You're welcome :) I have it sitting right in front of me and I knew right where to find this part (one of my favorites...well, the entire thing is my favorite,), so it took me all of 7 seconds. I should thank YOU. It was fun!

Thanks.

I Do not know why that name evaded my mind, and I did not feel like pulling out the book and looking it up. :)

The more malicious the more denial the more threatened they feel.

"Life in ruins . . . What should I do?"

Become an archaeologist .

Don't leave -- just cuss better and better .

It's ok, Catie. I was arguing like a liberal there for a second. Got caught up in the moment. You can stay. :-)

You hit the nail right on the head! Well put.

Galt was even working as a railroad worker under Dagney's nose. Those types of metaphors are all over the book, as stated. The key I suppose is that if one finds themselves in a job that seems meaningless, what can you do to bring meaning to it? In the military as the author of the first post stated, if they find their job is just a token position created to pad labor statistics, then they should do the job to the best of their ability, but use the time not consumed by the task to be productive in other ways, such as reading a book to fill their minds with new material, or working on a side project that has the potential to become productive. But wasting time waiting for someone to tell them what to do won't get the job done. That is where the waste comes in is "waiting" for someone else to bring meaning to a life. That meaning can only be found by the individual living the life and doing the job.

Owen Kellogg!!
Dagny Taggart: "Kellogg, is there nothing I can offer you?"
Owen Kellogg: "Nothing Miss Taggart. Nothing on earth."
DT: "Why?"
He stopped. He shrugged and smiled--he was alive for a moment and it was the strangest smile she had ever seen: it held secret amusement and heartbreak, and an infinite bitterness. He answered: "Who is John Galt?"

Ok Scott. Thanks for the info.

Sorry about that. I posted that last response with my test account. Private messaging is not yet available but will be very soon.

Scott - Sorry to get off topic but can I send a private message to a member or manager?

"I'm rubber and you're glue."

It's interesting how he says: "that is useful and valuable to the human race that we currently have a shortage of?"

He is attempting to come at Ayn Rand's ideas from a collectivist stand point. That is not possible.

I posted this on the site. I look forward to hearing your critiques.

Onewerd, it is good that you are introspective after reading Atlas Shrugged. It changed my life as well. In order to reach YOUR potential as a producer you must accept the fact that Reality is Real and that it does exist. That can mean many different things but in the context of this discussion I believe that it can be profound. Not all of us are going to be CEO's of large corporations. Not all of us are going to become part of the wealthy elite. Very few if any of us will leave a lasting impact on the planet. However, we all have the choice to grow as an individual and do the best possible work in our profession. Decide what you want to do and pursue it. Attack it head on and do not yield. That's what separated the characters of Rand's books from the rest of society. Their unyielding purpose and the tenacity in which they fought to make it their reality.

Others on this board do not give Ayn Rand the respect that she is due because they simply do not know her beliefs and the only proof that is needed is by simply looking at the derogatory posts posted about her. The more malicious the less intelligent.

“There is no such thing as a lousy job - only lousy men who don't care to do it.”
Ayn Rand

Done

I also thought one of the notions expressed there was pretty ridiculous.

Paraphrasing ... "Do this, then do that, THEN you can produce!"
That's nuts.

Agreed gross misunderstanding of the book. He shouldn't have to ask people what to do to be productive. Just another shade of mooching. "I would be productive if you told me what to do, how to do it, and o yeah the money to produce it!"

Well done. You should post this response on the referenced reddit article. We need to engage over there if we're to influence the hive mind at all.

LOL. I guess I should just leave, I cuss like a sailor :)

Ayn Rand is dead. When she was alive she was brilliant. You missed the point of Objectivism. There are no menial non-productive jobs, just non-productive people. Bring all of your abilities to everything you do. Do not go through the motions. Create better ways to do the job, so that you can do more. It is all over the book, from the engineer on the first train of the John Galt Line to Dagny being John Galt's housekeeper in the gulch, jobs are not menial how you perform them determines being a producer or a moocher.

The opposite is true, our land of the infinite entitlement is what is wrong with the America now.

What Objectivism does is allows those who trade value for value to make create more value. Thus enriching the society, creating jobs and wealth for all those who work.

You cannot argue with illogic which is what it is.

Thanks for finding this. This is fantastic!! Wonderful comment and reactions to the statement.

First off, this guy should read the book again. He did not get it. Maintanance is a required job that needs to be done. All of us are not Reardon. I think half the reason Eddy Willards is in the book is to just make the point that just because you are not the great business man creating 1 million jobs does not mean your not a producer.

Look at Jim Taggers wife. She had the mind of a producer and went nuts because she could not deal with the reality that Jim and his goons lived in.

Bill Brent, Jeff Allan, Pat Logan, the wet nerse and I cannot remember the name of the guy that wont take the promotion at the start of the book and wont give his reason.

All of these characters represent different types of normal guys that deal with the crappy world they are living in in different ways. Some fall into non-productive habits, others become a person with a productive value system. Overall they teach us that is not what you produce that matters, its that you provide value to others for the value they provide to you.

It appears that he failed to pick up the message of value for value, not take what you have not earned. Based on his post, he has been providing value to others, hopefully at a level that provided sufficient value for the compensation he receives in return.