Atlas Shrugged

For Book Club this month we are supposed to be reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I say "supposed to" because it is 1,088 pages long and very difficult. It's probably a book we should be doing over 2 months. But anyway, I decided to listen to the abridged Audible version - which is 11 hours and 33 minutes long instead of the full audio version which is 52 hours and 19 minutes long. So far I'm on hour 1. Already it's a fascinating book. I'm really curious to see if I agree with it.

The author, Ayn Rand, wrote the book to illustrate her philosophy of objectivism. She believed that individuals should choose their values and actions solely by reason. According to Rand, the individual "must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life." She also believed in capitalism and that "in a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church."

So far the characters I like are the "capitalists". They are the ones who actually want to work hard and make things better. But, usually I depise capitalism, so I'll have to see where this book is going. I think I'll end up agreeing with some parts of the objectivist philosophy and opposing others. I just hope I finish the book!