In Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, the novel’s hero John Galt leads a secret strike of the most productive citizens in an America where productivity and freedom is no longer valued. The strike is an act of rebellion and self-preservation, fueled by Galt’s crucial insight that their enemies’ only weapons are the ones the strikers produce for them. By recruiting more and more strikers, Galt precipitates the ultimate collapse of American society.
We in the US are living in precarious times. Productive men and women should be taking a good hard look at the sort of government and society they are being forced to support with their taxes. They should also honestly assess the likelihood of freedom’s fortune improving.
Unfortunately, the options open to those who would be free are limited. There is no political movement large enough to reverse the current political trends through peaceful electoral means, as the majority of Americans believe that they can vote themselves into prosperity by expropriating the property of others. Furthermore, there are no constitutional principles remaining to serve as a bulwark against the economic tyranny of the majority.
Productive men and women find themselves in this situation largely due to their own cowardice, too long hoping that someone else will make the case for liberty, while they continue to produce for their victimizers. This strategy, this wish, has not improved their lot. Instead, their victimizers now feel confident that they can take at will from the producers and expect no resistance.
The time has come to change that assumption.
America is not irredeemable. But America will not be inspired to change by would-be rebels without the courage to match their rhetoric. Producers must show that they are not willing to accept further encroachments on their freedoms, even at high personal cost.
To teach the victimizers an object lesson will require planning and coordination. I believe that a “job action” — a calculated work slowdown — undertaken by enough people will convince people that freedom’s benefits are no longer to be taken for granted.
But coordination is the key. Producers seek freedom, not martyrdom, and they are right to demand that their actions will not be in vain. Certainty that the current path is untenable does not assure that an alternate path cannot be worse.
Such is the mission of this project: To identify the most practical strategy for withholding liberty’s fruits from the world, to the end of showing the public that the destruction of liberty will no longer be tolerated. But developing such a strategy, designed to minimize personal risk, attract the greatest number of adherents, minimize defection/treason, discourage backlash, and ultimately inspire, is a task the difficulty of which can hardly be overstated.
Yet I don’t think there is a more pressing mission in the world at this moment. I invite you all to rise to this challenge, and to plan for the time when the freedom loving producers of the US will “go ‘John Galt’”.
John Galt has already spoken to productive Americans in a speech given in 1957. If that speech has fallen on deaf ears, and such is the evidence, how do you expect to open them? I’ll be looking forward to your plans.
I agree with you, but think most of our fellow Americans are happy in their servitude and willingly subscribe to the notion that “…taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”
Hi folks, and thanks for the comments! No question, most folks are happy with the tradeoff of what they get for what they give. That doesn’t bother me. The problem is their indifference to forcibly extracting that same price from those who _aren’t_ happy with the tradeoff. And here is where I have to put the blame on myself and others like me, because we haven’t shown everyone else just how much we resent it. (To those of you who _have_, good for you! Please pass your suggestions along!) I started this site because I’m riding a wave of optimism that we can reach a critical mass of folks who can turn public opinion. I want to keep this revolution bloodless, even if there’s no way to avoid it being painful. The planning will start in 2009.
The ideas I just read above are ideas ive been thinking about for a LONG time. Its like someone has read my mind. I am almost desperate to share ideas and start the process to gain real freedom. I am a successfull business owner, and so I understand whats at stake. I am hoping to be contacted for further plans.
John, I am Jason’s wife. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think that some of the people who argee with your idea are quite understanding the plan. Those who disagree with your plan are ineffective and don’t matter. Isn’t the point of this website to: organize those who can make a difference; not to bring together the scared Americans who finally realize what freedoms they have allowed to be stripped away by their complaciency, stock piling food in fear, not to change the minds of the blind, and not to create some want-to be American Revolutionists. I hope that I just didn’t describe you; because this site just might be able to give a voice, and organize an acton, to those of us who can only presently dream. I think that Ayn was presenting a worse case sinerio so that we never got to that point. It’s good to be prepared for the worst, but it’s better to take action to prevent it first. (Please forgive grammatic errors. Writing and posting websites is not my strength. That’s why I’m glad people like you and Ayn can.)
(Allow me to begin by expressing gratitude for the compliment on my postings. I enjoy writing, and I always feel proud if something I’ve written makes sense to a reader somewhere. Pretty sure I don’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Ayn Rand though!)
Let me see if can clarify my position and intent. In the struggle between the producers and the parasites, there are a wide array of actions that can qualify as “making a difference”. There are, to be sure, a small number of individuals of enough strategic importance who’s actions would attract attention on a national scale. Yet the rest of us who aren’t can still take action that can inspire the most able to stand up for themselves.
Furthermore, there are lots of websites, organizations, and think tanks out there which do a superb job in making the moral and practical case for free-market capitalism. We suffer no shortage of “organization” when it comes to finding people who want to try yet again another round of talking. And of course, the parasites of the world are happy to humor them in their efforts. Parasites don’t succeed by making their hosts too uncomfortable.
I doubt this website will achieve much by being just a part-time volunteer duplication of those existing efforts. That’s why I’m trying to create an organization for action, specifically, some form of strike action. But strikes are costly to the striker, which is why preparation is important. Furthermore, to have confidence in the ability of your fellow strikers to sustain the strike, you need to have confidence in their preparations as well. I feel to achieve anything of more substance than a publicity stunt, such preparations are necessary.
I don’t believe that “the scared Americans who finally realize what freedoms they have allowed to be stripped away by their complacency” cannot become “those who can make a difference”, if they’re willing to make a stand now. And while I’m certainly hoping to stem the tide of collectivism without another American Revolution, I don’t think that will happen without the collectivists knowing that there are American Revolutionaries willing to take action if necessary.
I might be wrong though. It wouldn’t be the first time
. If you think there’s another function this site can serve in addition to or in place of the general one I just described, I would be grateful to hear it. I don’t want all the ideas to be mine, i just want to start making the world a better place. In what other ways can I help get the job done?
The solution is exactly what John Galt promoted and it is exactly what is happening right now. Society is crashing… albeit slowly… but remember that even in Atlas Shrugged it took a long time. It will take time in real life.
But consider this… was Alan Greenspan or Bernie Madoff playing the role of Francisco? Given Greenspan’s connection with Rand, it is very possible. And if so, his actions would fit. And one has to wonder WHY would Madoff construct such a scheme? He was already wealthy and an intelligent man. He must have known it would be discovered sooner or later and it would destroy his name. So why unless there was some other motive than making money???
D’Anconia Copper could have been the US Economy. And Greenspan certainly helped its demise by pumping the flow of money to those that did not deserve it. Madoff certainly helped it by bilking tons of wealth from idiots dumb enough to fall for his scheme. I know this is very simplified version of what happened… but it make sense. And then right when it was about to hit the fan, Greenspan retired??? Or Madoff went public??? Rather convenient if you ask me. Sounds like a blowing up of the docks!
My thoughts are that anyone worth “saving” already knows about Rand and the ideals of Objectivism and they will/are saving themselves.
For us, we should all continue to disconnect as much as possible. No this does not necessarily mean disappearing to Galt’s Gulch, but instead in smaller, more do-able ways. Such as planting a garden. You obviously don’t pay taxes on tomatoes you grow, and you only get to enjoy what you earn.
Or perhaps taking up (or increasing) fishing as a hobby. Except for a small fishing license (which keeps you from going to jail), the fish you catch are not taxed, and you get to feed yourself and your family with only the fruits of your efforts. The same would apply to hunting.
Perhaps significantly decreasing your expenses and then buying gold with the saved money. That way, the savings do not get plowed into the stock market and help to prop up failing companies and then get taxed on redemption.
My point is that there are tons of ways to respond and we should (inn my opinion) all look to ways that we can make a difference at our personal levels first. My guess is that if 30 million Americans (only 10% of the population) stopped shopping for vegetables and investing in the stock market, it would make a huge difference.
One note… I did not mean to suggest that this site was unnecessary when I stated “…anyone worth “saving” already knows about Rand and the ideals of Objectivism and they will/are saving themselves.”
Obviously this is not completely true as Hank Reardan did not know but was definitely worth saving. So yes… we need to spread the message definitely.
