I have written about Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged before in this blog.   Many entrepreneurs consider the it the best book ever written, and having sold seven million copies, it ranks as top all time seller.  Surveys find it to be the second most influential book ever published, after the Bible.  In the book, the creators of wealth go on strike in protest of increasing governmental control.  Their refusal to be exploited results in the complete collapse of the economy.  New York goes dark.

Her philosophy is that man should act in their rational self-interest, meaning they must pursue rationality, honesty, justice, independence, integrity, productiveness, and pride.  Hard work is rewarded.  Laziness is punished.  Victims must not allow themselves to be used.  Government is the problem.  Property rights are absolute.  The individual is absolute and must not do what feels good, but should figure out what is in their long-term rational self-interest.  You do not give in to whims, but do what is in your long-term productive goals.

The book is one of the most revered and hated texts of all time.   Lovers of the book cite her belief in individualism and self-sufficiency.   Detractors claim it was written out of hate and that its story line was unrealistic.   Today though, many people see the book coming to life before us.  One central theme is the negative role of government, and as the government grows in size today, the book does seem to presage the current situation.   A great question arises: “What similarities exist between the book and 2010?”   And, “Who alive today is most like the book’s villain Wesley Mouch?”

• Consider that the nationalization of our economy and the TARP bill are eerily similar to Hank Rearden’s (a hero in the book) forced sale of his steel invention to the government.
• Consider Cass Sunstein, or current czar of regulation, and the book’s Steel Unification Plan.
• Consider the administration’s czar of executive compensation and “spreading the wealth around” and book’s Equalization of Opportunity Act.
• Consider anyone of tons of the groups asking for social progress today and the book’s Friends of Global Progress.
• Consider the minimum wage and the pay czar and the Preservation of Livelihood Law.
• Consider our competition czar and, “Each company paid according to its need.”
• Consider the attack on business, small and big, in today’s world and the book.

Yaron Brook, President of the Ayn Rand Institute, said, “Reality is outpacing fiction. It is far more radical than even happened in the book.”

And who is Wesley Mouch, a villain in the book?  John Stossell conducted a poll with the results to the right…