How Prophetic Was 'Atlas Shrugged'
Posted by Zenphamy 10 years ago to Philosophy
I received this e-mail a couple of days ago. How similar does it strike you as the owner's of John Galt's employer, The 20th Century Motor Co. that caused him to shrug, or remind you of James Taggert? Note the use of the words, 'equal and livable wage', and 'Champion of Change'.
"The White House, Washington
Hi,
I'm Randy, the founder of the Red Hen Baking Company in Middlesex, Vermont.
Our 42 employees are the core of everything we do -- the heart of Red Hen. That is why my wife Liza and I insist on providing paid sick days, an equal and livable wage, health coverage, and other benefits that help everyone balance the work they love with the life they lead. Through these workplace policies, we know we're making our employees more secure, our bakery more productive, and our business more profitable.
It's common sense -- plain and simple. That's why I'm so excited and honored to be at the White House today as a "Champion of Change" for working families. I'll be joining President Obama, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, and other champions of workplace policies to talk about how crucial they are to building a stronger business. This is too important of an issue for anyone to sit on the sidelines. So you should join us, too.
Watch live at the White House today starting at 12:15 p.m. ET to hear what ordinary people are doing to make an extraordinary difference for America's hardworking men and women.
You can join in on the conversation using the hashtag #WorkingFamilyChamps. Whether you're an employer, an employee, a working mom or dad, or brand new to the workforce, your voice can help lift up the challenges millions of working families face and the solutions that will make a difference.
So I'll hope you'll join us live and be a champion for your employees, coworkers, or your community by standing up for common-sense workplace policies.
Because the bottom line is this: Employees that are happy at work perform better. Focusing on policies that make sense for working families has paid dividends for our business. There's no reason more companies across the country can't do the same thing and realize those benefits.
If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I hope you'll join the conversation today.
Thanks,
Randy
Randy George
Middlesex, Vermont"
Can you point to other predictions from AS that are real today?
"The White House, Washington
Hi,
I'm Randy, the founder of the Red Hen Baking Company in Middlesex, Vermont.
Our 42 employees are the core of everything we do -- the heart of Red Hen. That is why my wife Liza and I insist on providing paid sick days, an equal and livable wage, health coverage, and other benefits that help everyone balance the work they love with the life they lead. Through these workplace policies, we know we're making our employees more secure, our bakery more productive, and our business more profitable.
It's common sense -- plain and simple. That's why I'm so excited and honored to be at the White House today as a "Champion of Change" for working families. I'll be joining President Obama, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, and other champions of workplace policies to talk about how crucial they are to building a stronger business. This is too important of an issue for anyone to sit on the sidelines. So you should join us, too.
Watch live at the White House today starting at 12:15 p.m. ET to hear what ordinary people are doing to make an extraordinary difference for America's hardworking men and women.
You can join in on the conversation using the hashtag #WorkingFamilyChamps. Whether you're an employer, an employee, a working mom or dad, or brand new to the workforce, your voice can help lift up the challenges millions of working families face and the solutions that will make a difference.
So I'll hope you'll join us live and be a champion for your employees, coworkers, or your community by standing up for common-sense workplace policies.
Because the bottom line is this: Employees that are happy at work perform better. Focusing on policies that make sense for working families has paid dividends for our business. There's no reason more companies across the country can't do the same thing and realize those benefits.
If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I hope you'll join the conversation today.
Thanks,
Randy
Randy George
Middlesex, Vermont"
Can you point to other predictions from AS that are real today?
Previous comments... You are currently on page 7.
Staring at "Red Hen" in this post, albeit the second time, the term "red herring" hopped into my old dino mind.
Then followed an expression from the 50s: "Better dead than red."
I could ramble on but I think I better stop.
Actually, I think most politicians suffer from DARVO. Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender. A behavior of perpetrators of wrongdoing, when accused of attacking their victim, reversing the roles of victim and offender. Rand illustrates the behavior, but the term was not invented until about 1997.
I would have liked to see more positive developments, like electrostatic motors and Rearden Metal.
Zen, I always wince when I see the word 'prophecy' or 'prophetic' associated with Ayn Rand. I understand general idea of why other people say it, but the implications of her having 'imparted knowledge' are not congruent with your past writing, here...and not what I think you were trying to imply.
Seeing so many similarities between what she wrote and current events doesn't seem strange, to me. It's like math...'philosophical math'...where consistent ideas add up to (predict) certain outcomes. Given certain conditions, the answers are no surprise.
I too get these emails from "the White House".
"Focusing on policies that make sense for working families has paid dividends for our business"
Do you suppose Randy is a real person? With a real business? If he is then I would bet that blowing obama in the back of a limousine is a policy that makes sense to him.
All of the do-nothings, both the parasites and the hosts, have a great sense of self-loathing and are particularly susceptible to self sacrifice. The biggest troublemaker is the man who loves himself. He only wants the rewards he has earned by his own actions and he has no need to share his rewards with others. To the contrary, he believes that he would be stealing another man's sense of self by denying him the satisfaction of realizing the profits of his efforts. His weakness is that he is so busy satisfying his desire to create and produce he is vulnerable to being a host and abettor.
Rand's prophecy that the US would succumb to human nature was not that remarkable. Her organization of her thoughts into a philosophy is her claim to genius. The odds of reversing a flaw in mankind, supported by natural weakness, religion and lore are extremely long. To have made the lasting impression that she has is quite remarkable and encouraging. To most, the message that you have to earn everything you get, your own life is the greatest value and it is all you will ever have, is so unpleasant that they are willing to suspend reason to deny it.
"And by the time the masses realize what has happened, it will be too late"
Don't forget, when they realize what is happening they will think it is your fault.
At the Red Hen Baking Co. we are guided by a belief that pure, uncomplicated ingredients and the hands of skilled artisans are the building blocks for great food.
Red Hen Baking Company was established on September 1, 1999 on Route 100 in Duxbury. Randy George had been baking bread for several years, both in his home state of Maine as well as in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. When Randy and his (then future) wife Eliza Cain decided to move back to Liza’s home turf in the Mad River Valley of Vermont, they did so with the intention of opening a bakery.
But I bet they only get "upscale" clientele, as no one else can afford them. Truly, The Peoples Choice...
Perhaps Ayn Rand should have titled the work, "Atlas Shrugged: An History:.