As much as I like the “Greenspan and Madoff as Agents Of The Destroyer” theory (and would like it to be true), it doesn’t survive Occam’s Razor in my analysis, triple question marks notwithstanding. Anyway, my problem still stands because even if there’s an Atlantis, no one’s inviting me in. Thus, I choose to stay focused on what I know.
Thinking about how to respond to your other comments has actually inspired a new post idea in me. I mentioned to a friend a few months ago that what I’m trying to do with this site is akin to what protagonist Hari Seldon was trying to accomplish with his Foundation project in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy. (As if this whole thing weren’t nerdy enough…) I’ll explain what i mean by that and how it relates to the various individual and group plans we can pursue to mitigate the current and future crises.
Please be aware everyone – there are 2 ( two ) Jasons on this blog now. Anything before 2-11-2009 is me, and will be listed from here on out as “Jason – 1″
In my opinion, planting a garden, and related activites, are risk free ways to make yourself feel like a ” cool rebel “.
Producers need to be organized. ( sorry, organizing is not the way to be a cool, and is not easy )
If things ever get that bad, I recommend:
1. AK-47 with 10,000 rounds of 7.62
2. Water purification equipment
3. Vitamin supplements
4. Bulk canned goods + 500 pounds of rice.
If things ever got bad enough to require a “garden”, we would be living in a world that resembles the movie ” Excape from New York ” ( not a real option )
With 2 % of the best Americans in direct CONTACT with each other, ( with the strike option ) no other action will be required. Please remember – we produce EVERYTHING of value. If you disagree, try working on a random hard problem with a group of successful startup business people. The problem will be solved with the use of energy, but no ” effort ” will be required. I have vast experience with this.
I will be starting a web site next week as the 1 st step for contact with those uncomprising 2 % of Americans who make most everything happen.
These are the type of people who may look anti social, arrogant, cruel, and closed minded to popular society. Anyone who can actually get stuff done, without ANY expectation of a handout , will be accepted into this group.
The Actual goal will be to link producers together in communication, and establish a ” strike policy ”
I currently have no plans to allow any dissent on the 2 goals listed above. ( maybee this plan will change ). I however will consider any idea on how to accomplish these goals.
Many details will follow on a new website that John may or may not be willing to link to.
Im about to stick my neck out and probably humiliate myself in getting the word out. I will always be looking for other people with some courage to help.
John – this message is mostly directed to you. I could really use your help. Your ability to clarify this idea is beyond my abilities, as is your computer skills.
This constant writing back and forth does not allow the fluid, fast exchange of ideas that a simple phone call would allow. Using my experience dealing with thousands of customers / other contractors, I detect some level of uneasyness in calling. Let me know if this is true.
Regaurdless, I thank you for producing this blog, and thereby letting me know that theres at least ONE person out there who thinks like me.
Jason – 1
There’s definitely more than just the two of us, Jason – 1, and the fact that we’re beginning to find each other is a good thing.
My take is that without a way of making a strike threat credible, asking people to affirmatively register their intentions is premature. Thus, this site remains a single-author blog for now with open comments rather than a communications network. I suspect your planned efforts will be hampered by that same lack of credibility at present. While I agree with your focus on the prime movers of society, I don’t see them being convinced to scale down their productivity by my words more than they might already choose to. Credibility is key, and it’s the issue I find myself musing upon most this month. As the resolution to the issue will dictate the form of future efforts, I’m keeping certain necessary components in limbo for the moment.
That partially answers one of your questions: I don’t consider developing that sort of website a good use of time right now. However, I’m happy to share whatever extent of expertise I possess in pointing you to the tools and resources to get the sort of thing built that you’re looking for. There’s a lot of good low-cost and free stuff out there, and I can help you make some good choices. We’ll discuss details off of this thread. Oh, and content-wise, if you like how I’ve phrased any of these ideas, I hope you’ll use as much of what I’m doing here as you like. This isn’t a advertisement-paid site; all I want is for these ideas to start producing some results!
(And while we’re on a related topic, I much prefer real-time phone or face-to-face conversation for getting things done as well. Blocking out the necessary time isn’t always easy for me though; I can get interrupted twenty times and still produce something the reads coherently. Plus, as you might discern from my updating schedule, I’m approaching my planning as an issue of extreme importance, but not of extreme urgency. It’s hard to predict what developments will alter the timescale, but my best guess is that this whole operation is likely to take 10 years to gather steam. This isn’t dithering: as I’ve posted, I no longer think any of us can hope to ignore this issue. But I think I’ve got enough time to get it right. 2009 is just Phase 1. (Plus, written discussions count as content for the site
.))
Lastly, while organization is the hard step, I wouldn’t denigrate the motives of people who are seeking security in case of mass infrastructural failure. They’re probably just people who in their own honest assessment feel that developing some measure of self-sufficiency is the most beneficial step they are capable of taking, a judgment they are in a better position to make than I. I haven’t taken such measures myself, as I feel solving the issue of strike credibility is the most beneficial step I’m capable of taking. But I’m still interested in hearing about other people’s self-sufficiency measures because 1) it’s a subject I know little about and am curious about, and 2) because it might turn out to be an important consideration for promoting strike credibility. Furthermore, even those outside of the rarefied circle of prime movers can (and should) still be allies. I’m trying to avoid a painful revolution here, which means the more allies who can work within the framework of democracy, the better.
Alot of the reason to strike in my mind, is to have a set time to talk / trade ideas with others, ( in relation to this goal )
I have no plans on promoting the cutting back of production.
( beyond a set strike time )
I was thinking of a yearly strike of about 2 weeks in length during which all producers could talk to each other, ( like a convention for strikers )
I may not even call it a ” strike ” in order to make a better 1 st impression.
When I am planning, no thoughts of other people beyond producers come to mind. The idea of dealing with / saving the masses is too complicated.
Heres the real point that I ignore on pourpose in planning:
If I were to organize about 3 million ( random small # ) of the type of people im looking for, ( ive already talked to many of them ), The regular folks would be saved from any ” revolution ” or collapse of society, as long as they followed the concept of free trade, property rights, etc.
The act of helping others who cant take care of themselves / are entitlement minded will be left up to different systems.
My function is to remove the gun from the heads of those who already take care of everyone. Once that is done, resentment toward the masses will be greatly reduced, and helping others in a voluntary manner will greatly increase.
As far as strike credibility, I understand your concern.
My solution ( for now ) is as follows:
1. Establish 2 week strike date ( for now ).
2. Set up a registration for people who intend to strike.
3. List a running # count of those registered to strike.
4. Set a goal # to reach of intended strikers before striking is strongly encouraged. ( solve problem of striking “alone ” )
5. Encourage intended strikers to participate in strike dates regaurdless of # count, if for no other reason than to use time to help further networking of other producers.
Changing the behavior of people whom I disagree with is not my goal. I dismiss them outright. I take the ” we dont need you ” phrase to heart.
However, I would not be surprised if this goal’s success resulted in a snowballing effect, that would result in the ” hands off ” approach i’m looking for from all people in power.
Last – I’m not looking for prime movers alone. I want to work with anyone who will pull their own weight, and has a hunger for as much freedom as possible.
A ditch digger who has never expected others to sacrifice for him, is more important to me than any government official.
( unless that government official thinks the same way, and can fix my truck! )
Let the ideas continue to fly!!!
I am with Jason 1. I never take the time to stop my production. This time must include limited spending by members at ’strike’ time. I have 30 employees that will not function well without me. It will be interesting to see if they value me instead of despise me when I bring them no work for a period of time.
Nick – Right on!
I hate to say it, but getting a group of movers and shakers together starts sounding like New World Order and Bohemian Grove folks. How would you keep from becoming just like them? Power corrupts.
ex-D, I’m not sure who you’re responding to. I’m planning a strike, not a summer camp. Which isn’t to say there aren’t some excellent summer camps, but that’s not my purpose.
(And power may corrupt, but grass grows. I’m still sure as hell gonna make sure the lawn gets mowed.)
ex-D – Our power will be baised on free trade that has nothing to do with the use of force. People who do not wish to participate can just ignore it. The ” new world order ” and the like, still push for control over the population. This is not that. My right to own my fruits of labor is the only question. If power were to corrupt me, my competition would, and should ruin me.
This is about freedom, not power.
After tonights ” address to congress ” , has anyone developed a sence of urgency?
Maybee its time to goto work, instead of constantly talking among ourselves, and trying to appear clever.
