Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged

File:AtlasShrugged.jpg First edition cover.
Author	Ayn Rand
Language	English
Genre	Philosophical novel, Science Fiction
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	10 October 1957
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	1368 (depending on edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-394-41576-0 (hardback edition)

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. It was Rand's fourth, longest, and last novel, and she considered it her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing. As indicated by its working title The Strike, the book explores a dystopian United States where leading innovators, ranging from industrialists to artists, refuse to be exploited by society. The protagonist, Dagny Taggart, sees society collapse around her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry, while society's most productive citizens, led by the mysterious John Galt, progressively disappear. Galt describes the strike as "stopping the motor of the world" by withdrawing the "minds" that drive society's growth and productivity; with their strike these creative minds hope to demonstrate that the economy and society would collapse without the profit motive and the efforts of the rational and productive.

The novel's title is a reference to the mythical Titan Atlas, who in the novel is said to hold the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. The novel includes elements of mystery and science fiction, and contains Rand's most extensive statement of Objectivism in any of her works of fiction, a lengthy monologue delivered by the strike's leader, John Galt.

The theme of Atlas Shrugged is the morality of rational self-interest and portrayal of self-loathing of monetary values within a once thriving "New America". It advocates the core tenets of Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and expresses her concept of human achievement. The book explores a number of philosophical themes that Rand would subsequently develop into the philosophy of Objectivism. It centers on the decline of Western civilization, and Rand described it as demonstrating the theme of "the role of man's mind in existence." In doing so it expresses many facets of Rand's philosophy, such as the advocacy of reason, individualism, the market economy and the failure of government.

Atlas Shrugged received largely negative reviews after its 1957 publication, but achieved enduring popularity and consistent sales in the following decades. In the wake of the late 2000s recession sales of Atlas Shrugged have sharply increased, according to The Economist magazine and The New York Times. The Economist reported that the fifty-two-year-old novel ranked #33 among Amazon.com's top-selling books on 13 January, 2009.

Context and writing of Atlas Shrugged

File:Ayn Rand1.jpg

Author Ayn Rand

Rand stated that the idea for Atlas Shrugged came to her after a 1943 telephone conversation with a friend who asserted that Rand owed it to her readers to write a nonfiction book about her philosophy. Rand replied, "What if I went on strike? What if all the creative minds of the world went on strike?" Rand then set out to create a work of fiction that explored the role of the mind in man's life and the morality of rational self-interest, by exploring the consequences when the "men of the mind" go on strike, refusing to allow their inventions, art, business leadership, scientific research, or new ideas to be taken from them by the government or by the rest of the world. Leonard Peikoff noted that "Atlas Shrugged did not become the novel's title until Rand's husband Frank O'Connor made the suggestion in 1956." The working title throughout her writing was The Strike. According to Barbara Branden, the change was made for dramatic reasons––Rand believed that titling the novel “The Strike” would have revealed the mystery element of the novel prematurely.

To produce Atlas Shrugged, Rand conducted research on American industry, specifically the railroad industry, which forms a key element in her novel. Her previous work on a proposed (but never realized) screenplay based on the development of the Atomic Bomb, including her interviews of J. Robert Oppenheimer, was utilized in the portrait of the character Robert Stadler and the novel's depiction of the development of "Project X." In order to do further background research, Rand toured and inspected a number of industrial facilities, such as the Kaiser Steel plant, rode the locomotives of the New York Central Railroad, and even learned to operate the locomotive of the Twentieth Century Limited (and proudly reported that when operating it, "nobody touched a lever except me.") By 1957, the date of the book's publication, railways in the USA were facing a decline that had begun in the 1920s. Passengers were increasingly switching to road transport which, unlike the railways, was subject to market competition, developing quickly to the benefit of consumers.

Rand's self-identified literary influences include Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Edmond Rostand, and O. Henry. In addition, Justin Raimondo has observed similarities between Atlas Shrugged and the 1922 novel The Driver, written by Garet Garrett, which concerns an idealized industrialist—named Henry Galt—who is a transcontinental railway owner trying to improve the world and fighting against government and socialism. In contrast, Chris Matthew Sciabarra found Raimondo's "claims that Rand plagiarized...The Driver" to be "unsupported," and Stephen Kinsella doubts that Rand was in any way influenced by Garrett. Writer Bruce Ramsey observed, "Both The Driver and Atlas Shrugged have to do with running railroads during an economic depression, and both suggest pro-capitalist ways in which the country might get out of the depression. But in plot, character, tone, and theme they are very different."

