Atlas Shrugged Week 10: Ch 9 & 10

[Primeperiwinkle]

Atlas Shrugged Week 10: Part II Ch 9 & 10

Everything we thought has been verified!!!!!
I. Don’t. Have. Time. To. Discuss.
I am reading on!!!!

Discuss whatever. Rofl.

 

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[BizyDad]

Ok. Discuss anything? Well...

First, poor Eddie. Love that dude.

Second, these chapters sure had a lot of cigarette imagery. What's up with that?

Third, happy New Year everybody.

Fourth, where do we go from here? I for one was super disappointed when we actually meet the wizard in Oz. I hope this isn't the same...

Fifth, @Kak your idea for a perfect government needs some work. I didn't want to pick up the debate earlier, but we're 2/3 of the way through this bad boy now.

Mostly I don't agree with the assertion of what would happen if governments would compete for the "best of us". I think like anything else, money/force/power/influence would conspire to corrupt and to bring it down.

How do you stop that? How does one deal with the problem of evil in this idyllic society of yours? Or any society?

To be fair, you once asked me my ideal for government. In the short term, with the right leader, I think a benevolent dictatorship has shown to be quite effective. That's a lot of qualifiers. And that is usually only good for a generation or two. So perhaps some version of what the Roman republic concocted. But that sadly only gets a couple few more generations.

I still don't have good answers. I've spent a lot of time pondering how a society without an agreed upon moral code can possibly deal with "the problem of evil". I don't have answers, which isn't a surprise since better men than I have pondered this question since time immemorial. At least in your ideal society, many would likely share similar moral values. That solves a lot of issues.

Sixth, considering the days events and the themes of this book, I wanted to share this image here.



Using money as a medium is exchange is one thing. It likely is necessary to the functioning of a great society. But this book tries to establish it somehow as a store of moral value as well.

I've read threads on this forum where it sounds like people believe much the same. I feel like MJ's books contribute to this belief, I suspect unintentionally, in the sense that the more money, the more freedom, the more utility one has for your life.

In a world where morality based on the freedom of the individual, this works for those for whom it works. One of the problems I see with this is that this group of people who believe in this morality then equate the worth of a man with the size of his bank account. They might believe you should only listen to those who have made more $$ than you, for example.

Ok, I'm on a bit of a rant now, and I don't want to continue, but these thoughts have been bouncing around my head for weeks as we read these chapters. I wanted to commit this much to print and listen to some feedback.

(Back to point 5 really quickly... And that is the issue I have with governments "competing". Eventually, the "best" government(s) would have high real estate values, so only the rich could afford to live there. So "best" is again equated with money. I don't think that's how one actually builds the best society...)

I miss the days when our leaders would stand up and remind us of the things that also matter, and moreso. Eisenhower wasn't anti capitalism or anti money. Yet he understood that society is much more than dollar signs.

Lastly, point 7. One thing this book does well is show the nobility of work. Of taking pride in your day's endeavors. Of earning your money, whether you're walking the rails or running the show. I do enjoy that part of it.

Anyways, these are my thoughts for this week...