this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
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The entire theme of Atlas shrugged is about how capitalist oligarchs are the critical class desperately needed in the world to make any real progress.
That they should be handed unregulated power because they'll do more with it than the "workers".
It's the polar opposite of what you're describing as the takeaway, and it's not even subtle or mysterious about it. It repeats that point ad nauseum from about chapter 2 until the end of the book.
So my question to you would be: are you sure you're thinking of the correct book? If so, it might be time for you to refresh yourself on it because there's not another interpretation about the point of it. It's not a hidden meaning or left up to the reader. It literally beats that into the reader during every capitalistic sychophantish chapter.
Yes, I get that, and it's just as cringe as communist power fantasies if you ask me. Like, I understood what was bad about the communist dystopia she painted, and I didn't resent her heroes for trying to escape that and rebuild society from the ground up, but I also didn't think they were good people. Rand's heroes are just as insane as the villains they're fighting.
That's not to say they didn't have a point, though. Excessive pandering to people who simply will not lift a finger to change their own condition is just as harmful as excessive pandering to those who will.
The communist fantasy is that we should all work doing what we can to all have our needs met. That none of our work should be controlled by oligarchs or an oppressive state. That we express our needs democratically and work towards that goal together according to our ability. That in this pursuit we're all treated as equals with no one systematically above others.
The capitalist fantasy is like you agreed with that the capitalist class should own everything and use that to control everyone unfettered by regulations.
Yeah, both of those fantasies are both equally unhinged and cruel.
I'm not going to argue about what happens in practise, but to argue that the communist fantasy is as explicitly evil and cruel as the capitalist fantasy is unhinged.
"Nice argument, unfortunately I already depicted you as the soyjack and me as the chad."
Come on, man, this is strawmanning 101. Do you really think I'm dumb enough to fall for that?
Are you serious