I got my sense of urgency on October 3rd, 2008, and decided to go to work three days later. But with all of these “Tea Parties” sprouting up nationwide, it sure looks like lots of people have a new sense of urgency! Also, the word “default” is being thrown around more and more…
(Also, while “trying to appear clever” is certainly not to be mistaken for work, it’s not like it’s one or the other. For some people, writing cleverly is one of the true joys of life, like fine wine, a beautiful song, or a perfectly turned 1-6-3 double play.)
I’m not a prime mover, by nature. My abilities lie in moving the movers, being handed a plan and finding ways to make it work. I’m sorry, John, if I have sounded like I’m denouncing your plan. I think it’s a good plan, and now that it is receiving more and more support, I am starting to think it may be workable. It’s not that I’m a fence-sitter, as you can tell from the plans I have made. I never take action without understanding exactly *why* and *how* it is going to be done. My caution extends from a careful knowledge of history. The last thing I want is to revolutionize modern society, like the Founding Fathers did way back then, only to have a group of people like us sitting around 250 years from now figuring out how to re-revolutionize it. Again. Jefferson & Co. put the producers in power, only to have pundits and demagogues strip that power away slowly, bit by bit, over the course of centuries. And I. will. not. participate in any action or actions which will perpetuate that vicious cycle. Rand showed me the way out. Cool. But if I do it alone, I’ll achieve nothing more that the results detailed in another comment. I think your plan has definite merits, and I’d love the opportunity to help organize it. Count me in.
Definitive, concerted action? I’m all for it. Sense of urgency? Got it ten years ago. Brains? Got ‘em in spades. Skills? Mad ones. Leadership? Eh, I can manage projects or groups of projects, but not a whole enterprise. My skills are primarily in web and application development, record-keeping, procurement, critical thinking, and problem solving. I’m offering those skills to the service of any prime mover, or agent thereof, who can give me what I want: the freedom to be productive. Please contact me, or provide my email to anyone who asks, if you want me.
Anything that can be traded already has a value, it’s the value you place in it when you decided it was valuable to you and thus can be traded based upon what you are willing to trade for it.
Silver is selling a bit high right now but converting FRN’s into something more tangible is worth it. ammunition has value, so does water, salt, sugar, flour, corn meal, heirloom seeds, nails, screws, hammers, screwdrivers, knives etc…
I already trade with neighbors. fruits, vegtables, and nuts for eggs or meat. If I don’t have any food to trade for food, I use silver.
All it takes is your brains to start the strike. Thikn about Owen Kellog, he wasn’t a prime mover, but a mover. Or Hailey and his understudy, or Judge Narragansett, or Kay Ludlow the actress. None of these were prime movers, like the three amigos or Hank or Dagny. You abilities, which means you brains are what is needed by the brutes and mystics for them to survive. Any one with a strong mind can go on strike.
I have begun already.
contact me if needed. My services are not free and my mind is not for sale.
lerchmatt@aol.com
My spelling is horrible. I guess the “r” is on walkabout
I’ve already started the strike. I am a contractor and I have all my money in quality rental property right now. It’s not a get rich quick scheme, but it is honest, I have alot of deductions, and I pay minimal taxes. I also am not paying real estate taxes for 4 years. It’s only a 10% penalty for nonpayment and I want to send a message to the government in California.
Ah, well, since we’re posting emails anyway:
salmongirl73@gmail.com
My services are for sale, and my brain is for rent.
My idea for a strike is to create a perminate firewall against the paracites. If this can be done with everyone involved, im all for it.
All – I would be exceptionally cautions about how much information you share here. We arrived at this juncture not by happenstance but by the concerted actions of a relatively few thinkers, intellectuals and ideologues in high places over a span of about one hundred years. If you think during that time they have not figured out how to keep upstarts like yourselves in check, you might be in for a rude awakening.
anonymous – you just made the case to fight back. Or are you a content slave?
Anon, I think you’re attributing more cleverness to these people than is actually possible. There’s no way they can make us use our productive skills. The worst they could do is: a) kill us; b) throw us in prison; or c) enslave us. In any of these scenarios, they won’t be getting full productive effort out of us. Enslavement holds a certain horror for me, but at least it would force them to show themselves publicly for what they really are. As for prison or death, I’m with Howard Roarke. I’d rather be dead than live in this world they are trying to create.
Death is the only thing that the parisites know. Governments don’t need gun’s, bomb’s of high explosives to kill a person. All they have to do is take away the means of production from an individual.
Death would not acheive what they want, they want to live off the backs of others. If the others (people like us, the productive) die they die also and they don’t realize this yet.
I also agree with Anon on the fact that the government knows how to destroy groups and individuals. But this is a war. Yes A WAR. People have been fighting this war since Cain and Able. We know what this war is about, its about living, liberty, justice, peace and dignity. Yes there will be casualties on both sides. Only rational men and women can live in peace, know how to respect other peoples freedoms and what gives people liberty. Justice for a rational person is simple to understand. And dignity is nothing more that selfrespect.
Capitalism will survive in the form of blackmarkets. Trading goods for goods and value for value.
American by birth, capitalist by choice
Actions I have taken have spanned the past 30 years. The first 11 years consisted of TEACHING the novels of Ayn Rand to some 600 Junior & Senior students. Since my days teaching, I have continued to “teach” these novels by giving out copies of “deserving” souls. I still have students who have now grown wings and productive lives for themselves and their families, who continue to write or share with me their ideas regarding the truthful principles espoused by Rand. If the only thing you do is to share the books and essays, you would be amazed at the ripple effect. The Ayn Rand Institute has given out millions of copies and donations are welcome to support the effort. As for me and my husband, we plant a garden using heriloom seeds, can, dry, and preserve our own food; fish; reload and have concealed weapons permits, teach fire arms classes, read and share the works of our Founding Fathers, and seek constantly for like-minded friends worthy knowing and sharing our time with. Any little effort can have far-reaching effect.. Chin up! It’s about much more than just money.
Mindful-
I read Atlas Shrugged in 2006 and read Anthem, The Fountainhead, We the living, Virtues of Selfishness, and the Romantic Manifesto. I will admit I was intimidated by Atlas Shrugged. I had it sitting on the book shelf for almost a year before I opened it. But once I started it was dificult to put down.
During the time I was reading it I went to a H.S. graduation. The Guest speaker was like Hugh Akston. His speach was moving. After the ceremony I walked up to him and asked him the question ,after I praised and thanked him, “Who is John Galt?” The response was a big laugh, not a laugh of foolishness, but a laugh of understanding of the question and why I asked it.
http://swedenburg.blogspot.com/2006/05/robert-neralich-keynote-speaker.html
his speech
salmongirl: The veneer of incompetence, hypocrisy and petty greed is a useful one. For every tool politico or activist or movie star there is a dedicated, indoctrinated secret socialist pulling the strings, pushing altruistic (but bad) ideas to achieve hidden goals. I have been to their “political discussion groups” and their activist “retreats”; They exist, they are effective and they are winning.
jason – 1: No, actually I’m very action oriented, but I do not intend to identify myself to the enemy. I believe I can do more from where I sit. Don’t misunderstand what is at stake; John (admirably) talks of being diligently lawful while these people are the same ones (ideologically if not in fact) who gave our nuclear weapons designs to the soviets. You think legal, moral or ethical norms matter when the ideological context from which these norms spring is the target?
…so think of me as more Ragnar than John Galt.
Indeed, there is a lot of centralized string-pulling going on in all quarters of the political spectrum. But, if you refer back to the title essay of For The New Intellectual, you’ll be reminded of the role of the Witch-Doctor, how he is tied to the Attila, and how exactly their policies always play out. Yes, the Witch-Doctors have been pulling the strings from behind the stage forever, and it always seems like they are winning, but their philosophies are, in the end — as history has proved time and again — impotent. They only work on those who have abdicated their responsibility to think and are willing to be cowed into accepting any mystical construct as valid, as long as they themselves do not have to rationally justify it to anyone in any way — most of all, themselves.
