4 ms·

Because bad parodies are, well, bad, and Atlas Shrugged reads like nothing so much as a parody of classical liberalism written by a recent convert to communism

by maw 18y ago

Because bad parodies are, well, bad, and Atlas Shrugged reads like nothing so much as a parody of classical liberalism written by a recent convert to communism without a shred of literary talent.

gills 18y ago
Wow, that's pretty harsh. I'm currently reading that book for the first time, and I don't agree with you. Quite the opposite, actually. Despite the repeated and annoying misuse of the past-tense form of 'light', and the obviously strained attempts to inject philosphy into dialogue, there are some good points in the book. I would be interested in reading any elaboration you may personally wish to undertake.
- jfarmer 18y ago
  Wait until the book turns into an action movie in the last few hundred pages.
- maw 18y ago
  There are good ideas in Atlas Shrugged, but they're presented so badly as to resemble a strawman argument. My copy is 1069 pages long, but Rand says nearly everything she has to say within the first hundred. Although, to be fair, I'd read about her and was already a small-l libertarian, so there wasn't a whole lot new. But before I forget: yep, I'm a small-l libertarian. Rand and her followers and I wouldn't get along well, for the most laughable -- if they weren't pathetic -- of reasons. Peruse some of the results at http://www.google.com/search?q=objectivism+and+libertarianism http://www.google.com/search?q=objectivism+and+libertarianis.... Pretty sad, really. Rand had a number of other beliefs about topics such as the role of women in a heterosexual relationship and homosexuality that many people living in a modern society in the 21st century will have a hard time swallowing. That her ideas were unpopular doesn't make them wrong, of course. But I think they often were. Back to Rand's writing in Atlas Shrugged, I agree that the dialogue is bad, often simply not credible. But suspension of disbelief only works when some aspects of the story -- be they characters, settings, events, or something else -- remain recognizable from reality. But very little in Atlas is, certainly nothing key to the story. We the Living is a much better book than Atlas Shrugged, for what it's worth.
netcan 18y ago
Reads better then The Republic

by maw 18y ago

Because bad parodies are, well, bad, and Atlas Shrugged reads like nothing so much as a parody of classical liberalism written by a recent convert to communism without a shred of literary talent.

gills 18y ago

Wow, that's pretty harsh. I'm currently reading that book for the first time, and I don't agree with you. Quite the opposite, actually. Despite the repeated and annoying misuse of the past-tense form of 'light', and the obviously strained attempts to inject philosphy into dialogue, there are some good points in the book. I would be interested in reading any elaboration you may personally wish to undertake.

jfarmer 18y ago
Wait until the book turns into an action movie in the last few hundred pages.
maw 18y ago
There are good ideas in Atlas Shrugged, but they're presented so badly as to resemble a strawman argument. My copy is 1069 pages long, but Rand says nearly everything she has to say within the first hundred. Although, to be fair, I'd read about her and was already a small-l libertarian, so there wasn't a whole lot new. But before I forget: yep, I'm a small-l libertarian. Rand and her followers and I wouldn't get along well, for the most laughable -- if they weren't pathetic -- of reasons. Peruse some of the results at http://www.google.com/search?q=objectivism+and+libertarianism http://www.google.com/search?q=objectivism+and+libertarianis.... Pretty sad, really. Rand had a number of other beliefs about topics such as the role of women in a heterosexual relationship and homosexuality that many people living in a modern society in the 21st century will have a hard time swallowing. That her ideas were unpopular doesn't make them wrong, of course. But I think they often were. Back to Rand's writing in Atlas Shrugged, I agree that the dialogue is bad, often simply not credible. But suspension of disbelief only works when some aspects of the story -- be they characters, settings, events, or something else -- remain recognizable from reality. But very little in Atlas is, certainly nothing key to the story. We the Living is a much better book than Atlas Shrugged, for what it's worth.

netcan 18y ago

Reads better then The Republic