of technology—had become so obsessed with the problems of taxation and social welfare “mooches” and “leeches” that they simply quit."
Exactly! That's the premise of Atlas Shrugged; what if they HAD just quit? And yet you close your statements by saying that if John Galt were to do such a thing there would be no consequences. At one moment you vilify the geniuses who wouldn't just give their work away for all to use, and in the next moment you declare that we don't need them, anyway.
If we don't need them then why can't you handle the idea of their abscence?
"Fuck John Galt and fuck all those jackasses who idolize him. This country and world are filled with captains of industry and technology who go on creating."
Since you cannot understand ownership your property priciples are completely arbitrary; it is for the captains of industry to create and create and it is your right to get their creations for free.
You want slaves. And when the captains of industry go John Galt, I would ask you to remember this.
November 20, 2012 at 11:43 am, Dustin Weida said:
Nothing would happen if that all ran away to private islands…other then the fact they will die of starvation because they have NO ONE TO WORK FOR THEM! I hope they do run away to their floating islands…they can drown and go to hell where all the other greedy pigs go.
November 20, 2012 at 4:02 pm, Harrison Jodeit said:
And you won't have to wait very long.
November 22, 2012 at 1:03 am, Dustin Weida said:
Assuming I own a PC and that PCs are the only type of computers in the world?And if it was not for Alan Turing, Bill Gates would be nothing. All of us stand on the shoulders of those who come befor us no one is a damn island who built it all by themselves…and by the way Bill Gates wants to be taxed more and does not believe in your worthless conservative views. I dont hate rich people…I hate people who become rich by screwing others over and destroying their workers well being and a chance for a livable wage which can help them become better people by allowing them to pay for their medical care or higher education, etc.
If you think Bill Gates built computers all by himself then you are a moron. Did he invent plastic? Glass? Wires? Mathematics? Algebra? Decimal Notation?
November 22, 2012 at 1:09 am, Dustin Weida said:
Apparently conservatives as so stupid…How stupid are they?! Conservatives are so stupid they think Henry Ford worked ever position on the assembly line and was the only employee in his company and even went back in time and created metal working and the wheel as well as killed and buried the dinosaurs! This is the problem with egoistic capitalism…I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF!!! I GET ALL THE MONEY!!! MORE MORE MORE!!!!! FEED ME! FEED ME!!!!!
April 29, 2013 at 3:42 am, Frank James Spencer said:
Dustin Weida
"And if it was not for Alan Turing, Bill Gates would be nothing."
How about,
"And if it was not for Alan Turing and Bill Gates, Dustin Weida would be nothing."
Alan Turing, Bill Gates could have gone to the floating islands you mention in one of your other posts above, as you believe they are easily replaceable. Are Alan Turing and Bill Gates, Dustin Weida replaceable or not? can't have it both ways.
I suspect Alan Turing (even in his current state) and Bill Gates are worth 1000000 times a Dustin Weida, why? glad you asked Dustin Weida, because of the life choices they made.
So Dustin, which way are you going to have it? Anyone can be Alan Turing and Bill Gates? Anyone? Are we all clones with the exception of you Dustin Weida ?
If it was not for Alan Turing, Bill Gates and thousands of others this conversation would not exist. Actually as an electronic engineer myself I know it took the efforts of millions of people of all different types to create this conversation.
We all have a bit of John Galt and Wesley Mouch in all of us regardless of your political beliefs, and that's why Ayn's books are hated by people all across the political spectrum.
John Galt and Wesley Mouch are everywhere from North Korea to Wall Street.
Forget party politics, class and money, Ayn's books are about human nature.
John Galt and Wesley Mouch (the parasite) will always be with us in some form, always have been, the problem is most people don't have the guts and/or are to stupid to see it.
Dustin in your current mindset you are Wesley Mouch, you are green with envy over John Galt, envy based on a deep rooted inferiority complex.Anyhow Dustin it's your choice to embrace and love yourself as an individual you don't have to fuck anyone over in doing so.A good shrink can help you with that, I can't and I won't, sorry to be so selfish.
Who is John Galt?
April 29, 2013 at 3:44 am, Frank James Spencer said:
Dustin Weida
Really? http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/hf/
May 02, 2013 at 6:01 am, Wm Tilton said:
Had Gates run off (hmm, causality – to a private island that he couldn't afford at the time), this conversation would exist. Gates took an operating system developed by Tim Paterson and adapted it for IBM. Any good coder could have done it. It was partially luck, IBM had hired him and Allen to design a BASIC interpreter and asked them if they knew of any operating systems to be had. IBM was originally going to use CP/M, but they couldn't get a deal done with Digital Research. Just because Gates is rich doesn't mean he is invaluable, there are those who would say that he actually ended up holding progress back in the name of corporate profit.
