Atlas Shrugged: A Novel by Ayn Rand on the Subject of self-interest
My Pennsylvania friend, Wayne Rehrer, told me of a 1991 report of the US Library o
f Congress. The report said that Atlas Shrugged (1957) is second only to the Bible in the influence it has had on readers' lives. (click) This view of Rand became the groundwork for her nonfictional writings on The Virtue of Selfishness (1965) and Objectivist Epistemology (1967).
Atlas Shrugged expresses Rand's view that individuals have the right to live entirely for their own interest. Fans applaud her belief that private success leads to the betterment of society and that individuals should strive for excellence. One fan is Alan Greenspan, former US Federal Reserve chairman. Some people viewed her economic and political views as selfish, immoral and greedy. Fans applaud her belief that private success leads to the betterment of society and that individuals should strive for excellence.
To live entirely for one’s own interest in a Union (nation) of people is not a rational thought. It is irrational because a Union of people require common goods, which increase naturally as populations increase and as futures come to us. To live without common goods such as, reservoirs, sewage systems, highways, bridges, ... etc., is not even possible. I believe that all religions teach that every human has personal and social responsibilities to God. This religious teaching is not irrational. Rand did not recognize these common goods because she never believed in God.
It is hard for me to understand that Atlas Shrugged was second only to the Bible. If one reads my book and my website blogs, Rand’s work will be rejected. If Rand would have read the New Testament, she would have learned that Jesus Christ teaches ‘know thyself’ rather than self-interest. He teaches know thyself because God’s act to create things-in-themselves out of nothing causes God to give a different purpose to every created thing-in-itself. Accordingly, when people begin to know themselves, they are able to produce many more and different degrees of excellence than self-interest can produce. So, self-interest actually impedes man’s progress.
Self-interest, which is an expression of the activities of people in a laissez-faire capitalism, is a man-made concept promoted only by tyrants and greedy rulers.
f Congress. The report said that Atlas Shrugged (1957) is second only to the Bible in the influence it has had on readers' lives. (click) This view of Rand became the groundwork for her nonfictional writings on The Virtue of Selfishness (1965) and Objectivist Epistemology (1967).Atlas Shrugged expresses Rand's view that individuals have the right to live entirely for their own interest. Fans applaud her belief that private success leads to the betterment of society and that individuals should strive for excellence. One fan is Alan Greenspan, former US Federal Reserve chairman. Some people viewed her economic and political views as selfish, immoral and greedy. Fans applaud her belief that private success leads to the betterment of society and that individuals should strive for excellence.
To live entirely for one’s own interest in a Union (nation) of people is not a rational thought. It is irrational because a Union of people require common goods, which increase naturally as populations increase and as futures come to us. To live without common goods such as, reservoirs, sewage systems, highways, bridges, ... etc., is not even possible. I believe that all religions teach that every human has personal and social responsibilities to God. This religious teaching is not irrational. Rand did not recognize these common goods because she never believed in God.
It is hard for me to understand that Atlas Shrugged was second only to the Bible. If one reads my book and my website blogs, Rand’s work will be rejected. If Rand would have read the New Testament, she would have learned that Jesus Christ teaches ‘know thyself’ rather than self-interest. He teaches know thyself because God’s act to create things-in-themselves out of nothing causes God to give a different purpose to every created thing-in-itself. Accordingly, when people begin to know themselves, they are able to produce many more and different degrees of excellence than self-interest can produce. So, self-interest actually impedes man’s progress.
Self-interest, which is an expression of the activities of people in a laissez-faire capitalism, is a man-made concept promoted only by tyrants and greedy rulers.
posted by George Shollenberger @ 3:11 PM
12 Comments:
At 8:46 AM,
Anonymous said…
Learn some English, you arrogant ignoramus. Go back to kindergarten.
To shrud is not even an English verb. The title of Ayn Rand's famous book is Atlas Shrugged, not Atlas Shrudded.
At 11:42 AM,
George Shollenberger said…
Response to cynthia mayer rand,
I allowed this comment to be posted so that other readers can see how a depressed atheist treats believers in God.
I conclude that you never made a typo error. But, thanks for telling me about mine.
Unfortunately, I don't have an editor and am going blind. So, I do the best I can. However, in scientific discussion, being close is close enough. 'Getting the idea', not a linguistic game, is the key to progress. My pic was there.