My view on this is: ENOUGH! History has come full circle one too many times for my taste, and I will not permit it to go on ad infinitum. I have traced the whole of human history, from the discovery of fire to the impending advent of fusion energy, with all the stalls and hiccups in between. How far would we have come, had it not been for the brutes and mystics holding us back? The loss is incalculable. The death of Copernicus, the censure of Galileo, the ridicule borne by Franklin, Edison and the Curies, and all such similar incidents, have inflamed my rage to the point where it has burned away any sense of mercy I may have once had for the soft-headed masses. The very idea of having to treat some humans — who split the atom, walked on the moon, and taught machines how to think — with the same brand of longsuffering I give my cats infuriates me. We’ve been giving these whiny, moist-eyed, pierced-heart, gutless, tyrannical bimbos.
Every conspiracy theorist who believes in those so-called puppet masters imagines them as some kind of Illuminati, all-seeing and all-powerful and capable of controlling the entire world with Machiavellian fervor and precision while remaining safely out of sight. But the fact of the matter is, if such a group did exist and they did wield that kind of power, a book like Atlas Shrugged</I. would never even have been published. The simple fact that our movement has been building all these decades speaks to the true ignorance and impotence of these frail frauds. We shall see who holds the real power in the end……
I agree in principle with much of objectivist philosophy; however, there are at least two major flaws in Ayn Rand’s view which you fail to perceive.
First, in her book Atlas Shrugged the “producers” of which you speak comprised a very small minority of the population. Without these people to drive the “engine of the world” society would presumably collapse. Such a notion is ridiculous, and only someone with delusions of grandeur would ever buy into the belief that they are indispensable. CEOs justify their outrageous salaries and golden parachutes with this sort of tripe, but when their companies fail someone or something else is always to blame. No doubt the world has plenty of self important fools, but the truth is that nobody is indispensable. The “producers” Ayn Rand envisioned do not exist! If a minority of the population were to ever go on strike, then the resulting power vacuum would quickly be filled by equally qualified persons and the engine of the world would just keep running.
Second, I believe that nobody should be asked to live for the sake of another man. Nevertheless, Ayn Rand’s philosophy is concerned exclusively with the individual perspective, and disregards the welfare of the community. Conversely, governments are concerned with the welfare of all citizens as a whole, and should enact legislation which will ensure prosperity for future generations. Numerous reasons can be found to justify social programs aside from the obvious altruistic motivations. Social programs benefit everyone albeit some people only enjoy an indirect future benefit. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and Ayn Rand’s philosophy fails to consider the benefit the individual garners when his neighbor prospers.
Finally, the work of the world is accomplished almost exclusively by the middle class, and much of the recent legislation with which you take issue benefits that same group. Consequently there is no reason for the producers to strike at this time.
Hi my name is Troy. It’s good to know there is more that think like me.
I will help in any way I can. As for what I am doing now, I am in management at work but I DO NOT give any of my brain to the job!
The definition of Value is, To Have To Produce or to Provide something that someone else wants . They can’t have my brain. I also when talking to people use something that Ayn Rand said in the book. She said to name it. I take that as meaning to tell people when they say or I see something that is socialistic or altruistic I tell them! Word of mouth works. Most of the time their eyes glaze over but I do find people that listen too.
I’m all in lets do it.
I am Brutus Publius.
I am an American.
I am one of the Freemen.
Let no more be said of hope. We have long hoped that our elected officials would use their position as our representatives to restore our liberties and secure them for our posterity. We petitioned for our liberties time and time again. Our only answer has been to be ignored, repeatedly abused, and to have our liberties further curtailed.
There is no better time for action than right now. This government’s long campaign of subjugation must end with this generation or none at all. Our posterity for generations to come will either curse us or praise us, but they will not forget us. Neither will they forgive us if we were to take the path of the coward and turn from the fight.
I say “fight” and perhaps that is not strong enough of a word. For in reality, what has been brought down upon us is war or the threat of war. If any sovereign, free man or woman were to assert their rights and liberties today, they would be met with the force of arms. Is this not a declaration of war? Our only choice, as is the only choice for any invaded people, is to fight or to submit.
Some gentle souls are turned off by the mention of the word “war” and I do not blame them. I fear death as much as anyone. But experience has taught us nothing if it has not taught us that oppression always ends in death. So we no longer have the option of choosing peace and life. We may only choose between the risk of death now or the surety of death later. If we choose death later, it will not only be our own death, but that of our children and grandchildren.
Those of us who see the oppression, who have awakened to our aweful situation, will be held responsible for our choices in this matter. We cannot think to choose life over liberty, to take the path of the coward, and not have our names be remembered in infamy for all time. WE are the greatest generation for it falls on us to hold high the glorious Banner of Liberty in the very hour when our Constitution hangs, as it were, by a thread.
Indeed, the time for action is now. FIRST: Recognize that you are a sovereign free man and woman, beholden to no one but God (whatever God you worship) and yourself. SECOND: Recognize the million ways that your sovereignty is being and has been diminished, ignored, and attacked. THIRD: Teach others to recognize these truths. FOURTH: Learn to say, “NO!” That is the most powerful word in the world when it is said by a free man or woman to a tyrant.
AND FINALLY: Be able to back up you “No!” with action.
I am Brutus Publius.
I am an American.
I am one of the Freemen.
Anyone here played Bioshock?
I love how “successful” people think there is a chance for everyone to succeed. First of all, there are simply not enough opportunities available for all of the capable and hard-working people in our country to be successful. Second, many people who are making enough to be affected by the new taxes were given their money and/or opportunities through their families. To think that because you make more money than someone makes you better than them is the lone reason these people should separate from our society; because I don’t want them here if that’s how they think. We’ll let the other millions of capable people in our country take their spots. Maybe then those new “successful” people would actually appreciate their favorable situations in life, instead of take it for granted and think it makes them better than everyone.
“Workers of the world, unite!”
MarcusR well said! And to that point let me add…
It is understandable how many successful people mistakenly believe we live in a meritocracy. After all such a notion is attractive because it fosters the belief that their success is due to some superiority. However, anyone of true intelligence can see this is patently false. It’s not what but who you know that leads to success in this world. How else can you explain JFK Jr. getting a job with the Manhattan DA’s office, and being permitted to keep the position after failing the New York bar exam twice? Paris Hilton has been in movies and reality television shows despite a complete lack of discernable talent aside from fellatio. George W. Bush attended Yale University, became Governor of Texas and later President of the United States in spite of an elementary school level command of the English language and a troubled past including alcohol and cocaine addiction. President Bush’s success is due solely to his father’s wealth and connections. The world would never have known he existed had he been born to a middle class family, and we would all be better off! These are only three extreme examples, but nearly everyone who succeeds owes eternal gratitude to an accident of birth. People need to stop fooling themselves and see the obvious truth. There are literally millions of people out there that can do exactly what you do just as well or better.
John—
I guess you weren’t ready for this. Then again Colbert is a tool. I was hoping this was a place to share Ideas, not feelings.
Right now, I am waiting for the weather to clear, so I can produce my own potash, charcoal and later grinding up walnut hulls. The ink will have to come later when I get a new crop of nuts. I am also trying to collect enough lint to make paper. Yes, I am going into competition with the soap, ink, and paper companies. I know that I won’t have enough product to do any real damage to the economy, but it would be my own. And that is what this movement is about. What you produce and trade. I will do all I can to show the slavemasters (welfare king’s and queens) that they own us no more. I hope that Ford,Gm, and Chrysler go out of business. The Banks fail. And food production stops. I am also an avid gardener. I will trade what I can with those willing to trade also. Value for value. Goods for goods.
Matt, I’m not sure what being ready for this would consist of; it’s not like I’d determine my internet hosting arrangements around the freak possibility of a one-time spike. So the site fell over, no big thing. And it’s a place to share ideas and feelings. I’m just a little short on ideas to solve the problem to my satisfaction, but in my defense, it’s a thorny problem
. Your plans address one facet of the problem, but it’s not everything I’m seeking to accomplish. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish you the best.
The wealthy are striking instead of the poor now its dumb, if your making a lot more than average(seeing as you have had enough tax cuts in the past) you should be able to pay just a little bit more in taxes instead of getting unnecessary luxuries.
John—
This is more than a spike. This was an organized stunt to show the world that people going Galt are idiots, simpeltons, or clueless. ANd 1.5 million sites dedicated to going galt is not something to be ignored. The Government knows how to spread disinformation, and to shut down things like this.
Everyone needs to be cautious upon implementation of their plans.
Mine is already set.