In order to persuade Rand to publish her novel with Random House, publisher Bennet Cerf proposed a "philosophic contest" in which Rand would submit her work to various publishers to judge their response to its ideas, so she could evaluate who might best promote her work. Because of the success of Rand's 1943 novel The Fountainhead, the initial print run was 100,000 copies. It marked a turning point in her life, ending her career as novelist and beginning her tenure as popular philosopher.

Synopsis

Setting

Atlas Shrugged is set in a dystopian United States at an unspecified time. Writer Edward Younkins noted, "The story may be simultaneously described as anachronistic and timeless. The pattern of industrial organization appears to be that of the late 1800s...the mood seems to be close to that of the depression-era 1930s. Both the social customs and the level of technology remind one of the 1950s." Many early 20th-century technologies are available, and the steel and railroad industries are especially significant; jet planes are described as a relatively new technology, and television is a novelty significantly less influential than radio. While many other countries are mentioned in passing, there is no mention of the Soviet Union, no reference to World War II or the Cold War, and no mention of nations under Communist rule, with the possible exception of "The People's State of Germany," and "The People's State of Mexico." The "mixed economy" of the book's present is often contrasted with the "pure" capitalism of 19th century America, wistfully recalled as a lost Golden Age.

Structure

The novel is divided into three parts consisting of ten chapters each. Robert James Bidinotto noted "the titles of the parts and chapters suggest multiple layers of meaning. The three parts, for example, are named in honor of Aristotle’s laws of logic...Part One is titled “Non-Contradiction”...Part Two, titled “Either-Or”...[and] Part Three is titled “A Is A,” symbolizing what Rand referred to as “the Law of Identity”.

Plot summary

See also: List of characters in Atlas Shrugged

As the novel opens, protagonist Dagny Taggart, executive of the railroad company Taggart Transcontinental, attempts to keep the company alive in difficult economic times marked by collectivism and statism. Dagny's brother, James Taggart, the railroad's President, seems peripherally aware of the company's troubles but will not make any difficult choices, preferring to avoid responsibility for any actions. While this unfolds, Dagny is disappointed to discover that Francisco d'Anconia, her childhood friend, first love, and king of the copper industry, appears to have become a worthless playboy who is destroying his own business.

She meets Hank Rearden, a self-made steel magnate of great integrity, inventor of a metal alloy called Rearden metal, whose career is hindered by his feelings of obligation toward his wife, and whose business is in danger of coming under government control, and Dr. Robert Stadler, a physics professor who is a creator of the "State Science Institute," intended to release science from the demands of its capitalist sponsors - delivering it instead into the control of bureaucrats and politics. Dagny also becomes acquainted with Wesley Mouch, a Washington lobbyist who leads the government's efforts to control all commerce and enterprise, and Ellis Wyatt, founder of Wyatt Oil.

While economic conditions worsen, and government agencies gain increasing control over successful businesses, helpless people repeat the saying, "Who is John Galt?" meaning "Don't ask important questions, because we don't have answers." Dagny learns that the nation's innovators and business leaders are disappearing one by one under mysterious circumstances.

Dagny and Hank find the remnants of a motor that turns atmospheric static electricity into kinetic energy, along with evidence that the "Atlases" of the world, its "prime movers," seem to be disappearing due to the actions of a figure she calls the "destroyer." While searching for the motor's creator, Hank and Dagny begin to experience the futility of their attempts to survive in a society that hates them and resents their motivation and their ability to create and achieve.

In the final section of the novel, Taggart discovers the truth about John Galt, who is leading an organized "strike" against those who use the force of law and moral guilt to confiscate the accomplishments of society's productive members. With the collapse of the nation and its rapacious government all but certain, Galt emerges to reconstruct a society that will celebrate individual achievement and enlightened self-interest, delivering a long speech (seventy pages in the first edition) serving to explain the novel's theme and Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, in the book's longest single chapter.

