the wages of 2g2d: ayn rand charts

[Van Cruncheon]

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13185404&fsrc=rss

Originally Posted by The Economist
BOOKS do not sell themselves: that is what films are for. “The Reader”, the book that inspired the Oscar-winning film, has shot up the bestseller lists. Another recent publishing success, however, has had more help from Washington, DC, than Hollywood. That book is Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”.

Reviled in some circles and mocked in others, Rand’s 1957 novel of embattled capitalism is a favourite of libertarians and college students. Lately, though, its appeal has been growing. According to data from TitleZ, a firm that tracks bestseller rankings on Amazon, an online retailer, the book’s 30-day average Amazon rank was 127 on February 21st, well above its average over the past two years of 542. On January 13th the book’s ranking was 33, briefly besting President Barack Obama’s popular tome, “The Audacity of Hope”.

:'(

well, i suppose it's good that teenagers are reading again

...

...


buuuut it's all worth it just for this quote from the kung fu monkey (http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html):

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

[Human Snorenado]

What about other schools of thought on Atlas Shrugged, where it is both mocked AND reviled?

[Eric P]

i could have sworn this was posted here previously

[border]

Which one is better to read - Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead?

[Van Cruncheon]

"better"

lol

(the fountainhead)

[Eric P]

fountainhead

[Kara]

We the Living.

[etiolate]

I'm wading through The Fountainhead right now.

Roark doesn't seem anything like the capitalistic hero I'd imagine. How does Rand turn from him to capitalism?

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

He was made into a hero because he stuck to his principles instead of what society dictated.  That and his tendency of raping women and setting buildings on fire.

As for the burst of Rand popularity: it is a lot of suburban teenagers who have grown up with entitlement complexes.  They were always special and grew up to be thick narcissists.  The thought of having to work together with their fellow man frightens them so they run to Rand.

[FlameOfCallandor]

I have a confession

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm having trouble getting through the part where Dagny crash lands in Galt's Gulch, around page 800. The book has some pretty amazing parts but this particular section is kind of boring.

[close]

[FlameOfCallandor]

I'm wading through The Fountainhead right now.

Roark doesn't seem anything like the capitalistic hero I'd imagine. How does Rand turn from him to capitalism?

I love the Fountainhead.

Ayn Rand was a champion for individualism and Howard Roark is her ideal individualist.

[Human Snorenado]

[recursivelyenumerable]

I read Fountainhead, Anthem, some of Rand's polemical tracts and skimmed Atlas Shrugged when I was ... 15? 16? and I can say it did change my outlook on life in a way, in that it sort of forced me to think through why I didn't agree with her philosophy.  I also admire, and have been somewhat influenced by, Rand's forceful and effective nonfiction prose style.

I have to admit to a fascination with libertarianism in general.  I've never really bought into it, but intellectually it's always held a curious attraction for me.  As has communism, actually.

[FlameOfCallandor]

I also admire, and have been somewhat influenced by, Rand's forceful and effective nonfiction prose style.

Even if you dont agree with her, it's hard to argue that she wasnt a smart person.

[Kara]

I have a confession

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm having trouble getting through the part where Dagny crash lands in Galt's Gulch, around page 800. The book has some pretty amazing parts but this particular section is kind of boring.

[close]

Really? That was a relief from much of the boredom for me since the John Galt mystery was mainly resolved by it.

[Van Cruncheon]

I also admire, and have been somewhat influenced by, Rand's forceful and effective nonfiction prose style.

Even if you dont agree with her, it's hard to argue that she wasnt a smart person.

she was a philosophical infant. i would be fine with her "being smart" if she wrote in areas that demonstrated that intelligence.

[recursivelyenumerable]

Yeah, I have a hard time taking property fetishism seriously, though for me that rests on basically aesthetic grounds.

[Van Cruncheon]

as a person much smarter than me on qt3 said: "rand doesn't have a philosophy. she has justifications."

[Flannel Boy]

as a person much smarter than me on qt3 said: "rand doesn't have a philosophy. she has justifications."

The word rationalizations has a more appropriate undertone to what he's trying to say. All philosophers, even Hegel, try to justify their beliefs.

[Eric P]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AtlasShrugged

[Dickie Dee]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AtlasShrugged

The famous Dorothy Parker quote, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force," is in reference to Atlas Shrugged.

Total ether. Actually, up until 2G3D, I always assumed that it was a novel to be tossed lightly aside, I was pretty shocked that there were people that actually took it's cartoonish philosophy seriously.

[Barry Egan]

as a person much smarter than me on qt3 said: "rand doesn't have a philosophy. she has justifications."

The word rationalizations has a more appropriate undertone to what he's trying to say. All philosophers, even Hegel, try to justify their beliefs.

"Even Hegel".  smh.

[recursivelyenumerable]

The Dorothy Parker and Atlas Shrugged story does not appear to be true.