Matt — You really think so? As unusual an event as this is/was, it still seems firmly within the domain of daily experience. I’ve gotta question the provenance of your 1.5 million sites figure, too, but I’d bet there are at least ten times as many as there were at this time last year (that would make, what, 15 now?
). I’m still committed to doing this all in the daylight for the reasons I mentioned earlier, but I know not everyone looks at the same facts and comes to the same conclusions.
Anyway, it shouldn’t take an organized stunt to make me look like a simpleton. I mean for crying out loud, I’m forever tossing emoticons into my text like I’m an 11 year old girl
!
Emoticons aren’t girly, or even childish. They’re the logical presentation of emotions within a text based world. I proudly display my emoticons and I applaud the thinker who created them…
John—
I am not trying to insult you at all. I am on AOL. I typed in going galt and tis is what I read .Web Results 1 – 10 of about 1,150,000 going galt. I was stating that there are that many sites that mention going galt. I know that most sites will not be important. But your site is not on the first page of google. here is the first page . Iwas commenting that it was odd that your site should be mentioned, not any of these.
The Washington Monthly
GOING GALT…. Remember, this isn’t some random member of the College Republicans after he’s had a few too many; this is an elected member of the United …
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/20... – 146k – Similar pages
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_03/017153.php
Pajamas Media » Ask Dr. Helen: Is It Time to ‘Go John Galt’?
Do you ever wonder after dealing with all that is going on with the economy and the upcoming election if it’s getting to be time to “go John Galt”? …
pajamasmedia.com/blog/ask-dr-helen-is-it-time-to… – 475k – Similar pages
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/ask-dr-helen-is-it-time-to-go-john-galt/
‘Going Galt’: Everyone’s Doing It! – The Opinionator Blog …..
Mar 6, 2009 … Dr. Helen Smith, a Knoxville forensic pathologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall. …
opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/going-g… – 81k – Similar pages
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/going-galt-everyones-doing-it/
Dr. Helen: Going John Galt
And remember that one aspect of “Going John Galt” is fighting for rights, reason , objectivity and reality. Staying true to those concepts …
drhelen.blogspot.com/2008/10/going-john-galt.htm… – 325k – Similar pages
http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2008/10/going-john-galt.html
The Washington Independent » Battling Obama by ‘Going Galt’
I’m ‘going Galt’ on my consulting.” “I’m considering moving to a small family farm in a foreign country,” wrote a reader to Smith, …
washingtonindependent.com/32772/battling-obama-b… – 337k – Similar pages
http://washingtonindependent.com/32772/battling-obama-by-going-galt
Michelle Malkin » Going Galt: Tax hikes have consequences
Atlas will Shrug – Going Galt – heres what Obama and the liberals didn’t … An Compilation of Blogosphere Commentary about “Going Galt” …
michellemalkin.com/2009/03/02/going-galt-tax-hik… – 57k – Similar pages
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/03/02/going-galt-tax-hikes-have-consequences/
‘Going Galt’ (OneNewsNow.com)
Dr. Helen Smith, a Tennessee forensic psychologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall. It’s a reference to the famed Ayn …
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=... – 52k – Similar pages
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=436024
A Second Hand Conjecture » Going John Galt… quietly.
The idea of “Going John Galt” makes me a little bit uncomfortable, … This is what going Galt means. I willingly remove myself from the …
asecondhandconjecture.com/index.php/2008/10/30/g… – 100k – Similar pages
http://asecondhandconjecture.com/index.php/2008/10/30/going-john-galt-quietly/
August J. Pollak: Going Galt
Mar 9, 2009 … Going Galt – The Huffington Post. … Galt actually MADE things as opposed to trading pieces of paper with numbers on them. Galt my ass. …
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/august-j-pollak/going-gal... – 148k – Similar pages
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/august-j-pollak/going-galt_b_172962.html
RealClearPolitics – Articles – “Going Galt”: America’s Wealt…
Mar 4, 2009 … Dr. Helen Smith, a Tennessee forensic psychologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall. …
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/03/going... – 35k – Similar pages
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/03/going_galt_americas_wealth_pro.html
By typing going john galt there are over 750k hits and yours is #3. That is not odd enough. The curious thing is why was you rsite mentioned and not any of the above mentioned.
I do know how disinformation works and organizations take it upon themselves to discredit those that value property rights.
This movement is gaining momentum and I was cautioning those with irrational motives not to take this lightly. I also know that if you didn’t have the brass balls to start this website you wouldn’t have. Pragmatism is the relm of cowards.
I don’t want to be spliting hairs with anyone. Ideas are what drives people.
web site that contain going galt 1.5 million, going john galt 750k+ your site is no. three. I was trying to explain why your site was chosen and not the others.Maybe not odd, just curious.
Just found this site thanks to Stephen Colbert. (You really should send him a flower basket or something for the advertising). I like some of the ideas I’m hearing here. I read Rand many years ago and liked her ideas from the start. When Ron Paul ran for president I put aside my political cynicism and campaigned for him. Now it seems that an opportunity is here again for people to organize. I’m all for a strike or whatever other action seems to be the most rational at the time, but it seems like there is something that many people posting here are overlooking. One of the things that is usually assumed in objectivism is that all (or at least most) capable people are also moral people. That is moral by objectivist standards. The universal is definitely not the case and even the majority statement is questionable. Many of the looters are in fact quite capable. Geniuses and hard workers are amongst their ranks. This fact is so often overlooked that it often times becomes an achilles heel of objectivists. The assumption that your enemy is less capable than you are is the surest route to a quick defeat. Sun Tsu should be required objectivist reading. Also for a very well crafted fictional account of how objectivism can go horribly wrong by having this achilles heel I highly recommend the game “Bioshock”. Even if you don’t particularly like video games the story was obviously written by objectivists and is incredibly good.
P.S. Matt your differentiation between feelings and ideas serves no purpose but to feed a false dichotomy that allows one of the two to be held as a higher standard than the other. As a cognitive science researcher I can tell you that there is no clear dividing line between a feeling and an idea. Feelings are a particular subset of ideas, and a set with fuzzy boundaries at that. Respect feelings as ideas, call love a rational motivation, those actions make beggars cringe much more than elevating ideas above feelings.
Blake—-
I will think about that.
Pulled out my copy of the art of war. Thumbed through some pages. Great book. So is the prince and two treaties of government.
Matt-
Why are you going into competition with the “soap, ink, and paper companies” and trying to “damage” the economy? Wouldn’t it be more productive to send the prime-movers of these companies copies of Ayn Rand’s works so they too can stop being taken advantage of by people like you? Imagine if the prime-producer-movers of unfairly treated companies like Monsanto, Halliburton and Exxon-Mobile were to stop producing. How wonderful that would be! All the parasites would lose their hold on their minds. It is people like them that need to teach people like you a lesson.
If you stop producing whatever it is that you produce you will have very little impact, not only in the economy (which you very cleverly pointed out), but indeed in the scientific or art world. You are not part of the engine that moves society, the best you can hope to be is a replaceable gear in said engine… perhaps not even that, maybe just a drop of oil in the machinery. The best use of your time is to enlighten some of the prime-shaker-producer-movers of society with the moral truth of Objectivism and hope that in a moment of folly in their infallible, morally pure, producing brains they allow you to enter Atlantis.
Have you considered the idea that our current society is merely the remains of another society where the prime-producer-rational-mover-shakers have already “gone John Galt”? Perchance after the current engine of society is freed from the masses you will be the next in line to form their elite. Maybe then, and only then will you have the benefit of John-Galting the rest of humanity. Surely this must be what you are hoping for, as it is obvious that on a scale from 0 to Ayn Rand you score around a -2.
In conclusion, please drink less of the Objectivism kool-aid and get back to work. Prime-rational-mover-thinker-producer-shakers like me need you to buy our products to increase our wealth. Just kidding, we don’t need anyone.
If I go into direct compitition then I don’t have to pay their fees. I get to keep what I make and if I can sell it cheaper then that puts me at the advantage. Competition is what keeps prices low.
It’s competency that makes the world go around. If You are competent then you have nothing to fear. How long would any of us last if there were incomepetent farmers, or incompetent doctors, or incompetent electricians, or incompetent_______(fill in the blank with occupation).
I respect the Great Minds of the past. Do I wish to be like them? Certainly not. I want to improve their inventions, or increase production or make things easier for myself and inconsequently for everyone else.
Every generation has taken(stolen, looted, mooched) things from the previous generation. and claimed it as their own.