Themes

Philosophy

Main article: Objectivism (Ayn Rand)

The story of Atlas Shrugged dramatically expresses Rand's philosophy of Objectivism: Rand's ethical egoism, her advocacy of "rational selfishness," is perhaps her most well-known position. For Rand, all of the principal virtues and vices are applications of the role of reason as man's basic tool of survival (or a failure to apply it): rationality, honesty, justice, independence, integrity, productiveness, and pride—each of which she explains in some detail in "The Objectivist Ethics." Rand's characters often personify her view of the archetypes of various schools of philosophy for living and working in the world. Robert James Bidinotto wrote that "Rand rejected the literary convention that depth and plausibility demand characters who are naturalistic replicas of the kinds of people we meet in everyday life, uttering everyday dialogue and pursuing everyday values. But she also rejected the notion that characters should be symbolic rather than realistic." and Rand herself stated, "My characters are never symbols, they are merely men in sharper focus than the audience can see with unaided sight...My characters are persons in whom certain human attributes are focused more sharply and consistently than in average human beings."

In addition to the plot's more obvious statements about the significance of industrialists to society, and the sharp contrast it provides to the Marxist version of the Labor Theory of Value, this explicit conflict is used by Rand to draw wider philosophical conclusions, both implicit in the plot and via the characters' own statements. Atlas Shrugged portrays fascism, socialism and communism – any form of state intervention in society – as systemically and fatally flawed, but, in addition, positions are expressed on a variety of other topics, including sex, politics, friendship, charity, childhood, and many others. Rand said that it is not a fundamentally political book, but a demonstration of the individual mind's position and value in society.

Rand argues that independence and individual achievement enable society to survive and thrive, and should be embraced. But this requires a rational moral code. She argues that, over time, coerced self-sacrifice must cause any society to self-destruct.

Similarly, Rand rejects faith (that "short-cut to knowledge," she writes in the novel, which in fact is only a "short-circuit" destroying knowledge), along with any sort of a god or higher being. Rand urges the rejection of anything claiming "authority" over one's own mind - apart from the absolute of existence itself. The book positions itself against religion specifically, often directly within the characters' dialogue.

Sanction of the victim

The concept "Sanction of the victim" is defined by Leonard Peikoff as "the willingness of the good to suffer at the hands of the evil, to accept the role of sacrificial victim for the 'sin' of creating values." This concept may be original in the thinking of Ayn Rand and is foundational to her moral theory: she holds that evil is a parasite on the good and can only exist if the good tolerates it. Atlas Shrugged can be seen as an answer to the question of what would happen if this sanction were revoked. When Atlas shrugs, relieving himself of the burden of carrying the world, he is revoking his sanction.

Throughout Atlas Shrugged, numerous characters admit that there is something wrong with the world that they cannot identify; frequently, they are struggling with the idea of sanction of the victim. We first glimpse the concept when Hank Rearden feels he is duty-bound to support his family, despite their hostility towards him; later, the principle is stated explicitly by Dan Conway: "I suppose somebody's got to be sacrificed. If it turned out to be me, I have no right to complain." John Galt vows to stop the motor of the world by persuading the creators of the world to withhold their sanction: "Evil is impotent and has no power but that which we let it extort from us," and, "I saw that evil was impotent...and the only weapon of its triumph was the willingness of the good to serve it."

In Rand's view, morality requires that we do not sanction our own victimhood. She assigns virtue to the trait of rational self-interest. However, Rand contends that moral selfishness does not mean a license to do whatever one pleases, guided by whims. It means the exacting discipline of defining and pursuing one's rational self-interest. A code of rational self-interest rejects every form of human sacrifice, whether of oneself to others or of others to oneself.

Government and business

"In Atlas Shrugged, Rand tells the story of the U.S. economy crumbling under the weight of crushing government interventions and regulations. Meanwhile, blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with more controls that only deepen the crisis. Sound familiar?"

Yaron Brook, "Is Rand Relevant?"
The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2009

Atlas Shrugged endorses the belief that a society's best hope rests on adopting a system of pure laissez-faire. Rand's view of the ideal government is expressed by John Galt, who says, "The political system we will build is contained in a single moral premise: no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force," and claims that "no rights can exist without the right to translate one’s rights into reality—to think, to work and to keep the results—which means: the right of property." Galt himself lives a life of laissez-faire capitalism as the only way to live consistently with his beliefs.

In the world of Atlas Shrugged, society stagnates when independent productive achievers began to be socially demonized and even punished for their accomplishments. Independence and personal happiness had flourished to the extent that people were free, and achievement was rewarded to the extent that individual ownership of private property was strictly respected. This is in line with an excerpt from a 1964 interview with Playboy magazine in which Rand states "What we have today is not a capitalist society, but a mixed economy – that is, a mixture of freedom and controls, which, by the presently dominant trend, is moving toward dictatorship. The action in Atlas Shrugged takes place at a time when society has reached the stage of dictatorship. When and if this happens, that will be the time to go on strike, but not until then."