But, I continue to conclude that your ugly English language, which is diluting your mind with negatives, is confusing your life increasingly.
At 2:37 PM,
Anonymous said…
First of all, I am not an atheist. I wonder how you got that idea. I work with a anabaptist organization that helps Amish girls who have been sexually abused by their male relatives.
Second: typo error? I'd believe you if you had misspelled the word once, but you wrote Atlas Shrudded about a dozen times. So stop telling lies, it's bad form.
At 5:20 PM,
George Shollenberger said…
response to cynthia mayer rand,
I got the idea the way you talk. Yout said that I should go back to kindergarden. This is a typical statement of an atheist who is dialoging with a believer. Atheists don't develop truths. Instead they try to assassinate the character of a person.
Thanks go to you from me for your work with Amish women. I hope you are introducing them to my book and website teaching.
I don't hope that you ever become a diabetic. One side effect is the inabilit to errors such as you identified. My wife helps me but can't on book titles.
You found an typographical error. Can't you merely call it that? My errors do not mean that you should assassinate my character? Look at my ideas, not my writing.
At 7:04 PM,
George Shollenberger said…
second response to cynthia mayer rand,
I mispelled Shrurred twice not a dozen of times. Who is telling lies?
George
At 5:05 AM,
Anonymous said…
"I mispelled Shrurred twice not a dozen of times."
Haha! You even manage to misspell the word 'misspelled' (it's written with double s). And then you go on to write 'Shrurred' instead of 'Shrudded', which are both wrong.
I guess that is what the lack of formal education and, more importantly, self-knowledge leads to.
At 10:00 AM,
George Shollenberger said…
response to cynthia mayer rand,
Beyond acting as my spell chenk machine, now you reduce the importance of self knowledge. Your formal education must have focused mostly on spelling and never taught self knowledge to you. When Google adds spell check to 'comments,' you will have little to add to man's development of self knowledge.
Your ignorance of the importance of self knowledge shows me that you might be an atheist and a follower of Ayn Rand's atheism.
When are you going to challenge the contents of a discussion? If you ever challenge contents, you will learn the real truths about a formal education and the ugly English language.
At 12:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
"Beyond acting as my spell chenk machine, now you reduce the importance of self knowledge."
You misinterpret my words. I was merely pointing out that your lack of self knowledge and especially your lack of formal education make you write intellectually embarrassing things.
Because of their very ignorance many people like you don't realize how ignorant they are. But some ignorant people at least have the self knowledge to live a life of modest admiration for people like me (PhD's), who are intellectually superior.
I invite you to do likewise: be silent and worship people with a higher education.
At 2:48 PM,
George Shollenberger said…
response to cynthia mayer rand,
I have a BS in engineering from Johns Hopinks University. With a BS, in industry, I taught PhD's y who became out-dated because they did not maintain their studies.
After getting a BS degree, I shifted to self study because I was aware of the massive change that was taking place in the world. I was never out-dated and retired with many respecting friends. Today, I am 78 year old and am still going forward intellectually. I will not worship any higher educational institution today until it changes the junk it teaches.
As a PhD today, you have already become out-dated. Your degree is a fake in a failing nation. Like many other intellectuals, you are unaware of this fact. I am challenging all sciences and all intellectuals. Wake up to the absence of truths in our world.
At 4:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
"When I demonstrated that all finite things are caused by an infinite thing, all atheists immediately rejected my book in which I proof that God causes all finite things. By rejecting my proof of God atheists are thus denying the scientific method of proof!!!!"
Oh come on, you pathetic little liar. You know full well that each and every critic of your book clearly explained to you that it doesn't contain a proof, let alone a scientific proof. Instead of being grateful to these egregious PhD's, who dedicated part of their precious time to converse with you, a plain and ordinary BS (even my butler received a better education than you did), you try to assassinate their character.
False accusations are forbidden under US law. You'd better be careful if you don't want to spend the last years of your life in prison.
At 6:27 PM,
George Shollenberger said…
response to cynthia mayer rand,
The liars are those who say that my proof of God is false without proving that my proof is false. No atheist has proven that my proof is scientifically fasla. Saying that a proof is false is only an opinion. Further, counting votes of atheistic opinions does not work in the true sciences that I work.
Again, I worshipo God. I do not worship any human.
At 8:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
Well... that's interessting but frankly i have a hard time determining it... wonder what others have to say..
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