Sen. Ron Johnson Compares Modern America to "Atlas Shrugged"

You're not the only one, Ron

Sen. Ron Johnson said there were "absolutely" parallels between the novel "Atlas Shrugged" and America today in an interview published Monday with a group that promotes the work of libertarian philosopher Ayn Rand, the book's author.

"Absolutely," the Wisconsin Republican said when asked by an interviewer from the Atlas Society if "Atlas Shrugged" resembled modern-day America.

In the 1957 novel, society's most productive and wealthy citizens go on strike to protest increased government taxes and regulation. Millions of copies have sold since the book's release, and tens of thousands of copies are still sold each year.

Comments

[Sevo]

"I reject her philosophy," Ryan said. "It's an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview."

Wrong. It properly defines human interactions as contracts; nothing 'mere' about it.

[RightNut]

Ron Johnson is not Paul Ryan?

[Sevo]

Seemingly not.

[jennidavid]

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[phandaal]

Ayn Rand on libertarians (from the Ford Hall Forum, 1981):

"Q: Why don't you approve of libertarians, thousands of whom are loyal readers of your works?

AR: Because libertarians are a monstrous, disgusting bunch of people: they plagiarize my ideas when that fits their purpose, and denounce me in a more vicious manner than any communist publication when that fits their purpose. They're lower than any pragmatists, and what they hold against Objectivism is morality. They want an amoral political program."

Maybe if she were still alive then she'd think differently about today's libertarian movement, but calling her a "libertarian philosopher" is false, because in her lifetime she had no respect for libertarian philosophy.