Rand characterizes the actions of government employees in a way that is consistent with public choice theory, describing how the language of altruism is used to pass legislation that is nominally in the public interest (e.g., the "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule," and "The Equalization of Opportunity Bill,") but which in reality serves special interests and government agencies at the expense of the public and the producers of value. In the novel, the "Anti-dog-eat-dog" rule, as passed by the National Alliance of Railroads, is an example of this type of dictatorship: "The Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is the logical result of a mixed economy—one in the process of rejecting capitalism. When the government has the power to control and regulate private business, it’s in a position to dispense economic favors."

In the novel, Wyatt Oil after Ellis Wyatt and Taggart Transcontinental and d'Anconia Copper are named after their founders (and, being family-held, their present owners). Nielsen Motors, Hammond Cars and Ayers Music Publishing are also presented as competent. Those who use their own names to name their companies become strikers, with the minor exception of Mr. Ayers of the Ayers Music Publishing Company. On the other hand, names which convey a sense of a collective, impersonal entity are those of "looter" companies: Orren Boyle named his government-dependent, influence-peddling company "Associated Steel." Another example is Mr. Mowen's "Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc."

Property rights and individualism

"Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an approaching looter."

Francisco d'Anconia, Atlas Shrugged

Rand's heroes must continually fight against "parasites," "looters," and "moochers" who demand the benefits of the heroes' labor. Edward Younkins describes Atlas Shrugged as "an apocalyptic vision of the last stages of conflict between two classes of humanity- the looters and the non-looters. The looters are proponents of high taxation, big labor, government ownership, government spending, government planning, regulation, and redistribution."

"Looters" confiscate others' earnings by force ("at the point of a gun,") and include government officials, whose demands are backed by the implicit threat of force. Some officials are merely executing government policy, such as those who confiscate one state's seed grain to feed the starving citizens of another; others are exploiting those policies, such as the railroad regulator who illegally sells the railroad's supplies for his own profit. Both use force to take property from the people who produced or earned it.

"Moochers" demand others' earnings on behalf of the needy and those unable to earn themselves, however, they curse the producers who make that help possible and are jealous and resentful of the talented on whom they depend. They are ultimately as destructive as the looters— destroying the productive through guilt, and appealing to "moral right" while enabling the "lawful" looting performed by governments.

Looting and mooching are seen at all levels of the world Atlas Shrugged portrays, from the looting officials Dagny Taggart must work around and the mooching brother Hank Rearden struggles with, to the looting of whole industries by companies like Associated Steel and the mooching demands for foreign aid by the starving countries of Europe.

One of the novel's heroes, Francisco d'Anconia, indicates the role of "looters" in relation to money itself:

"So you think that money is the root of all evil?... Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or the looters who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil? ... Not an ocean of tears nor all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into bread you need to survive tomorrow. ... Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values... Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it becomes marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'"

Social classes

The characters in Atlas Shrugged are portrayed based on their productive effort, respect for rights, intellectual honesty, and moral integrity independent of their wealth or social class. Among the heroes, John Galt and Hank Rearden are from working class backgrounds, while Dagny Taggart and Francisco d'Anconia are from wealthy families. Among the villains, Fred Kinnan is from a working class background, while James Taggart and Betty Pope are from wealthy families.

Theory of sex

"Through Dagny's associations...Rand illustrates what a relationship between two self-actualized, equal human beings can be...Rand denies the existence of a split between the physical and the mental, the desires of the flesh and the longings of the spirit."

Mimi Reisel Gladstein, "Ayn Rand and Feminism: An Unlikely Alliance"

In rejecting the traditional altruistic moral code, Rand also rejects the sexual code that, in her view, is the logical implication of altruism. In Atlas Shrugged Rand introduces a theory of sex that is based in her broader ethical and psychological theories. Rather than considering sexual desire a debasing animal instinct, Rand portrays it as the highest celebration of human values, a physical response to intellectual and spiritual values that gives concrete expression to what could otherwise be experienced only in the abstract.

In Atlas Shrugged, characters are sexually attracted, usually subconsciously, to those who embody or seem to embody their values, be they higher or lower values by Rand's standards. Characters who lack clear purpose find sex devoid of meaning. This is illustrated in the contrasting relationships of Hank Rearden with Lillian Rearden and Dagny Taggart, by the relationships of James Taggart with Cherryl Brooks and with Lillian Rearden, and finally in the relationship between Dagny and John Galt.

