TL;DR: Rand should have come up with a new word for what she meant rather than appropriating "selfish", no matter how clever she thought she was being, because it's easier to take potshots at selfishness than answer what she redefined the word to mean...

Look, I'll sum it up. By Rand's notions, it's rational to act 'virtuously' because acting 'non-virtuously' ultimately leads to the collapse of the system of production that makes living in greater society better than hiding off somewhere in a valley with capable friends. The flaw, as *I* see it, is that the collapse does not happen immediately, so it can be rational for looters to either loot at a 'sustainable' level for a long time or to outright pillage on the gamble they won't be alive when the bill comes due. Atlas Shrugged only works because the collapse is *happening during the timeframe of the novel*. It's an obvious trade-off *then*. Not before then.

I had a similar thought. I rather wished that Rand wrote the story just to tell a story, and use philosophy just to add to the experience of the story. (Not write an entire life story as a philosophy).

Wonderful! This touches on the badly neglected Eddie Wlliers portion of this novel. Or, as the last decade would call it, the 99%.

Jessup, as you have written him, is the other victim. Jessup, as you have written him, is Eddie Wlliers if he didn't grow up with Dagny, Kellogg if he never worked for Dagny but had a family to support.

The strike is for the strikers. It's unintended consequences are for the world. Objectivism does not include altruism. It does, of course, include the drive of its giants to hire and reward skill and efficiency. The Objectivist industrialist looks as evil in an irrational world as Jessup looks to Dagny. Jessup, here, is a guy who did not choose to walk away and did the job he was hired for.

Objectivism is an interesting social structure theory in that, it potentially works if many people are on board as opposed to the 1950s practice of "communism" that was actually croniism and barely works if everyone is on board. Jessup happened when the Objectivists left were only Hank and Dagny. So the reward system that ought to sustain purposeful work was essentially non-existant. Without the giant''s drive to invent or build, an amateur Objectivist might end up Jessup.

Ultimately, though, like every character, this guy''s behavior is overdrawn to mythic proportions.

Such a fun thought exercise, thanks!

Ah, Julia, you hit the nail on the head. Sometimes when she or other Objectivists try to get us to "take a stand" I answer "Why should I?" or "What is it worth to you for me to inconvenience myself?" In fact one follower was aghast as to how coldblooded pure selfishness is.

Yeah, I would like sometimes an Objectivist answer "What's in it for me?" before asking me for anything.

This was a pretty good fic and gave real perspective on the whole selfishness thing.

It's unfortunate that you didn't have Kellogg confirming her suspicions. As one of the strikers, he knew exactly what Jessup was.

As far as Rand going to far, I'm not sure she did. We have seen in the past who really needs who. Look at the present conditions in Venezuela if you need an example. Rand would be appalled at the state of the US as well. It has turned into the state where men such as Orren Boyle control industries, not Rearden.

I agree, and would add that capitalism and freedom *cannot* exist if selfishness is the height of virtue, because the people with political power should then be selfish, leading to a totalitarian state.

In fact, Rand's philosophy is a not-so-well-disguised hypocrisy, because preaching selfishness is simply not a selfish thing to do (a selfish person would tell other people to be selfless, so they could be helpful to him/her).

Very well written! I don't agree with all of Rand's ideals either and I like how you rationalized this section out in Dagny's character and loosely kept the book's belief system and integrated it with this. :)

And you, Wise Julia, show to me why exactly I derail from Ayn's ideals...that man only cared about himself, and now come someone and say

"That's not selfishness, that is selflessness"

I'll just say

"What a good work bending words to your objectives!"