In history there have been two basic forms of social organization: collectivism and individualism. In the 20th and 21st century, collective variations have included socialism, fascism, Nazism, and communism. Under collectivism, a ruling class of “intellectuals”, bureaucrats, politicians and/or social planners decides what people want or what is “good” for society and then uses the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax and redistribute wealth in an attempt to achieve their desired objectives. Individualism is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes individual liberty, belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence and responsibility. It embraces opposition to controls over the individual when exercised by the state. The Preamble to our Constitution makes it plain that all power rests originally with the people, as individuals. The “O” within the circle represents collectivism in its various forms. The “N” represents an emphatic repudiation of collectivism. The red, white and blue circles encompassing the “NO” are emblematic of our Republic. It is the responsibility of the individuals in an engaged and enlightened republic to limit the influence of the government, especially one that attempts to wield power outside the boundaries delineated by the Constitution.
It took a while, but I finally finished reading Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. This particular edition of the epic novel (a Plume book) was 1168 pages long. Although this book was written in 1957, many of the situations presented in this fiction draw parallels to events occurring presently.In the novel, independent productive individuals, over time, were demonized and often punished for their successes.Repeatedly, non-productive members of society used laws and guilt to confiscate the assets of the more productive individuals.The looters, aka politicians and saprophytic businessmen, confiscated others' earnings, often in the name of “fairness” or “equality”.Sound familiar?Atlas Shrugged portrays collectivism (fascism, socialism and communism) as systemically and fatally flawed.The looters’ interference with and regulation of the economy were reminiscent, to Rand, of the policies instituted through the New Deal by FDR.Rand would be a vociferous critic of the proposed New New Deal.Atlas Shrugged endorses the belief that a society is most likely to flourish when there is minimal government intervention (laissez-faire).The principal protagonist of the novel, John Galt, had much in common with our founding fathers when he stated “The political system we will build is contained in a single moral premise: no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force” and “no rights can exist without the right to translate one’s rights into reality – to think, to work, and to keep the results – which means: the right of property.”Compare this with what Thomas Jefferson had to say in a letter to Joseph Milligan, April 6, 1816: “To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.”Aside from Galt’s rant against organized religion in Part III chapter VII, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend it.