Feminist author and critic Camille Paglia and the contributors to 1999's Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand have noted Dagny Taggart as an example of Rand's "fiercely independent—and unapologetically sexual" heroines who are unbound by "tradition's chains ... [and] who had sex because they wanted to."

Fictional technology & Atlas as science fiction

Technological progress and intellectual breakthroughs in scientific theory both figure prominently in Atlas Shrugged, leading some observers to add Atlas to the genre of science fiction: as writer Jeff Riggenbach noted, "Galt's motor is one of the three inventions that propel the action of Atlas Shrugged," the other two being Rearden Metal and the government's sonic weapon, Project X. Other technologies introduced by Rand include refractor rays (Gulch mirage) and a sophisticated electrical torture device; Rand also included voice activated door locks (Gulch power station), palm-activated door locks (Galt's NY lab), and the process of extracting oil from shale. Riggenbach adds, "Rand's overall message with regard to science seems clear: the role of science in human life and human society is to provide the knowledge on the basis of which technological advancement and the related improvements in the quality of human life can be realized. But science can fulfill this role only in a society in which human beings are left free to conduct their business as they see fit."

Reception

Atlas Shrugged debuted on The New York Times Bestseller List at #6 three days after its publication date. It remained on the list for 21 weeks, peaking at #4 for a six-week period beginning December 8, 1957.

Atlas Shrugged was generally disliked by critics, despite being a popular success. Mimi Reisel Gladstein writes that reviewers who have "appreciated not only Rand's writing style but also her message" have been "far outweighed by those who have been everything from hysterically hostile to merely uncomprehending." Helen Beal Woodward, reviewing Atlas Shrugged for The Saturday Review, opined that the novel was written with "dazzling virtuosity" but that it was "shot through with hatred." This was echoed by Granville Hicks, writing for The New York Times Book Review, who also stated that the book was "written out of hate." The reviewer for Time magazine asked: "Is it a novel? Is it a nightmare? Is it Superman––in the comic strip or the Nietzschean version?" In the conservative magazine National Review, Whittaker Chambers called Atlas Shrugged "sophomoric" and "remarkably silly," and said it "can be called a novel only by devaluing the term". Chambers argued against the novel's implicit endorsement of atheism, whereby "Randian man, like Marxian man is made the center of a godless world." Chambers also wrote that the implicit message of the novel is akin to Nazism ("To the gas chambers go!").

Positive reviews appeared in a number of publications. Richard McLaughlin, reviewing the novel for The American Mercury, compared it to Uncle Tom's Cabin in importance. Well-known journalist and book reviewer John Chamberlain, writing in The New York Herald Tribune, found Atlas Shrugged satisfying on many levels: science fiction, a "Dostoevsky" detective story and, most importantly, a "profound political parable."

Psychological criticism

Former Ayn Rand associate Nathaniel Branden argues that Atlas Shrugged "encourages emotional repression and self-disowning" and that her works contain contradictory messages. Branden claimed that the characters rarely talk "on a simple, human level without launching into philosophical sermons." He criticizes the potential psychological impact of the novel, stating that John Galt's recommendation to respond to wrongdoing with "contempt and moral condemnation" clashes the view of psychologists who say this only causes the wrongdoing to repeat itself. Rand herself, however, would not have regarded a novel as needing to portray such "ordinary" human interaction at all, even if an entire philosophy of life does need to address this.

Praise and influence

Further information: Bibliography for Ayn Rand and Objectivism

According to a 1991 survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, Atlas Shrugged was second to the Bible as the book that made most difference in American readers' lives. Modern Library's 1998 three-month online poll of the 100 best novels of the 20th century found Atlas rated #1 although it was not included on the list chosen by the Modern Library panel of authors and scholars. The list was formed on 217,520 votes cast.

In 1997, the libertarian Cato Institute held a joint conference with The Atlas Society, an Objectivist organization, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Atlas Shrugged At this event, Howard Dickman of Reader's Digest stated that the novel had "turned millions of readers on to the ideas of liberty" and said that the book had the important message of the readers' "profound right to be happy."

The C-SPAN television series American Writers listed Rand as one of twenty-two surveyed figures of American literature, though primarily mentioning The Fountainhead rather than Atlas Shrugged.

