As it is with our world, the puppet masters think they are the puppet masters, until they have fallen behind and they are out of touch, hence Trump 2016. Their agenda is still moving forward as who would not want to be in the top tier above the law and what not. That is all.
No one. No one really controlled things, because they were allergic to responsibility and decision making. You could maybe say Dr. Ferris once things got close to the end, but the whole business was made of negligence and incompetence.
because he was willing to destroy all his work, and also die for, all he believed in.
and no one else in that story, had that depth of individual passion. not even dagny.
ironic, in retrospect, that rand, the jewish atheist, would create a christ-like figure, in galt.