I’ve been thinking about this throughout the day, and I have
to say that although many books have had a huge impact on me, the one that
sticks out the most is ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand. Rand is an author who
immigrated to the USA after the Russian revolution. She was staunchly
anti-communism and in her writings created a philosophy called objectivism. This
philosophy was dabbled into in her earlier works, but fully realised in ‘Atlas
Shrugged’. You can read about the philosophy a bit more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand).
The basics idea is: ‘that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit
of one's own happiness (rational self-interest), that the only social system
consistent with this morality is one that displays full respect for individual
rights embodied in laissez-faire capitalism, and that the role of art in human
life is to transform humans' metaphysical ideas by selective reproduction of
reality into a physical form—a work of art—that one can comprehend and to which
one can respond emotionally.’ (Wikipedia)
Atlas Shrugged is like a sonnet towards capitalism and a
demonization of all social systems that allow people to lazily mooch off of the
talents, hard work, and energy of the movers and shakers in our world. It is
100% anti-any sort of social programmes or any society that breeds leeches on
the system through that society’s own neglect of the true reason the world
keeps turning: the people who hold it up, the creators and maintainers of industry.
You can then understand why certain political parties quite
like the idea. But this book is an amazing example of extremes as well, the extreme
of going too far ‘right’ in your point of view; and how a real-life situation
(communism in the USSR) can affect the mindset of a person.
The way the story is told, unfolding over 1100 pages of
intertwining character stories, past and future, leaves the reader feeling completely
in awe of the philosophy Rand created, and really understanding not only where
she’s coming from, but why it’s a good idea as well. You feel a deep kinship
for the main characters, crying over their pains and revelling in their
triumphs. You begin to feel nauseated at the evils done to them in the name of
communism or socialism. When you finish this book, you are emotionally drained,
and unsure about how the future of our society is going to pan out. At least
that is what the book did to me. And I have read this book four times.
Every time I read it, a few days after finishing it I start
to realise again that objectivism just isn’t possible, that the world cannot
work in the fashion Rand imagines, but MAN, does she know how to create a case
for a pure capitalist world where every person must contribute to the society. She
weaves an incredible tale, in which any idea you ever had about who is the ‘good
guy’ and who is the ‘bad guy’ in our world gets turned onto its head. Overall, I think this book really helps you realise that moderation, politically, socially and economically, is the best way forward. You don’t
have to agree with her, but you can’t deny that this book really is a work of
art-her own objectivist art, selectively reproduced into physical form.
If you’re ever up for a challenge, I highly suggest reading
this book. This is one of those books that by keeping an open mind when you
read it, you can see where your own sentiments fall, and learn to understand
yourself and what has helped to shape who you are a little bit better.
Kim x
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