Who is John Galt?

"If you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with he last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders--what would you tell him to do?"

"I...don't know. What...could he do? What would you tell him?"

"To shrug."


If you haven't read Atlas Shrugged yet, please put it on your list. NOW. Don't wait, and certainly, don't be intimidated by the number of pages. I read somewhere that it is one of the longest works of fiction in the English language, but once you read it, you will know it is not without reason.

In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rands tells the story of a dystopian society's where values like mercy, pity and need are put before self-interest, happiness and knowledge, where the spirit of man is stripped of all value, production is seen as evil and profit-making businessmen are despised among the "public". Not until the "mind" is removed from society, do people start to understand the enourmous weight that men of mind have been carrying on their shoulders. And even then, some continue to disbelieve. Rand's philosophy is radical and extreme, yet I couldn't stop thinking about it even weeks after I made it through1069 pages.

I often caught myself being totally engrossed in the philosophy of objectism that Ayn Rand is weiving in her magnun opus, trying to understand its implications, and thinking of the world today. I still wonder what would Ayn Rand would think in today's global world, and what would she write? Would she still advocate to let the market decide and leave government out of it? Would she agree with the bailout? Who do think she would vote for in this 2008 election?

Too many questions, but please do read the book. Apart from having the best title, it is a truly amazing experience.