I don’t claim anything i own my as my own creation. Like Monsanto, halliburton, exxon-mobil, microsoft, apple, at&t, sprint, Delta airlines. I know I can’t wire a house, or run plumbing, or roof a house. There are many things I can’t do, but what I can do, I will do and do to the best of my ability no matter how limited that ability may be. That is what I will contiune to do.
John—please don’t delete this post.
Why does everyone equate wealth with money; Dollars and cents?
Wealth is created when something is produced. The Ink I make is wealth. I created my own wealth. I then set that wealth a value, and that value calculated based upon my own sweat, time, and ingenuity and need. Then I can convert that wealth into some other form of wealth that has equal value placed upon it.
Okay, after a few friendly reminders I will change my thinking.
John—have you compiled a list of specific or critical occupations that are needed immediately.
If not here are a few
Lawyers, Doctors, Bankers, IT, smiths of any kind, teachers, farmers, mechanics and masons. Or is this to exclusive to start with. Just a suggestion.I have a few more if needed to go further.
(Matt wrote…)
“Why does everyone equate wealth with money; Dollars and cents?”
Hi Matt,
I don’t… : )
One of the finest ways to honor the money you work to earn is to BUY your freedom with it.
“Wealth is created when something is produced. The Ink I make is wealth. I created my own wealth. I then set that wealth a value, and that value calculated based upon my own sweat, time, and ingenuity and need. Then I can convert that wealth into some other form of wealth that has equal value placed upon it.
I agree… and would add that wealth is also determined by what someone else is willing to pay for a product or service.
In the business world, competence is highly valued. If you can do anything useful, and do it properly… decent people will THROW money at you.
Take Care,
Greg
(I’m not quite certain what I’m saying here that is not allowed by the censor of this site… but my posts have been dropping out like dead flies…)
With all due respect, this is BS. Who are all of these anonymous Kings that want to strike? I’m sure they are NOT captains of industry, but fools that love to over-inflate their importance. The “Divine Right of Kings”, was rejected centuries ago.
If the power brokers strike, new ones will arise in time. This site’s “We Don’t Need You” comment policy is quite hilarious. Forget about free speech!
If you think the world can’t survive without you, I dare you to shut down your business.
hypocrisy to the nth degree… when the government which you so disdain is propping up commerce… bailing out the financial institutions that you worship… and the people whom your wealth is absolutely dependent on… how do you people live with yourselves…
especially when your’re party could not survive w/o the christian right… i’m sure Jesus would be going John Galt…
seriously, how do you make it through the day w/o your heads exploding…
It is my fervent hope that the makers of weapons and the right-wing radio community take you up on your idea of “going Galt”
Feel free to strike! Contrary to what Ayn Rand seems to think, the world (and economy) are not dependent on a small group of venture capitalists.
The one thing Ayn Rand got right about her heroes–and the part today’s CEOs get wrong–is the “honesty” bit.
I’m also curious as to WHY you all are so opposed to supporting people without the same resources as you. If we follow Rand’s advice, our taxes support only the army, courts, and police. What about education? What happens to the free market and equality when starting opportunities are so unequal. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer… Then again, Randians don’t seem to have a problem with that.
I think my favorite part of Atlas Shrugged is when Dagny kills a guard. And it doesn’t matter and she doesn’t feel guilty because the gaurd wasn’t thinking for himself (or, more accurately, thinking like her). Therefore, he had no moral standing. Anyone sane who thinks objectivism is an “ethical” philosophy should be cured right there….
As a business owner, I can tell you that the producers are already on a “work slowdown.” They are choosing not invest in the stock market, or build a new house, or buy a big boat or corporate jet. This leads to lower production in manufacturing and loss of jobs. In our business, we a choosing to make less and stay in a lower tax bracket.
Another poster said that there are only so many opportunities available (as if they are a commodity) and that most successful people have inherited their wealth. That is so much bullshit. I know many people from Southeast Asia who came to the Seattle area with nothing but the clothes on their back. They changed their name to something Americans can pronounce and learned English right away. They worked two jobs and pooled their money to buy businesses. They sent their children to college and then went themselves. Now they live in nice houses and own two or three others. Don’t tell me there is no more opportunity in this country! My husband and I started our business by second-mortgaging our home and working two jobs for awhile. We created something from nothing and now provide our employees a good living too.
This movement needs to grow and coordinate with others like the NewAmericanTeaParty.org. I would suggest Twitter as a way to rapidly distribute messages. John- if you put your Twitter address here we can all “follow” you as plans are made.
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.” -Benjamin Franklin
No doubt, some form of open mass communication tool will be used to coordinate activity if required (unless I change my mind, I have no intention of doing anything in secret), but it’s way premature. There’s nothing of significance to communicate yet. I’m still in the whiteboarding/brainstorming stage, I’m just doing it in public.
Also, I’d suggest not being distracted by the “is inherited wealth deserved” issue, as it tends to bog down in a fight over the meaning of “deserved” that has nothing to do with property rights. An inspiring anecdote about lifting oneself up from nothing can be very motivating, but even the most worthless heir deserves to keep their property as much as the scrappiest orphan.
Thanks for the good thoughts!
Hi John,
I commend you for your enthusiasm and energy in your efforts to encourage positive change. I would like to share with you my opinion as to why your efforts are futile. Thirty years ago I first read The Fountainhead and immediately proceeded to read everything that I could find that Ayn Rand had written, including going to the library and just reading issue after issue of “The Objectivist Letter” (been so long I am not positive it was called that). I having been going Galt for 20 years and you might say gone Galt 2 years ago after quitting my job for the third and last time.
Over the years I have had discussions with many family members and friends who have read Atlas Shrugged and thought it was a great book and that Ayn Rand was brilliant. I would say less than 10% of them understand Objectivism and Ayn Rand. They could all fall into the same category as one of the comments above like that by Jonathan…
“I agree in principle with much of objectivist philosophy; however, there are at least two major flaws in Ayn Rand’s view which you fail to perceive. “
He then goes on to talk about CEO’s and salaries as if talking about the CEO’s of Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, Lehman, etc. is talking about the same thing as Midas Mulligan or Hank Rearden. I always think to myself when I hear this stuff, “did you really read the same book as I did?” My point is, many and possibly the majority, of people who have read Atlas Shrugged don’t get it. What more could you possibly say or explain to them that Ayn Rand couldn’t?
Over the past 2 years I have switched my income source to trading the capital markets. In that time I have followed the activities in Washington and wall street closer than ever. I haven’t read any of Ayn Rand’s work for over 15 years but feel like I am reading stuff right out of Atlas shrugged almost daily. Google the following bills currently proposed in congress: H.R.1068 (introduced on Friday, February 13th) — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a tax on certain securities transactions to the extent required to recoup the net cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. “Let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street’s Bailout Act of 2009”, which aims to impose a 0.25% transaction tax on the “sale and purchase of financial instruments such as stock, options, and futures.” The second one that if passed would probably put an end to mining in the U.S. H.R. 699, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009. It boggles my mind seeing this stuff in the news play out exactly as Ayn Rand described so long ago. It has only served to re-emphasize what an incredible genius she truly was, and her ability to describe how the events will unfold convinces me she also understands the end result.
Here is my main point. Ayn Rand understood better than almost anyone that has ever lived the disease that infects our society. She spent her entire life fighting it. She has presented the cause of the problem and the solution for all rational beings to observe. As she well understood, there is only one possible outcome from these circumstances, collapse of the system. In the same way that she describes how the push-peddler pork system of governing the economy will function, she describes the only possible outcome. There will never be any way that the “producers” alive today can help save the system. This only leads to someone holding a gun to John Galt’s head and telling him to fix the sub-prime crisis. Ain’t gonna happen. A is A.
So what is there to do? Nothing. No group of united concerned citizens can do anything to stop this train wreck. Get out of the way and let it happen, that I believe is what Ayn Rand was telling us to do. True, we can’t all go to Galt’s gulch. In my opinion that is just Ayn Rand’s way of creating another metaphor like “Atlantis” as to how the next civilization will be reborn after the destruction of the current one. It has happened many times in history, it will happen again. In my opinion, the only thing to do as an individual is remove yourself from the system as much as possible and look to create a strong local self sufficient community as much as possible. Focus on health, family and friends and try your best to find the good in this crazy world and enjoyment where you can find it. Good luck in your quest John!