Gates is actually a very poor example for either side in this argument. Unlike Galt, he understood that good workers were important, and many MS employees became very wealthy for their work with MS. Additionally, his relationship was symbiotic with the outside world, he needed them as much as they needed him to make money. So Gates would never have left society, he was all about making as much money as possible, and going to live a hermit's life in a commune with a shiny invention wouldn't have appealed to him (nor to anyone who actually creates).
Of course, in a society that is breaking down, as in AS, you aren't going to be selling many new copies of your new operating system, either. Necessities become the concern in the real world.
November 11, 2012 at 4:38 pm, Otis Sock-Puppet said:
Galt is as he is in the novel because Rand wrote one-handed. Any lust-object seems in the moment utterly irreplaceable; add Great Man notions about progress and there you have him: the irreplaceable man who is the sole font of all good things and so deserves complete control over their use.
November 11, 2012 at 10:22 pm, David Spicer said:
You are obviously the douche, you are so Inept in your understanding of this book. Let me take a stab here; you have a free Obama cell phone, collect welfare, food stamps and you have spent 9 months in NY city protesting Wall St. Yup, that sums it up.
November 20, 2012 at 11:10 am, Dustin Weida said:
If greddy pigs did not hog all the money their workers help them create then there would be no need for free cell phones, progressive taxation, or a welfare state…all of these things are a reaction to the injustices created capitalism. We cannot have an economy of nothing but job creators unless we have slavery again. Untill we can enslave aliens from Beta Centauri capitalist are gona have to pay their damn workers and deal with it.
November 21, 2012 at 6:25 am, Dan Wright said:
You make it sound like those workers had no choice at all in their lives. Short sighted at best. The cool thing about America is that if your job sucks and you don't like it, QUIT and find another job. Go back to school and graduate. Go to college. Find a job that you LIKE or one that pays better. Quit fucking whining about how little you are making and start your own company. I know quite a few people who did exactly that and never once whined like a little bitch.
December 06, 2012 at 10:52 am, Jory Kirkendoll said:
There is already no need for free cell phones. If you can't pay for a F$#@%ing cell phone, dont have a cell phone!!! When I can't afford a part for my car or a repair on my house I don't ask for it for free…. and I don't think anyone is saying we need an economy of nothing but job creators, but I don't believe for a second a CEO should receive equal pay as a cashier employed under him/her
December 12, 2012 at 1:22 am, Oliver McGraw said:
Dustin Weida I can think of two very funny options about your presence on this forum: Either you are 1) The biggest troll that I've ever seen because you sound like you are quoting straight from the antagonists in the text or 2) Ayn Rand had such a phenomenal grasp of your kind that she wrote every word you've said 55+ years ago.
November 12, 2012 at 10:48 pm, Aaron Hildreth said:
And though Rand’s book is more of a thought experiment than anything, her biggest lie—which goes unmentioned in “Atlas Shrugged’s” pages—is that there are always upstart dreamers ready to take the place of the old guard or the Galts of this world, whether they be small business owners or corporate titans.
Exactly this. I am a small business owner and if some 'captain of industry' decided to go Galt, I would welcome the market vacuum with open arms. Go ahead: leave and enjoy this fantasy, because that is all this book was.
November 21, 2012 at 6:17 am, Dan Wright said:
I doubt you have to worry about that anytime soon. If you don't mind me asking, what is stopping you from becoming a captain of industry right now?
November 17, 2012 at 5:03 am, Deric Fogt said:
What a pathetic article.
November 20, 2012 at 10:57 am, Michael Schlachter said:
I just want to thank all the AR fans in here for Completely. Fucking. Failing. to get Obama out of the Whitehouse. Couldn't have done it without ya…
</shrug>
November 20, 2012 at 8:46 pm, Duncan Meech said:
I especially enjoy the fact a duche bag like Paul Ryan who's sole contribution to the world is working his entire life in Government and authoring a collective total of TWO pieces of legislation in 13 yearsr dares to belief that his is some how an carry the world on his shoulders. Sorry Paul, even all those buns of steel videos you work out to don't qualify you.
December 03, 2012 at 2:54 pm, Raish Lakish said:
You are literally the most transparently stupid individual on the internet! That is quite an achievement. Perhaps after your porn marathon in your mothers basement is over, you can hopefully take a shower for the first time in a week and go outside for some fresh air. Who knows you might see a person on their way to a productive activity and finally see what a completely useless sack off shit you are.
