What Does It Mean to Shrug?--Revisited

Posted by CarolSeer2014 10 years, 8 months ago to Philosophy
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Just now reading this thread. I agree completely with khalling and stargeezey. Rand's working title for Atlas Shrugged was "The Strike"--what happens when the "prime movers" had had enough of the looters, those who felt entitled to the fruits of the labor of the producers, without feeling any need to contribute themselves. But I always believed, that once the Social Order, so-called, realized the absurdity of the Marxist slogan "From each according to their ability to each according to their need" the producers would rejoin society, and that for the most part, those who could work would be working.
Ideally, anyway, but human nature being what it is, nothing is ever ideal! I guess at that time in my life, I was still pretty optimistic.


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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 10 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Well, I suppose if AR got to make her own definitions, you get to make your own words, Robbie ;)
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  • Posted by iroseland 10 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Northern California is not that good of a stand in. The shades of green are all wrong. Especially compared to south eastern Wisconsin where starnsville would have been.
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  • Posted by $ winterwind 10 years, 8 months ago
    I'm probably missing something here.
    You said you believed that the producers would rejoin society. Then you say nothing is ever ideal, and you were optimistic then.
    I think you're correct - producers will rejoin society, when the time is right. Do you not believe that will happen?

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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 8 months ago
    I can't recall which character asked something to the effect of what else can Atlas do while struggling to hold up the world while people are undermining him.

    This was an extreme example of what happens when we don't respect people's rights. I do not think she was saying it was a good thing but rather a worse case scenario.

    It was never meant, IMHO, as a way to put a positive spin on being a disgruntled gov't employee or retiring early because you can't get along with clients and colleagues. In other words, it was a warning, not a call to adopt a victim mentality.
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  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Naw. She just wanted an excuse to include the beautiousness of my adopted state home. Too bad northern CA had to do as a stand-in, not quite the same.
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  • Posted by khalling 10 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    In literature, a hero's journey can be a physical one like you suggest, but more often in modern literature it is a journey of growth or maturity. The hero often battles against himself on the journey. It is one of discovery and insight. IT separates the hero from other characters in the novel. Many obstacles have to be overcome. How else to demonstrate their "heroic" strengths?
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  • Posted by iroseland 10 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I think the trip to Wisconsin was a metaphor for their own lives. They needed to see where things were actually headed to prepare them for the decision they needed to make.
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  • Posted by khalling 10 years, 8 months ago
    yes, Dagny and Hank are the ones who take the journey in the novel ;)
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