P.J. O’Rourke: "Atlas Shrugged. And So Did I"

P.J. O'Rourke reviews the movie "Atlas Shrugged" in today's WSJ blog, here's an excerpt:

"But I will not pan “Atlas Shrugged.” I don’t have the guts.  If you associate with Randians—and I do—saying anything critical about Ayn Rand is almost as scary as saying anything critical to Ayn Rand.  What’s more, given how protective Randians are of Rand, I’m not sure she’s dead.

The woman is a force.  But, let us not forget, she’s a force for good.  Millions of people have read “Atlas Shruggged” and been brought around to common sense, never mind that the author and her characters don’t exhibit much of it. Ayn Rand, perhaps better than anyone in the 20^th century, understood that the individual self-seeking we call an evil actually stands in noble contrast to the real evil of self-seeking collectives.  (A rather Randian sentence.)

It’s easy to make fun of Rand for being a simplistic philosopher, bombastic writer and—I’m just saying—crazy old bat.  But the 20^th century was no joke. A hundred years, from Bolsheviks to Al Qaeda, were spent proving Ayn Rand right."

Rising Interest in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"

Book sales for "Atlas Shrugged" (2007-2009):

Google Trend search volume for "Atlas Shrugged" (2005-2009):

THE ECONOMIST -- 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.”

See related Freakonomics post.

Quote of the Day: Treating Incompetent As Victims

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged":

The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers.

With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

~Stephen Moore in the Wall Street Journal

Quotation of the Day: Rearden Steel

“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?” 

“Who?” 

“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.” 

She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?” 

~Atlas Shrugged, Chapter 9, page 1

HT: Jeffrey Carter

John Stossel Premiers Tonight: FOX Business News

John Stossel's new TV program "Stossel" premiers tonight on FOX Business News (FBN) at 8 p.m. and will be repeated tommorow (Friday) at 10 p.m. According to John: 

My first show, Thursday Dec. 10, will be on Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged or on Global Warming. Then I’ll do one on health care. FBN has given me an opportunity to do 44 TV shows on what I am passionate about: economic liberty.