Ok so you’re still in the whiteboarding phase. Here are some ideas to toss up on the whiteboard.
Worst idea first:
1) Violent Revolt: This is a horrible idea. Despite the fact that a small number of very loud and enthusiastic people favor this option it is doomed to failure. If fighting is to be had it absolutely cannot be started by this side. Furthermore “preparing” is a bad idea too. Stockpiling weapons or other survivalist style activities are seen as acts of hostility in this country. If you want to prepare for any form of unfortunate violence that may be perpetuated on freemen in this country then I suggest doing mental preparation and leave it at that.
Next bad idea:
2) Piecemeal strikes: I agree that it is valiant to take a stand alone, quit your job, and remove your mind from the system. If you are at a place in your life where you feel that by mentally contributing to a system that does not respect you then by all means go on an individual strike. But let it be for your own self-fulfillment, not to accomplish some grand task. Even if you are one of the top movers and shakers there’s someone almost as good as you that is willing to take your place. Refer to my earlier comment about not all competent men being moral men and vice versa.
Ideas of Unknown Value:
3)Boycotts: This has been an incredibly successful tool in the past to effect change peacefully. You want to assist the current trends? Make sure that you do no business with any companies that were recently bailed out. If you own a company and have health insurance/disaster insurance/toenail insurance for your employees/property/feet then make sure it doesn’t come from AIG.
4)Peaceful Interference: Remember George Carlin’s answer to “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” He obstructed. I remember seeing a story last year about an unfortunate arab american who was put on the no-fly list at one point. He decided that since he was a potential terrorist he would aid the FBI in his own monitoring. He kept a constant photo-diary of his life. Hundreds of pictures a week. He sent it to the FBI every weel labeled “Evidence of Potential Terrorist Activity”. The government beauracracy under its own laws was required to inspect each photo. Actions like this are more affective than you might think. A little sand in a big poorly-oiled machine can bring it to a grinding halt.
5)Do Nothing: Okay bear with me on this one. I understand that we are watching our society crumble. I understand that there is an incredible urge to do something about it. I feel it too. But this wheel might just be turning so fast there’s no stopping it now. Possibly the best thing to do is try to get out of its way. Build resources as quickly as possible now so that when the walls fall we can rebuild our society with minimal barbarian pillaging.
and a wacky one (that I like) to finish it off
6)Speed up the singularity: Some people may have read some of Ray Kurzweil’s stuff. He and a sizable amount of other people think that something he refers to as “the singularity” is coming. What this amounts to is technological change that while shape our species as much as the containment of fire did (probably more so). Some friends of mine and I believe that there are two clocks ticking. Societal collapse on the one hand and the singularity on the other. They may or may not be mutually exclusive. If you like this perspective read about the singularity and involve yourself in the actions required to make it happen.
Just a few thoughts to throw on the whiteboard.
“I am a son of man.” – Robert Heinlein
Blake –
Agreed, ideas 1 and 2 suck, although I understand those who are just so sick of things that they feel 2 is their best personal option, which serves in a tiny way to hasten 5. If the current momentum makes 5 the best option, well I don’t mind spending a little energy seeing if I can change that fact, because I don’t like the way that outcome looks, not at all. My problem with 4 is that it’s really okay only for those with little left to lose, as laws are frequently malleable, and juries don’t seem to have too much trouble convicting someone simply for being a big pain in the ass. 3 I see as a potential part of any good strategy.
Regarding 6, I know just what you mean about the two clocks (in my mind, I pictured a race). With liberating technology as the inspiration, will man demand freedom? Definitely deserves its own post and comment thread. I’ll do one on this topic soon. Thanks for contributing to the discussion!
Ah, yes, a perfect way to convince America that freedom is necessary – use your freedom to produce less and do your impotent best to continue the economic downturn (brought on, one might add, by laissez-faire economics). Why, that’ll show them!
You folks are funny. This is all a joke right?
The “I am Brutus Publius” guy is particularly funny.
I mean honestly, Going Galt after reading Atlas Shrugged is kinda like reading Lord of the Rings then packing your things and heading to the Shire… again, funny stuff.
I am Brutus Publius.
I am an American.
I am one of the Freemen.
We who love Liberty, must necessarily love peace. The peace of a civilized and free society is the truest goal that any nation can aspire to. Nations and peoples of untold centuries have sought for peace and civilization and only a precious few have enjoyed such for more than a few generations.
We in America are indeed blessed to live in such a time and in such a place as this where peace is so prevalent and so few have known the realities and terrors of war.
We who love Liberty are loathe to abandon peace, even when freedom is under such direct and consistent attack. We hold intently to even the smallest glimmer of peace.
It is wise, however, to view our desire for peace with eyes open and vision clear. We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived by the insidious promises of politicians who have consistently proven themselves unworthy of such faith.
When a long train of abuses have combined to subject us to absolute tyranny, we must acknowledge the failure of our government to place an equally high value on peace. Oh joy, if such was not the case. We who love Liberty would welcome the day of reconciliation and peace.
But alas, it has been made all too clear that there can be no reconciliation, for our politicians have no desire to relinquish their power. There can be no peace, not because we are unwilling to accept it, but because they are unwilling to offer it, except on condition of our subjugation and slavery and that of our posterity.
“Gentlemen may cry, ‘Peace! Peace!’, but there is no peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north shall bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms…. Why stand we here idle?… I know not what course others may take, but as for me: Give me Liberty, or give me death!” – Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775
I am Brutus Publius.
I am an American.
I am one of the Freemen.
Again good stuff.
You know, I hate to be so jingoistic about this but let’s get real here. You live in the greatest country on the planet.
Your right to openly call for revolution is protected, even in some cases encouraged, and you talk about tyranny and slavery? What a laugh.
Let’s see the forest for the trees here folks. Us conservatives run liberals into the ground (rightly so) when they suggest that they’re ashamed of their country. When Michelle Obama suggests she’s finally ‘proud’ of her country we jump on her like a duck on a junebug for being unpatriotic.
And here you all are: Glenn Beck is crying about the coming totalitarian state, (as if such a state would even allow him a forum to suggest such a thing). Rush Limbaugh, a face for radio celebrity can actually engage the administration in dialogue (even if it is second grade name calling). The foundering GOP, even without any kind of legislative power is managing to direct, even dominate the political debate. All of this while the nation is in the midst of an economic 9/11.
I just don’t get it. You want tyranny? Go to Iran, where bloggers get thrown in jail and then mysteriously commit suicide. Go to Rwanda, or to Sudan, or to Serbia. Considering all of the other places in the world you could live, I don’t understand why you don’t fall on your knees every day and thank heaven that you were born in this country. It’s weird.
Even in crisis we’ve got the goods, the world is falling into recession, possibly depression, and who does the world look to… yup the U.S.
Trouble in Iran, who does the world look to? the U.S.
Negotiations with a newly empowered Russia (talk about a rising totalitarian state…) who stands against the bear? U.S. again.
In this time, in this place, quoting Patrick Henry as some kind of defense of your decision to remove yourself from your responsibilities as a citizen doesn’t make you a patriot, it makes you a coward.
Henry, as you certainly know, after his famous speech went on to fight aggressively against the adoption of the constitution, he lost. After that loss, did he go to Galt’s Gulch? No, he fought just as hard to make sure a Bill of Rights was attached, and that fight he won. You remember that part of the constitution don’t you? The one that protects your right to spout your nonsense, and own a gun, and protects you from illegal search and seizure, and protects your right to gather and protects your right to speak against the government. That’s what Patrick Henry is and should be remembered for.
In this case, I think it’s best to leave Henry in his place and look to Lincoln, who paraphrased Jesus and said, ‘every house divided against itself cannot stand.’
Now there’s some quotin’ words.
Kevin
“Gong John Galt” properly cannot be done alone. It requires enough producers and contributors to make their absence felt nation-wide. Enough to populate the CITY of “Galt’s Gulch”, in fact. Can something like that be organized? If so, who’s doing it, and where are they going?
John a few suggestions for the operation
1.Take up gardening. Plant heirloom seeds of whatever variety you desire.
2.Learn to sew, stitch, or someother kind of needlework.
