Question About the Tunnel Scene in Atlas Shrugged
SPOILER
Alex Epstein regarding AR quote. I have noticed several posts in here regarding Mr. Epstein and his book and Congressional hearing video. I have linked to the hearing, in which he smacks down Barbara Boxer) He is an O who formerly worked for ARI (Ayn Rand Institute) and now heads up his own organization. Thought I'd bring up the topic for those who have read Atlas Shrugged. :
"In Atlas Shrugged, in the sequence dealing with the tunnel catastrophe, I list the train passengers who were philosophically responsible for it, in hierarchical order, from the less guilty to the guiltiest. The last one on the list is a humanitarian who had said: 'The men of ability? I do not care what or if they are made to suffer. They must be penalized in order to support the incompetent. Frankly, I do not care whether this is just or not. I take pride in not caring to grant any justice to the able, where mercy to the needy is concerned.'" -- Ayn Rand
I don't understand what kind of "hierarchical order" AR is referring to here given the sequence of passengers. Anyone know?
Alex Epstein regarding AR quote. I have noticed several posts in here regarding Mr. Epstein and his book and Congressional hearing video. I have linked to the hearing, in which he smacks down Barbara Boxer) He is an O who formerly worked for ARI (Ayn Rand Institute) and now heads up his own organization. Thought I'd bring up the topic for those who have read Atlas Shrugged. :
"In Atlas Shrugged, in the sequence dealing with the tunnel catastrophe, I list the train passengers who were philosophically responsible for it, in hierarchical order, from the less guilty to the guiltiest. The last one on the list is a humanitarian who had said: 'The men of ability? I do not care what or if they are made to suffer. They must be penalized in order to support the incompetent. Frankly, I do not care whether this is just or not. I take pride in not caring to grant any justice to the able, where mercy to the needy is concerned.'" -- Ayn Rand
I don't understand what kind of "hierarchical order" AR is referring to here given the sequence of passengers. Anyone know?
SOURCE URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxGZb2GgdaM
Barbara is a real piece of work... She has the philosophy of a jacka$$. It is that of your train passenger example.
I find myself amazed, in that I agree with CG's comment.
Regards,
O.A.
Perfect example of why a one term limit is needed for all of congress. 520 or so other examples.
to carry out the instructions of a single body congress. -- j
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We have a single body congress and it is another example of a failed concept. Doesn't pass the second law of objectivism test. 'Does it pass the test and is it useful?'
No and No so why am I still enabling these clowns? Or rather why is anyone enabling them. I'm not.
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Virtually everything else that has occurred should have been either states business or an entrepreneurial capitalistic function.
As you move down the length of the train, the ideologies get worse. Until you reach the man in Car no. 16.
Why do I get it into my head? Because she said so in a later interview.
Why did she do it? I can only speculate. I suggest she did this to show the progression of bad ideas. It starts with something that might even seem noble. But it gets worse. Every bad idea leads or practice leads to the next.
In the case of Boxer, she is from a district that is a bastion of irrational thought that turns itself into irrational action. She most likely will never run for anything ouside of that district. She is like the mummy movies. If you take away the wrappings it would reveal the horror underneath.
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Only the crew would survive. All the politicians on board would not.
"One man with a gun can control 100 without one." Vladimir Lenin
The humanitarian is the guiltiest the top of the "hierarchical order" because he takes ZERO responsibility for his thoughts he embodies the myopic altruism that destroys the individual. He is the antireasonist. He in fact causes Atlas to shrug.
Others on the train listed before him are examples of the result of that altruism.
Let's look at the situation. You had a mob of people, not in the sense of Rodney King mob, but a train car full of like minded looters and individuals who celebrate the looters, and political pull.
Only one person possessed the political pull to motivate the actions of the moron, Dagny's brother into doing what he knew better than to do.
Here comes the Hierarchy from my view.
A politician with pull playing on James Taggart's personal fear, and desire to stay in the good graces of the politicians, in this case, Kip Chalmers, who DEMANDED James get him moving.
Kip may not have exercised his political pull had the "mob" not encourage and stroked his self-important Ego, however, to prove his "pull" and importance coerced the disaster.
The Train was full of looters all sharing the idea that the successful MUST be forced to share the product of their labor in one way or another, so, in my opinion, the Hierarchical order is as follows:
The Mob, Kip then James who has no spine to stand up to anyone. James naturally subjugated his own personal authority and feeling of accountability by pawning off all decisions to an inexperienced subordinate.
They were rulers, not leaders too. Leaders have people that follow who are generally not unhappy.. At leas in my opinion.