Is Atlas Shrugged Worth Reading?
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
- You guys really wanted a full review for this book, so here it is, despite me feeling super underqualified to talk about Ayn Rand's philosophy. What are your thoughts on Atlas Shrugged and Objectivism?
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Outro song by Future James:
• Dotan Negrin & Prismat...
0:00 Intro + Disclaimer
1:03 What is Atlas Shrugged about?
2:45 Introducing the Capitalists
5:08 Jumping to the ending... (spoilers)
7:50 Who is John Galt? Philosophy and Atlas Shrugged
12:46 Is Atlas Shrugged Worth reading?
Fun fact: I read this about 12 years ago, and enjoyed and agreed with most of her ideas. That fall I took a Philosophy course, and got my worst grade ever on a paper because I chose to write about Ayn Rand and the professor vehemently disagreed with her philosophies. He's probably long forgotten about me, but I'll never forget him and how his own biased opinion dictated how he graded things. I didn't make the same mistake on future assignments and ended up doing okay in the course...
Gosh, I hate teachers like that. I mean, it's fine that he didn't like Ayn Rand's philosophy, but he should still grade his students by the quality of their work and not whether he agrees with them!
lol!
That's liberal "teachers" for you. They absolutely despise her with a vengeance
Beautiful, nouance. Thanks for the honesty
I absolutely love your objective, and balanced approach to both extremes of the political systems in question. I had to dig a lot to find your channel (searching for atlas shrugged reviews), but you have a new sub for sure. Listening to you actually gives me some comfort, we're not all crazy (those being balanced and not extreme).
Couldn't agree more. I was reading this book in which one of the characters deals with the effects of being raped and while yes, i understood her viewpoint, it just felt preachy and too extreme, the golden spot is right in the middle between rape and bodily autonomy.
Hi Anne, I like how you breakdown your reviews. Also, awesome vintage vibes with your hair and cute sweater 🙌
Thank you! I really love having a bit shorter hair!
I skipped the middle of this video and I will keep this on my tbr pile and may make this a mammoth read one year. Thanks for the thoughts!
I hope you enjoy it if you read it! It certainly is an interesting read.
@@AnneEWilliamson I feel confident I will someday!
We're proud of you for finishing this one 😂
Oh good! I am glad you did end up doing a review of this one. Though I do not agree with her ideas at all (and agree, extremes on both sides end in places no one should want to be in), I rarely hear people actually reading her. It is strange, because I typically agree with those who criticize her, but those same people will say they never read her. Haha. But, it is good to read the side you disagree with, it will strengthen your own beliefs. 😊
That's true. I feel like so many people talk about her philosophy without actually having read her books, so I'm glad I was finally able to read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead!
A good summary and review, addressing the most important issues of the book and explaining in a meaningful way the extreme position and views that Ayn Rand presents in this book.
It's not surprising that such an extreme approach and idealization of capitalism appeals to modern "business bros".
I think part of what Ayn Rand was saying was, you must trust your own mind and perceptions. Our rational mind is our only guide towards reality. It is wrong to let other people coerce you into what to think or what to believe. That Objective Reality exists. This is why she hated the philosophy of Immanuel Kant so much; Kant said that what you see was _phenomena_ and wasn't real, but was a shadow of _noumena,_ or true reality that we cannot have direct knowledge of.
True. She very much mentions characters like Dagny and Hank being guided by logic and reason, as opposed to emotion and lust for money as other characters like Dagny's brother Jim, who always tries to please everyone with the result of pleasing no one. And in that sense, I think she made a good point. Similarly, in The Fountainhead, she talks of how characters like Rourke don't let themselves be guided by mob mentality, but by their own judgement, with I think is so important.
About to hit Play. Thank you. And/or, I'm sorry. :)
Ha, both are applicable. And thank you for watching!
Just one comment Anne, Stalin's USSR was never a socialist state, it went straight to communism - with tragic results.
The closest we've seen to socialism are Scandinavian states that later adopted Social Democracy or Democratic Socialism.
Nazis called their party "National Socialism." The Soviet Union literarily is called "The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic." So yes, socialism has been tried. Now, you can argue that the ideal of socialism has never succeeded or been satisfactorily accomplished, but you cannot argue that Russia wasn't a socialist state.
You are right about that Anna yes, I guss I'm alluding to the evolution of the word and it's variety of applications in current times.
The problem is that forced Socialism is unjust and Socialism has gone way too far. Most people pay astronomical tax rates of 30, 40, 50+ percent which is absolutely insane. They also get robbed via "inflation tax". 50% tax is basically 50% slavery as half of the fruits of your labor is taken by force. I do believe there needs to be some some governance in communities but absolutely nothing like we have anywhere today. @@AnneEWilliamson
11:00
"Ayn Rand doesn't seem to understand humanity. And I think that is the lacking part of Atlas Shrugged, is she creates these characters that are very much her philosophy as opposed to real people."
Yes! I can't tell you how many times I wanted to scream, "Real people don't talk this way. Real people don't act this way." I mean, the speechifying! How long did the JG speech last? An entire chapter? It just went on and on and on. It felt like it would never end. WE GET IT, ALREADY!
I'm not sure if I said this in a different comment, but she did change my view of cities. I grew up in Chicago but was enamored of The Country. I blame it on too much Little House On the Prairie, both the books and TV show. Obviously, that's all romanticized. It was a brutal life. I wouldn't last a week. I didn't know that as a child. I thought it was all Pa fiddling by the fire and eating sugar snow. I hated the city. Rand made me see cities as the amazing things that they are. People with skills took raw earth and somehow built roads, electrical grids, plumbing systems, buildings, yes, railroads - everything! - so that people could live more comfortably. Set me in a field and again, I would die in a few days. I think of that to this day, especially when I ride the train and see our skyline. For that, I do thank her.
Thanks for this. It brought back memories. I can't recall another book that I have hated and yet loved in about equal measure. I may torment myself by reading it again someday. Maybe. The thing is, the setup is pretty cool, as are some of the characters. Like you, I just wish they had been more better developed instead of being (mostly) cardboard cutouts to spout her speeches. This is one instance where I'd be open to some sort of remake/rewrite/reboot.
I'm no expert in Rand either. But it seems she couldn't make up her mind whether she wanted to write a novel or a political treatise. She tried to do both here and it shows. If she'd gone with novel and been way less heavy handed, it could have been different. At least it seems to anger both sides - those that wanted a novel and those that wanted a political treatise. That's some skillz, for sure. :)
Yes! John Galt's speech at the end was like 100 pages! I mean, like really? Way too much! And while I like both country and city for different reasons (I grew up in the country, and now live in the city), I think there is a romanticization of the country without understanding how wonderful the city is. And I agree that Rand tried to create both a novel and a political/philosophical work without really blending the two. Thank you for your wonderful comment!
As someone who was damaged by being raised in a cult, getting my hands on Atlas Shrugged helped me find a foundation for deconstructing from their ideology. No, the writing isn't compelling, the middle ground is non-existent, all the characters are one dimensional and in singular purpose. However, I think the lack of complexity helped me find a more solid foundation to connect with reality in a way that removed intention from the equation and highlighted effects. It kind of served as a factory reset for my sense of self and direction.
Rand never intended for the book to be published, writing it was more of a coping mechanism for herself to try and make sense of the world as she had experienced it. It was her husband who really took the lead in having it published. While the basics of objectivism are pretty useful for someone who had programming that skewed the perception of reality, for those who had their critical thinking skills nurtured in their upbringing, It may not be anything profound.