December 05, 2012 at 1:45 am, Andrea Beyfuss said:
Socialist asshole..DJ douchebag Pangburn…why don't u move to China…you'd be much better off!
April 29, 2013 at 4:03 am, Frank James Spencer said:
North Korea, is nice this time of year…
December 07, 2012 at 1:08 am, Jon Lawrence said:
Im too tired to deal with you right now…i work for a living.i somehow,try to be helpfull to my kids.and tell them about..the better mouse trap.i liked my last job. But found a better oportunity..i think
December 07, 2012 at 1:25 am, Jon Lawrence said:
I just know you gotta cut wood and carry water if you wanna live.im not as bright as some of my fellow Americans.On here but I know who the real enemy is. I will let my children read your opin, then I will explain to them,why you are so full of shit. To my American friends.this is why they want our guns.it makes them feel safer to twist tr
uths. Truth is we dont need them.to fight cowards.especially cowards from,san fransico….micheal
December 10, 2012 at 10:53 pm, Tammy Wells said:
Damn! Whoever wrote this dissertation is a jackass!
December 26, 2012 at 2:02 am, Lucy Scott Walker said:
Your biggest mistake is thinking that everyone can. In truth, everyone can't. We all have our talents, some more marketable than others. We are not created equal, no matter what the Declaration of Independence says. We need people of vision and they deserve to be compensated for their contributions.
January 20, 2013 at 5:47 pm, Steve Knoblock said:
"somebody else would have" interesting. Not a novel idea, but one that fascinates me.
February 09, 2013 at 1:02 am, Dave Bunker said:
Typical liberal rant. Calm down its a novel
February 14, 2013 at 12:19 am, Elizaveta Ivanova said:
"If Galt were real and he had created the Internet, he never would have given it away for free" – Are you kidding me… Can I has more internets, lol?
February 17, 2013 at 2:06 am, JT Brough said:
It is no surprise that wealth, industry and innovationare floeing the grabbing hand of entitled welfare elitist politicians and tbeir constituents… to put it in terms you'd favor… "bitter much?" Don't swear, it makes you appear uneducated.
February 17, 2013 at 2:09 am, JT Brough said:
Sorry. Annoying phone keypad. *floeing. -are flee
February 22, 2013 at 3:39 am, Jessica Keyne Reddick said:
I believe you are part of the "entitled" society, the denial of your ignorance, turned stupidity into a compliment…
February 22, 2013 at 4:02 am, Jessica Keyne Reddick said:
Ps, I realized you probably wouldn't understand that, and I don't want to leave you hanging, poor, thang…
Zeus IS , stands for, FULL GOVERNMENT POWER; meaning religious aspects as well. Take the "conservatism" b.s. out of your argument, please. Prometheus STANDS FOR FREEDOM. I believe in the Constitution.
February 23, 2013 at 8:16 pm, Ewan Hoozarmy said:
Randroids, randroids, everywhere. If only they could think.
February 26, 2013 at 6:38 pm, David P Redmond said:
no, it's also about hard working small business owners and their employees being taxed to debt so we can fund foreign crooks, and big business who get bailed out with public money and subsidies.
February 28, 2013 at 6:32 am, Christopher Ness said:
Fuck you, leech.
March 11, 2013 at 3:43 pm, Neal Taylor Hornkohl said:
Your skreed proves the point.
March 21, 2013 at 8:47 am, John Burkey said:
Gates called for higher taxes because he knows the latter would be pulled up behind him. He has enough money in other places it won't hurt him. But what will it do for the people trying to get to where he is? It will make it impossible for them to do so.
March 21, 2013 at 9:09 am, John Burkey said:
Sorry gang hates to say it but this is where we are going.
“From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.”
March 21, 2013 at 5:44 pm, Dawn Sindelar said:
The writer of this piece obviously would rather not think for himself, but steal from pthers
March 21, 2013 at 6:05 pm, Dawn Sindelar said:
The writer of this piece is obviously bitter about his lack of achievement as are the sad little characters in "Atlas Shrugged", who plan to steal from those that chose to invent and make better lives for those around them. Oh, and swearing never gets things accomplished!
March 28, 2013 at 4:47 am, Legacy Lagacé said:
You make some valid points, but drawing a connection between the GOP and John Galt (et al) is not one of them. If anything, the pseudo-libertarians in the GOP are more like the James Taggarts and Oren Boyles of the story.
