[ExI] Atlas Shrugged

[Darin Sunley]

The book is unashamed and unabashed literal propaganda for a very specific
political philosophy. The characters in the book that endorse and embody
the philosophy are literal demigods of virtue, strength, and morality
(within the framework of the philosophy) and those in opposition are, at
best, pathetic, confused and compromised, or (more commonly) outright
mustache-twirling pastiches of pure evil.

This isn't necessarily a criticism of the book's artistic merit, let alone
of the underlying philosophy, but it's a fair warning of the literary genre
the author was writing in.

By way of example, in about the center of the novel, one of the main
characters delivers, in a monologue, what can only be called a manifesto of
the political philosophy. At this point the author abandons any pretense of
this being a novel in any conventional sense. The entire section abandons
any pretense of moving the plot forward and lasts for more than 50 pages in
the paperback edition. You'll recognize it when you see it.

On Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 12:04 PM Hermes Trismegistus via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> I have heard mention of Ayn Rand’s works, particularly Atlas Shrugged, on
> this list and other places. I have not read it myself, but am interested in
> your all’s thoughts on the book. The book seems to be very polarizing, with
> some loathing it and others praising it. I come mostly from a libertarian
> perspective and am curious as to the potential pitfalls of the book and
> what may be learned by reading it.
>
>
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