Rand's impact on contemporary libertarian thought has been considerable, and it is noteworthy that the title of the leading libertarian magazine, Reason: Free Minds, Free Markets is taken directly from John Galt, the hero of Atlas Shrugged, who argues that "a free mind and a free market are corollaries."

Rush Limbaugh has made frequent positive references to "Atlas" on his radio program. Conservative Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas cites Atlas Shrugged as among his favorite novels. In 2009, approximately one hundred Denver, Colorado "Atlas Shrugged" fans took part in the February 27th protests, where they and some 50 other cities held a "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party."

Renewed popularity

In the wake of the late 2000s recession, sales of Atlas Shrugged have sharply increased, according to The Economist magazine and The New York Times. The Economist reported that the fifty-two-year-old novel ranked #33 among Amazon.com's top-selling books on 13 January, 2009 and that its thirty day sales average showed the novel selling three times faster than during the same period of the previous year, outselling even the newly elected Barack Obama's latest title. With an attached sales chart, The Economist reported that sales "spikes" of the book seemed to coincide with the release of economic data. The reason given by Republican Congressman John Campbell was: "People are starting to feel like we’re living through the scenario that happened in [the novel]... We're living in Atlas Shrugged," echoing Stephen Moore in an article published in The Wall Street Journal on 9 January, 2009, titled "Atlas Shrugged From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years." Subsequently, on 2 April, 2009, Atlas Shrugged ranked #15 at Amazon, and they ranked the novel their #1 seller in "Fiction and Literature."

Film and television adaptations

A film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged has been in "development hell" for over 35 years. In 1972, Albert S. Ruddy approached Ayn Rand to produce a cinematic adaptation of Atlas Shrugged. Rand insisted on having final script approval, "complicating the project."

In 1978 Henry and Michael Jaffe negotiated a deal for an eight-hour Atlas Shrugged television miniseries on NBC. Michael Jaffe hired screenwriter Sterling Silliphant to adapt the novel and he obtained approval from Rand on the final script. However, in 1979, with Fred Silverman’s rise as president of NBC, the project was scrapped.

Rand, a former Hollywood screenwriter herself, began writing her own screenplay but died in 1982 with only one-third of it finished. She left her estate, including the film rights to Atlas, to her student Leonard Peikoff, who sold an option to Michael Jaffe and Ed Snider. Peikoff would not approve the script they wrote, and the deal fell through.

In 1992 investor John Aglialoro, and an Objectivist, bought an option to produce the film, paying Peikoff over $1 million for full creative control.

In 1999, under Aglialoro’s sponsorship, Albert Ruddy negotiated a deal with Turner Network Television for a four-hour miniseries, but the project was killed after the AOL Time Warner merger. After the TNT deal fell through Howard and Karen Baldwin obtained the rights while running Phillip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment. The Baldwins left Crusader and formed Baldwin Entertainment Group, taking the rights to Atlas Shrugged with them. Michael Burns of Lions Gate Entertainment approached the Baldwins to fund and distribute Atlas Shrugged. Baldwin Entertainment Group purchased the film rights in 2003.

The film is currently in active development by Baldwin Entertainment Group and Lions Gate Entertainment. A two-part draft screenplay written by James V. Hart was developed into a 127-page screenplay by writer-director Randall Wallace.

Actress Angelina Jolie had been cast in the role of Dagny Taggart, and there were discussions with Russell Crowe to play the part of Hank Rearden. Brad Pitt had been rumored to be cast in a yet unspecified role. Both Jolie and Pitt are fans of Rand's works. It was thought likely that John Galt would be played by an unknown. Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) had been confirmed to direct, but as of June 18, 2008 was no longer attached to the project. Lions Gate Entertainment picked up worldwide distribution rights. The film was expected to be released in 2011. Jolie's 2008 pregnancy and Perelman's departure cast the project into doubt, although the resurgence of public interest in the novel appears to be attracting additional funding. As of November 2008, the Internet Movie Database lists the film's development status as "unknown".