3.Learn to do be a carpenter or sheetmetal fabricator
4.Learn basic medical care; stitches, set broken bones, make plaster casts, draw blood and such
5.quit using credit cards
6.if allowed raise pigs, chickens, goats, sheep or what ever you are comfortable with
7.take up fishing
8. take up hunting
9. learn about medicinal plants.
10. Talk with neighbors.
I know everyone cann’t do everything, but do what you can.
This year I am going to make ink, because I can. If Ican also get enough lint gathered I will make paper(not high grade) because I can.
I can’t make clothes. but my wife can. I am also going to invest in a loom and try to make dye’s from the plants in my yard.
I found another reason for “going John Galt,” namely, sustainability. I got involved in a discussion over sustinable practices, and I realized: the economic system really can’t support all these people, can it? Admittedly, we hadn’t even been aware that it was an issue until recently; however, this is largely because, until recently, there weren’t enough people on Earth to make it an issue. We’re seeing an unexpected effect of false wealth: population explosion. When people have enough perceived wealth, they procreate. Or, lacking appropriate means to support children, if they believe that someone richer — say, the guilt-ridden citizens of industrialized countries — will bail them out, then they will also procreate. It is an effect observed by Jeff Allen, the hitchhiking tramp in Atlas Shrugged, among the serfs of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Meanwhile, true wealth — the products of men’s labors — cannot keep pace when produced by sustainable means, so corners get cut. Arable land is over-farmed, timber is cut for building and replaced with farms, and food is manufactured — not prepared — using artificial chemicals and additives. The sad fact is that Earth’s current population is unsustainable, a fact that thus far has not been mentioned in regards to the current economic crisis. I never thought I would ever say this, and it pains me to refer to humans in terms of herd management, but unless we see a major correction in the world’s population, we will never recover from this economic crash. Oh, you’ll see market upturns, and then downturns, as one money-manufacturing scheme after another is tried and fails, until finally the whole system freezes — and mass extinction of humanity results.
I, for one, refuse to go extinct.
Ok, responses to several people:
Brutus: Peace? Who said anything about peace? The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, to paraphrase Jefferson. I think violence is a bad idea, but non-violence is not synonymous with peace.
Matt- All of those are good ideas, but they would really be most useful during an interim period. The goal here as I understand it is not to go back to a pre-industrial society. With that in mind I would suggest that this be added to your list of preparations:
DOWNLOAD THE INTERWEBS!
Not necessarily everything, but everything you believe to have intrinsic value. If we continue pacing Rome’s progression as I believe we are then the libraries burn in the not too distant future. We need to preserve knowledge.
salmongirl: I think the problem of the population will solve itself. We are approaching population cap rapidly. We will either engineer something that will increase the population cap (i.e. water-based/space-based living, synthetic food sources, quantum energy sources or something even more far-out) or we won’t. In which case we experience die-back. This is different from extinction. It’s a completely natural process that happens in every species. Population cap gets surpassed, die-back happens, population growth resumes. Wonderful circle of life.
Thanks, Blake. “Die-back” is what I meant to say.
Blake–Theburningof the library of Alexandria set humaity back thousands of years and I sometimes wish it never happened. Oh the glorious technology, philosophy, physics, science, and matamatics that was lost on that fateful eve.
We will have to take a step back for a short period while things get going again. iron, copper, silver, gold and other metals will be hard to come by. We need to be educated on how to retreive the ore and make it useable. Coal miners will be needed. I do appreciate all they do. So Thank you Coal companies for providing me electricity.
Epiphany—The whole point of Atlas Shrugged was that the Producers were not appreciated for their briliance, their competent hard work,or their vision of the future by the masses. That is why John Galt left the plant. He didn’t want to be exploited by the unappreciative and unproductive.
So to all those that help make life easier for themselves and others I say THANK YOU.
Most people are still speaking of “going John Galt” as a solo effort. The point of my earlier post is that to accomplish its purpose, it must be an organized effort of many people. Is anything like that going on now?
I only personally know of one guy who’s putting something like that together, and he’ll let me know if he want to publicize it. And of course, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do here eventually (to achieve my aim, it has to be coordinated, but not everyone commenting here has the same aim), but I’m not going to try to organize anyone until I have better ideas to implement.
Hello, I am Italian, and do not speak English. I used google language tool to translate, so please forgive syntax errors in the hope of being understood, however.
Watching what happens in the last few years I seem to be back for 1000 years. By feudal lords (the politicians), vassals (the government) and serf (power output).
now our lord does not know the meaning of work and free enterprise.
in Europe we are accustomed to watch the America and the American people as an example to follow. As the bearer of a single principle: freedom and free enterprise. the American dream.
personally place great hopes in the American people, because unlike Europe, has never done buying by politicians. has never been done to put the wool over the eyes.
some signs are beginning to be felt. this is the only European politician who cries outside the choir. http://www.klaus.cz/klaus2/asp/clanek.asp?id=88EY96UW9zlp current President Vaclav Klaus in turn of the European Community.
I hope. Otherwise the only alternative will be truly ‘Atlas shrugged’.
ITALIAN VERSION
Salve, sono italiano, e non parlo inglese. Ho usato google language tool per tradurre, quindi perdonatemi errori di sintassi nella speranza di essere comunque capito.
Guardando ciò che succede in questi ultimi anni mi sembra di essere tornato indietro di 1000 anni. Con Feudatari (i politici), vassalli (la pubblica amministrazione) e i servi della gleba (la forza produttiva).
ormai i nostri lord non conoscono il significato del lavoro e della libera imprenditoria.
in Europa siamo abituati a guardare l’America ed il popolo americano come esempio da seguire. Quale portatore di un unico principio: libertà e libera intraprendenza. il sogno americano.
personalmente ripongo enormi speranze nel popolo americano, perchè al contrario di quello europeo, non si è mai fatto comprare dai politici. non si è mai fatto mettere il fumo negli occhi.
alcuni segnali si cominciano a sentire. ecco l’unico uomo politico europeo che grida al di fuori del coro. http://www.klaus.cz/klaus2/asp/clanek.asp?id=88EY96UW9zlp Vaclav Klaus attuale presidente di turno della Comunità Europea.
Spero. Altrimenti l’unico alternativa sarà veramente ‘Atlas shrugged’.
So what happens if American “Producers” do go Galt and their jobs are just shipped of to Mexico or China or Canada, like steel workers or auto workers when their demands and strikes got too much? BTW, this is the coolest comedy site after “Cracked” on the ‘Net. The trouble is that most of the posters think it is serious, which makes it even funnier! Thanks for the lols and keep up the good work!
Last August I took my money out of the stock market and bought rental properties. Now I pay no taxes, and make sure my income equals my expenses, and It’s a good investment. I used to be a homebuilder, but now I will just remodel (with no permits) and keep the money I earn. I live in Sacramento, California, with 75,000 government workers.
I’m sorry, but your idea is hopelessly flawed, just like Rand’s theories. You cannot create a society of personal responsibility by “minimizing personal risk”, they are just about the antithesis of each other. If you choose to maximize personal risk, then your group will be some of those hit hardest by societies collapse that seem to think is eminent.
As for the theory in general, it is relies on a huge misunderstanding of history. Society is not created or driven forward by the ‘createive’ or ‘productive’, but rather, the masses do the boring, simple jobs which create a system which allow for the innovators to provide their small revolutions.
John – You may publish my new site if you wish. Its called notdependent.com. Please contact John L directly if you can, and let him know.
The sites focus is currently the networking of producers, and drastically simplifying moving abroad.
To simplify things, the networking part will be focused on the most obvious types of producers.
My progression to “Go John Galt” has been successful. I have managed to decrease my economic footprint on this world by over 35%. Though I am driven naturally to produce, solve, design my new goal of decreasing my lootable income has focused my efforts to conserving by abilities. I have had to lay off good people and change business strategy, but I have decreased my “aide” to government by $45,000 in 2009. Protesting never felt so good. To quote Legends of the Fall “Screw ‘um”
There’s a bit of a problem with the premise of “going Galt” in that the modern economy is not nearly as simplistic as that of Atlas Shrugged. Most top producers don’t subscribe to Objectivism and those who do have plenty of nearly comparable replacements pushing their way up the ladder, in all corners of the globe.
We need much more than a “slowdown” if we are to promote Objectivism and Liberty. In fact, I would argue that such action is counterproductive in that it reduce the power of the participants far more than it does that of the looters.