A Socialist Reads Atlas Shrugged

In this episode, Jonathan explores Hank Reardon's perception that business enterprise is a "shameful cult." This involves a larger discussion of the value of work and the psychological toll of living with people who have different values. Jonathan mentions the book Callings as an example of how work can hold larger value.

My five themes to explore in this podcast's close read of Atlas Shrugged are:

1. W...

In this episode, Jonathan finishes up their discussion of Chapter 5. We see Dagny and Francisco interact in the novel's present time. The dialog reinforces the pattern for Francisco: keeping secrets and acting paternalistic toward Dagny. However, we also see suspenseful developments of Dagny's character on the Hero's Journey. Ayn Rand takes some more pot shots at socialism, which Jonathan addresses.

My five...

In this episode, Jonathan discusses the end of the backstory of Francisco and Dagny's relationship. In reference to the "exhilaration" of Francisco's manic overworking, Jonathan draws out the distinction between workaholism and flow state. Flow state is a concept explained by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (click here for his book on the flow state). This episode contains a lot of commentary about trust in...

[For October-November 2022, episodes will not be released with the usual weekly frequency due to some family commitments. Hopefully the podcast will get back to regular weekly episodes soon. Thanks, everyone, for your patience and thoughtful engagement with the podcast!]

In this episode, Jonathan analyzes the next few scenes of Chapter 5 (Part 1). Dagny and Francisco, now young adults, take their relationship to new levels...

In this episode, we "Fast Forward" to the Story of the 20th Century Motor Company (located in Chapter 10 of Part 2; p.616-627 in the Signet paperback edition). There are not many places on the internet to find the excerpt except for this link.

Jonathan begins the Fast Forward episodes on the 20th Century Motor Company by doing a case study of the post-Soviet economy of Estonia, responding to a speech given by Mar...

This episode starts by checking in with Jim Taggart's growing apprehension of the power of shame-based morality -- something that Dagny thinks is potentially dangerous but Francisco considers merely disdainful. Next, the conversation turns to the dynamic between Francisco and Dagny, which continues to play according to Francisco's terms, mostly. Jonathan responds to the moral formula that someone who doesn't work has...

In this episode, Jonathan delves into the next stages of the friendship between Dagny and Francisco. Also, this episode further analyzes the antipathy between James and Francisco. Next, Jonathan spends a lot of time reflecting on the optimistic paragraph that describes how the three friends (Dagny, Francisco, and Eddie) sit around the bonfire imagining the greatness of the future. The next section of this episode addresses the kind...

This episode focuses on the first scenes presented about Francisco d'Anconia's childhood interactions with the Taggart family, especially Dagny. Jonathan analyzes the friendship dynamics between Francisco, Dagny, and Eddie. Then, when Francisco attempts to test their mettle as an anonymous call boy for the train, we see the temptation that we all have to get an evaluation of our skills apart from our inherited or social b...

In this episode, Jonathan analyzes the back story of Francisco D'Anconia's ancestry. The main topic of this episode is how Ayn Rand infuses an aristocratic family with bourgeois values. This involves thinking about social class in the terms conceptualized by Friedrich Nietzsche in the Genealogy of Morals. Jonathan recommends the podcast Philosophize This for a great explanation of the philosophy of Nietzsche.

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In this episode, Jonathan reaches the end of Chapter 4. In these last two scenes, Dagny interacts with two characters who share her "sense of life" and value system.  The scene with Ellis Wyatt highlights the struggle of someone who has pride in their work but works in a broken system. Ellis Wyatt expresses particular disdain for those who feed off the carcasses of producers and Jonathan draws an analogy to the leeching b...

Jonathan first discusses the short scene between Dagny and James. The "secret" that Dagny detects in James Taggart's smile is probably the short-term advantage possessed by those who are willing to use brute force or political maneuvering to achieve their goal.

In the scene between Dagny and Dan Conway, we meet another "man's man" who built a successful enterprise in a rags-to-riches fashion....

This episode focuses on the vexing problem of setting rules for competition in marketplaces and profit-making. The government's function is to set the rules of the game and enforce them. 

In Atlas Shrugged, the National Railroad Association conducts illegal collusion, but Ayn Rand makes it seem like this behavior is something that firms could easily get away with in the real world. On the contrary, in the real world,...

File this one under the theme: what is Capitalism and what is wrong with it?

Jonathan provides a lengthy history-infused explanation of nationalization (when a government takes over an industry or a particular firm within an industry).  The historical journey features  Mexico's nationalization of its petroleum industry and the US Department of State's webpage. Jonathan mentions the Takings Clause in the 5th Amen...

I thought that I could cover both the gender discussion and nationalization in about 45 minutes, but that did not happen. So, this week, we get into gender with the scene between James Taggart and Betty Pope. The next episode (#32) will discuss nationalization.

Jonathan's understanding of contemporary gender theory and research is grounded in the text Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions by Lisa Wade and Myra Mar...

For the 30th episode, Jonathan "fast forwards" to Part 2, Chapter 2 in order to discuss one of the most quoted sections of Atlas Shrugged, Francisco d'Anconia's Money Speech. The gist of the speech is that d'Anconia (and Rand) claims that money is not the root of evil, but the root of all good. In this longer episode, Jonathan delves into the logic Rand uses to support this claim and examines several underl...

This episode begins by delving into aesthetics with an exploration of the question: what makes great art great? Dagny returns to her apartment and listens to the music of Richard Halley. Jonathan analyzes the description of Halley's Fourth Concerto and explores the idea that the experience of pain is worse for those who see no purpose in it. Jonathan mentions the philosopher Viktor Frankl as a philosopher who writes on the pur...

Jonathan begins this episode with a review of a recent book on economic systems: Is Capitalism Obsolete?: a Journey Through Alternative Economic Systems by Giacomo Corneo. This episode kicks off the discussion of Chapter 4 of Part 1. The title of the chapter, The Immovable Movers, carries allusions to Ancient Greek philosophical traditions connected to the creation of the cosmos. Jonathan explains some of the connections to Aristot...

This episode begins with Jonathan examining how people typically make decisions about who is deserving of empathy and who is not. This episode's close read starts with the scene between Dagny and the "old watchdog." Jonathan examines the social class evocations called up by the identification of the old watchdog having an "air of breeding" about him. Dagny doesn't want to discuss what she calls her per...

This episode begins with an analysis of the scene between Dagny and Jim about the San Sebastian Line. This scene reprises a lot of the dynamics we saw before when Jim and Dagny interacted: Jim's sexism, ignorance, avoidance of responsibility, and disdain for facts. This scene also includes some fearmongering about nationalization, and the Mexican government as "looters." Jonathan explains the historical context for s...