I'm wondering something after watching the movie and (almost done) reading the book. How far does this "live for the sake of another man" go? Is it possible that the gulch has gone from one extreme to another? Have we gone from "It's your job to provide me with food" to "Sure you can borrow a cup of sugar, that'll be 50 cents." Aren't there shades of gray in between? Are favors not allowed at all? Is volunteering your time not only unexpected, but actually frowned upon? If someone asks me to borrow some milk because it's Sunday night and the stores are closed, I would give it to him, under the expectation that I will need his help someday. Perhaps for example, he is a car mechanic and one day he'll find me stranded with a dead battery. If it's really a close-knit community, I think that karma and the possibility that someday you will need something from them, does create a form of self-interest in doing that favor because someday you'll need them. I'm not living my life for his sake, I'm voluntarily doing what I can to make a better world in the expectation that the favor will be returned, or at the very least paid forward.

Also, if all residents must take the oath separately, does that include children and infants? What about providing sustenance for a spouse or children? Is it expected that once a child nears adulthood, that they do start earning their keep at least in some small way? I'm fairly certain that a striker would not, for example, charge rent to his underage child, but based on the rules Galt states in the book, I don't see any room to accommodate that.

What do you all think?