ATLAS

SHRUGGED
learning in Economic perspective
 ECONOMY
• Socialism
• During the laborers' revolution, they seize the means of production and government
control, replacing capitalism with socialism, a system in which property and
resources are owned publicly rather than privately. Under socialism, class
distinctions are abolished, and people work together to produce goods. The
products of labor are owned by the laborers, not by an exploitative capitalist.
• The final stage of society is communism, Rand quotes on the principle of "from each
according to his ability, to each according to his need."when the Twentieth Century
Motor Company implements a plan to run according to communist principles,
driving the novel's hero, John Galt, to resign. Galt organizes a strike of powerful
capitalists, causing society to collapse; when the capitalists return to the world, they
begin rebuilding society according to the principles of laissez-faire capitalism.
• Capitalism
• To Ayn Rand, man is a rational creature, and capitalism is the natural extension of man's nature.
The heroes of Atlas Shrugged are all capitalists, and the villains advocate socialist or communist
principles. In the novel, Rand attempts to prove socialism and communism lead to degradation of
the individual and societal collapse.
• Laissez-Faire Capitalism
• In laissez-faire capitalism the government does not regulate the economy. Private individuals own
the means of production, and sell products and services for profit on a free, unregulated market.
A free market means that supply and demand, not the government, determines the price of
goods and services; prices rise when a good or service is in high demand and fall when it is in less
demand. Companies compete with one another to sell their goods to the public. Through
competition, capitalism drives innovation in production and product. A business makes a profit by
efficiently producing goods that are in high demand. A business that does not make a profit
cannot keep operating.
• Objectivism
• Rand believed there is one true, objective reality; it exists apart from any
subjective perception. Reality cannot be perceived by means of faith, desire, or
emotion; it can be perceived only through reason, a mental faculty that evaluates
information our senses take in. Rand's ethics are rooted in the concept of rational
self-interest; she believed individuals must use their own reason to determine
what action will benefit them most, and then take that action. She believed it is
immoral for people to act against their own rational self-interest for the sake of
another, because this is a denial of both reason and existence. She identified
capitalism as the political and economic system that arises out of rational self-
interest; thus, it is the only moral system for organizing societies.
• metaphysics—the nature of reality
• epistemology—how knowledge is obtained
• ethics—the principles that should guide human behavior
• politics
Economic System demonstrated in the plot
• The US Govt created a Economical path
• The US Govt allocated all the resources as per the economical path
• As per the economical path the priorities are set on the goods and
services.
• The US govt then starts owning the monopoly businesses.
• Based on the new path, the US govt creates new laws and regulations
in order to enforce the path.