Related topics

• Aristotelianism
• Austrian School
• Dystopia
• Industrial Revolution
• James J. Hill (1838– 1916) builder of the Great Northern Railway (U.S.)
• Libertarianism
• Libertarianism and Objectivism
• Laissez-faire
• Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
• Objectivist movement
• Romanticism

Further reading

Publications

• Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand; Signet (September 1996) ISBN 0-451-19114-5
• Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, Robert Mayhew, editor (Lexington Books, 2009) ISBN 0-73912-780-2
• Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged: A Philosophical and Literary Companion, Edward Younkins (Ashgate Publishing, 2007). ISBN 0-75465-549-0
• Atlas Shrugged (Cliffs Notes), Andrew Bernstein, CliffsNotes (June 5, 2000) ISBN 0-7645-8556-8
• The World of Atlas Shrugged, Robert Bidinotto/The Objectivist Center, HighBridge Company (April 19, 2001) ISBN 1-56511-471-X
• Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of the Mind (Twayne's Masterwork Studies, No. 174) Mimi Reisel Gladstein, Twayne Pub., (June 2000) ISBN 0-8057-1638-6
• The Moral Revolution in Atlas Shrugged, Nathaniel Branden, The Objectivist Center, (July 1999) ISBN 1-57724-033-2
• Odysseus, Jesus, and Dagny, Susan McCloskey, The Objectivist Center (August 1, 1998) ISBN 1-57724-025-1

Foreign language translations

• Chinese:阿特拉斯耸耸肩, 2 vol., published by Chongqing Publishing Group, October 2007, ISBN 9787536686397, Translator: 扬格.
• Dutch: Atlas in Staking, published by the "De Boekenmaker", www.boekenmaker.nl (Krommenie, 2006).
• French: La révolte d'Atlas, 2 vol. (Paris 1958 et 1959, Editions Jeheber)
• German: Wer ist John Galt? (Hamburg, Germany: GEWIS Verlag), ISBN 3-932564-03-0.
• Italian: La rivolta di Atlante, 3 vol. (Milano, Corbaccio, 2007), ISBN 88-797-2863-6, ISBN 88-797-2878-4, ISBN 88-797-2881-4. Translator: Laura Grimaldi
• Japanese: 肩をすくめるアトラス 　(ビジネス社), ISBN 4-8284-1149-6. Translator: 脇坂 あゆみ.
• Norwegian: De som beveger verden. (Kagge Forlag, 2000), ISBN 82-489-0083-5 (hardcover), ISBN 82-489-0169-6 (paperback). Translator: John Erik Bøe Lindgren.
• Polish: Atlas Zbuntowany (Zysk i S-ka, 2004), ISBN 83-7150-969-3 (hardcover). Translator: Iwona Michałowska.
• Portuguese: Quem é John Galt? (Editora Expressão e Cultura), ISBN 85-208-0248-6 (paperback). Translator: Paulo Henriques Britto.
• Russian: Атлант расправил плечи (Издательство Альпина Бизнес Букс, 2007 г.), ISBN 978-5-9614-0603-0. Translator: Ю.Соколов, В.Вебер, Д.Вознякевич.

• Spanish: La rebelión de Atlas. (Editorial Grito Sagrado), ISBN 987-20951-0-8 (hardcover), ISBN 987-20951-1-6 (paperback).
• Swedish: Och världen skälvde. (Timbro Förlag, 1986), ISBN 9905849041. Translator: Maud Freccero.
• Turkish: Atlas Silkindi.. (Plato Yayınları, 2003), ISBN 975-96772-6-1. Translator: Belkıs Çorapçı.
• Hebrew: מרד הנפילים, (Tel Aviv, Israel: S. Fridman, 1999), 2 vol., Danacode 113-138 (hardcover). Translator: Itzhak Avrahami.

External links

• Free Online CliffsNotes for Atlas Shrugged
• Website dedicated to Atlas Shrugged
• Website dedicated to Ayn Rand's novels
• Timeline of major events in the novel
• Cast of characters in the novel
• Excerpt from Atlas Shrugged at the ARI
• Andrew Bernstein, "Transfiguring the Novel: The Literary Revolution in Atlas Shrugged"
• Edward W. Younkins, "A Review of Andrew Bernstein's The Philosophic and Literary Integration in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged"
• Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
• Ayn Rand and Garet Garrett discussion at the Mises Institute.
• Sculpture dedicated to Atlas Shrugged at Universidad Francisco Marroquin
• Missing the Point of Atlas Shrugged by John Wellington Ennis, The Huffington Post
• Aslan Shrugged: The Wardrobe a parody, February 3 2005

Reviews

• A negative review from the December 28, 1957 issue of National Review by Whittaker Chambers.
• Review of Atlas Shrugged as one of 50 'self-help classics'