Posted by
peripheral on Thursday, December 10, 2009 4:43:54 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Earlier this year, March 15, 2009, The Wall Street Journal raised this thought and question: "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…" The summary concludes with this question: "Is
Rand Relevant?"
John Stossel recently left the ABC Network and affiliated with Fox Business News. His first program will be on Rand’s Book, ATLAS SHRUGGED.
His reason is: “I reread the novel recently and was stunned. It was as
if Rand had seen the future. Writing half a century ago, she predicted
today's explosion of big government in shockingly accurate detail - The
"Preservation of Livelihood Law." The "Equalization of Opportunity
Law." The "Steel Unification Plan." Don't these sound like laws passed
by the current Congress? All were creations of Rand's villain, Wesley
Mouch, the evil bureaucrat who regulates business and eventually drives
the productive people out of business. Who is today's Wesley Mouch?
Barney Frank? Chris Dodd? Tim Geithner?” The Library of Congress once
asked readers which books made the biggest difference in their lives. ATLAS SHRUGGED
came in second, after the Bible. Atlas is still a big bestseller today.
This year, it reached as high as No. 15 on Amazon's bestseller list.
Clearly there's some magic in ATLAS SHRUGGED.
Yet elites and the MSM hate Ayn Rand. When Atlas first came out, The
New York Times wrote that the book is written out of hate. College
women's studies courses rarely mention her. One professor says her
department head asked: Why would you study that fascist?”
Stossel continues: “Why such antipathy? Rand celebrates business and
free markets. The elites don't like business. In every newsroom where
I've worked, and at my college, Princeton, capitalism was derided as
selfishness. And lately, as a failure. On one website, someone wrote:
"You'd think it was a joke, when the global economy was collapsing
because of greed, that anyone might turn seriously to the purple prose
of crypto-fascist (!) Ayn Rand and think it was the answer to anything"
(http://tinyurl.com/cswqhe). Well, I, for one, think her prose answers
much. The embrace of freer markets has lifted more people out of the
misery of poverty than any other system -- ever. The World Bank says
that in just the last 30 years, half a billion people who once lived on
less than $1.25 a day have moved out of poverty. But now, Wesley Mouch
-- I mean, Congress and the bureaucrats -- tell us they are going to
"fix" capitalism, as if their previous "fixes" didn't hamstring the
free market and create the problems they propose to solve. Who are they
kidding? Rand had it right. She learned it the hard way in Soviet
Russia. What makes a country work is leaving people free -- free to
take risks, to invent things -- and to keep the rewards of their work.
Critics say Ayn Rand promotes selfishness. I call it "enlightened self
interest." When free people act in their own self-interest, society
prospers.”
Someone wrote the following and stated it well: “The Word of God
reveals three specific responsibilities that God has in connection with
work: 1. God Gives Talents And Skills. “Every skillful person in whom
the Lord has put a skill and understanding to know how to perform all
the work”- Exodus 36:1. 2. God Gives Success. “The Lord was with
Joseph, so he became a successful man” - Genesis 39:2. 3. God Controls
Promotion. “God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another” -
Psalm 75:7. In the New Testament, Paul was direct concerning work: “If
anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2
Thessalonians 3:10). God's Word implies that there is dignity in all
types of work.” Some things inferred by Rand’s approach may include:
(a) the loss of creativity in industry; (b) the diminishing of quality
in production; (c) the loss of incentive to invent and invest. In other
words – demoralization sets in and antipathy becomes a reality. The
work ethic should remain constant for the avowed Christian – whether
during oppression, recession, depression, or other hardships – one’s
work ethic and effort should always be to please the Lord. Consider
these things with me!