[ExI] Atlas Shrugged

spike at rainier66.com spike at rainier66.com
Thu Apr 28 19:13:46 UTC 2022


 

 

 

On Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 11:25 AM Darin Sunley via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org <mailto:extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> > wrote:

>… 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.

 

 

 

Sure but that almost makes it sound like it is a bad thing.

 

Atlas was published several years before the first traces of nuance were introduced in comic book super-heroes.  Note that nuance is not found in Superman or Lex Luthor.  It was just simple good guys and bad guys back then.  In the 60s, Spiderman at least had early traces of nuance, where Peter Parker was subject to lust, temptation to make money, certainly heartbreak etc.  Pete was human.  Most of us could relate: we had a Mary Jane Watson somewhere in our lives.  His power came from technology (and doesn’t ours?)    Spiderman’s super-hero predecessors, including John Galt, didn’t have much humanity showing.

 

I like Ilsa’s analogy for Atlas Shrugged: libertarian porn.  Hey it worked on me: I sure get turned on.  I could forget the goofy story, go straight to the 50 pages of libertarian manifesto, they way we did in the olden days with Peyton Place if we could find a copy in the library where some kind soul had marked the sexy parts.   Peyton Place isn’t as sexy as what is available today, but it was all we had back then.

 

spike

 

 

 

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of ilsa via extropy-chat
Sent: Thursday, 28 April, 2022 11:32 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Cc: ilsa <ilsa.bartlett at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [ExI] Atlas Shrugged

 

I read the book twice in my life. Once as young adult in my early twenties and again about 20 years later which was not as much fun. My take is that it's really pornography it's so sexy really sexy way to be authoritarian 

Smile, ilsa

 

On Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 11:25 AM Darin Sunley via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org <mailto:extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> > wrote:

… 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 <mailto: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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