Over at The Liberty Papers, Stephen Littau presents the definitive refutation of the conservative appropriation of Ayn Rand’s archetype:
John Galt is not someone who merely caps the limits on his productivity to avoid being pushed into a higher tax bracket. What Galt does in Atlas Shrugged is much more radical: going on strike by refusing to produce anything for the benefit of society. Galt seeks out other high achievers and convinces them to do the same and help him build a society of their own.
(…)
To be invited to Galt’s Gulch one has to demonstrate that s/he has rejected the false virtues of altruism, collectivism, and mysticism (religion) and embrace his virtues of selfishness, reason, objective reality, and capitalism. While Malkin and Co. pay lip service to capitalism (especially when their people are not in control of the levers of power), their remaining values run counter to that of Galt’s. Is it not these very people who wish to erect religious monuments on government property, demand that Intelligent Design (Creationism) be taught alongside evolution in government schools, encourage individual sacrifice for the “greater good,” and wish to ratchet up the War on (Some) Drugs despite the evidence that the policy is completely counterproductive?
As Stephen notes, the one good thing about the attention being paid to Atlas Shrugged at this point is that it might cause some people to read the book for themselves and discover what it’s really all about. Of course, when they do, they’ll find out that the Malkin’s and Limbaugh’s of the world never would’ve even been considered for residence in Galt’s Gulch.
