The Russian thinker Ayn Rand continues to amuse and intrigue me. Her mind boggling influence fascinates me. If you scan daily journals, you would have undoubtedly come across critics and reporters connecting Rand’s theories with recent financial downturn.
Going Galt Tea Party
Some interesting excerpts-
“Just this weekend,” said Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) on Wednesday in an interview with TWI, “I had a guy come up to me in my district and tell me that he was losing his interest in the business he’d run for years because the president wanted to punish him for his success. I think people are reading ‘Atlas Shrugged’ again because they’re trying to understand what happens to people of accomplishment, and people of talent and energy, when a government turns against them. That’s what appears to be happening right now.”
Smith, who’s still mulling over ways that she can “go Galt,” sees a possibility for a moral stand. During the Iraq War, she read about a painter who’d painted less, reducing his income, in order to dodge taxes and thereby make sure he didn’t fund the war. “I’d go John Galt just to not pay for programs I don’t believe in,” said Smith. “If we’re opposed to socialistic concepts — if we know they don’t work — why should we pay to support them?” – WashingtonIndependent
Mar 27 tea party in Hartford, CT
On July 30, conservatives are ‘going Galt,’ named after Ayn Rand’s famous character John Galt from her novel Atlas Shrugged, and thus refuse to show up for work. They plan to ‘call in conservative.’
Eric Etheridge provides a nice sum up on NYTimes blog – ‘Going Galt’: Everyone’s Doing It!
Michelle Malkin – While they take to the streets politically, untold numbers of America’s wealth producers are going on strike financially. Dr. Helen Smith, a Tennessee forensic psychologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall.
I don’t know how effective this strike will be since I did not hear much of it before but sounds darned romanticist to me. Barack Obama is a populist President and even though hard core capitalists had criticized him continuously during the elections, his thumping victory shows common man’s faith in him. So, to say that the dissent is very widespread would be misleading. However, a deeper investigation may rake out some practical facts and if Govt. gives it any significant reaction, one might take it more seriously. As of now, it looks like a Republican propaganda to me.
Coming back to Ayn Rand, she is a captivating personality. Frankly, I love Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead. Neither a great piece of literature nor a complete work of philosophy, the only reason it seems they have been so influential is Rand’s ideology even though incompletely formulated and reasoned. The way Atlas Shrugged gives basis to our innermost thoughts and ambitions has struck a chord with youth and entrepreneurial minds. One can’t argue against the way she has swept over generations past generations but to what extent her theories can be applied in practice remains the ultimate question.
“She wasn’t a nice person, ” said Darla Moore, vice president of the private investment firm Rainwater Inc. “But what a gift she’s given us.” – Harriet Rubin, NYTimes
2 Comments
Had seen this a couple of months back..
Check this out..
http://www.goingjohngalt.org/blog/why-going-john-galt/
I read Atlas every year. I warned clients in newsletters that the book was coming to life with Obama.
my dream is that those who can afford to “go galt” will go on sabattical for a year. All it would take is for half those in the top 1% to cut their income by 50% (or more) and I could see every government program go under, and might even have politicians begging those “galters” to please return and start spending money and providing jobs.
Of course, a large part is already happening. Our economy depends not just on income taxes, but on sales taxes. Sales taxes depend on spending.
I know that other than food, insurance, and mortgage, I have basically quit spending – and most of what I spend money on now is not subject to sales tax.
Florida is strongly dependent on sales taxes, particularly as property values decline 30-50% from 2005 peak. If FL is any indication, I”m not the only one downsizing their spending.
Don’t you just love it