As for the strike Galt led, your critique of it makes good sense in the world of Gates, Jobs, and Page & Brin, but not so much in the fictional and extremely collectivist world that Galt, Reardon and Wyatt lived in – a world in which the real-life visionaries we take for granted might have done the same thing.
To see it in context, you might want to re-read the book, or read it, as the case may be.
March 31, 2013 at 5:31 am, Ohbama Bin Stalin said:
A no-talent blogger just called John Galt a whining entitled douchebag. I'm not sure my brain can take this much irony.
March 31, 2013 at 9:47 pm, Brandon Kim said:
Ayn rand's philosophies are not entirely incorrect, but rather they are an overcorrection. She grew up in a communist state which used the needs of the people as a cover to feed the needs of the few. A world encapsulated in the idea of working for we the people is just as bad as a world encapsulated by the ideal of working for me and mine only. No you shouldn't have to work as a slave to the state, but there is a rather definite line between being a slave to the state and being its master. When we take randian theory too far and embrace her overcorrection from communism we initiate the kind of world we live in today, a world of me me me me. Social welfare even when it is lacking in society will be interpreted as leeches taking from the producers. But social welfare and the public interest is not some devil that destroys the earnings of the elite, it is a neccesary across the board failsafe to ensure that ALL people have access to the same resources that will allow them to become productive members of society even when born into the gutter The"american dream" of being able to work hard and build yourself up isn't possible if the wealthy horde all the resources and wealth then claim that the only reason you aren't wealthy is a lack of work ethic. Poor laborours work difficult jobs and long hours but have a stagnant minimum wage little benefits and poor living conditions, if we consider the idea that hard workers are entitled to success then the job creators" are the enemy of personal growth not the government. We have an incumbency of wealth which paralyzes those on the lower tier and leaves no room for others to seize the fruits of their Own labor, not the parasitic poor trying to demand entitlement to enough money to feed themselves and their families
April 06, 2013 at 3:19 am, Bobby French said:
I think u prove rand was right, it's compensation of this company's that are in question, not obligation. Like most people of your mind-set you to only see your point of view, but how might that change if you had made something? Anything! Who is the real wiener, someone who has something to lose, or someone who takes what is not theirs in the first place!
April 07, 2013 at 6:30 pm, Robert Dudzik said:
The author of this article should realize that vulgarity in writing negates any perceived validity.
April 11, 2013 at 4:20 am, Rick Dennis said:
ignoramus!
April 29, 2013 at 4:07 am, Frank James Spencer said:
"Who is John Galt? A whining, entitled douchebag".
Takes one to know one….
Pot meet kettle….
May 01, 2013 at 9:39 pm, Rex Parker said:
I've never really read an article by someone less informed or more ignorant than the author of this article. The fact is this: Innovation cannot be ordered, legislated or demanded, and therefore neither can one's honest or best labor be conscripted. One has to want to do something for something to get done! No one owes labor or genius to anyone. People do a good job they want to do the best they can because they are motivated by love or crisis (because it is personally empowering, because it is joyful and feels good, or because it feels better than doing nothing, or doing less). If more people would follow this paradigm of finding out what they are passionate about, what drives them to get up in the morning and to be always moving forward solving problems and creating a new and better way, the problems of this world would be solved because there would be enough passionate men and women to solve them! As one example I suggest the author of this web page watch the movie Lorenzo's Oil and then come back here and see if his argument isn't now an embarrassment to him. -Rex Parker drsavant2000@yahoo.com.
May 02, 2013 at 6:30 am, Wm Tilton said:
From the New York Times, Feb. 1993 (Lorenzo's Oil: A Movie Outruns Science) – 'Some parents who used the oil say they were bitterly disappointed with the treatment and angry that the movie depicted it as a cure.
Cathy Barton of Milford, Conn., gave the oil to her son, to no effect. "It's not a cure," she said. "That's all there is to it." '
'The oil, Dr. Moser concluded, "did not make any difference." '
May 03, 2013 at 3:47 am, Rex Parker said:
Maybe the oil doesn't work for everyone! But that's not really the point is it? Does it work for anyone? Is the story true? Did that father exceed his own limitations because he wanted to save his son? Did the family rally around Lorenzo and did they push forward medical science?
May 03, 2013 at 3:57 am, Rex Parker said:
I think the point is whether a person's labor, intellect, abilities can actually be conscripted? If a person is forced to perform against his will does he (can he?) perform at his peak? The movie draws out the point that one's ability, one's intellect, labor and genius is not owed to anyone! If Steven Jobs and Bill Gates were being manipulated like the characters in Atlas Shrugged I think they would have found another country in which to play their game because that's what desire and determination forces one to do!