Atlas Shrugged and Rand's Objectivism
Uploaded by AtillaThaHun on Jun 19, 2005
...... and the world tumbled down !!!!
"Atlas Shrugged" is an interesting tale, almost with a fable-like quality in its use of metaphors. What many young readers mistakenly identify as their ideals from this magnanimous work are 'arrogance', 'contempt for the Others', and an almost narcissist tendency of self worship. I remember my friend telling me an amusing anecdote -- A friend of his was reading "The Fountainhead" in a busy restaurant in India. An old man walked up to him and said - 'Don't read this book. It will make you behave rudely towards people'. Just one incident which underscores the rift between the 'believers' and 'non-believers' of Objectivism.
As an admirer of Miss Rand's works, it was (fortunately, some of my fellow reviewers would say) quite late, in my late 20's that I first read her works. And though I confess that in my earlier days, I did display some fiesty temperament towards religion, government and the 'mob' as such, it is only NOW after reading A.S. that I can fully comprehend my mental state in those tumutous years of youth. Unlike the majority of Ayn Rand followers, I firmly believe that the correct age for reading this book is not the teens, but the 20-30 age group when you can allow your personal experiences to "filter" the philosophic thought from the emulsion of "drama" ( as an aside -- I quite agree that her novels are quite 'dramatic' than 'melodramatic' ). In the hands of the inexperienced youth, the tools of Objectivism lend themselves easily to fanaticism -- a trait very commonly observed on the reviews for this book too !! Being a believer and a fanatic are two very different states of consciousness. Please learn to differentiate using your rational thinking.
Though I do not agree with all aspects of her novels - for e.g. her potrayal of women who always 'look up' to the ideal man to save them -- I whole heartedly agree with the axiom -- "A is A". That "existence" is a fundamental property of the Universe, and that man is only aware of it through his faculties of cognition - his rationale.
That A.S. has proved to be a very influential book on the lives of millions of people, and that it still sells in thousands every year --- is my one and only argument against those who raise the issue...