BarroMetrics Views: “Who Is John Galt”? is Here
Ayn Rand’s works have greatly influenced my life - providing the philosophical underpinnings to the unconscious beliefs that I had held when I read Atlas Shrugged in my second year of University. And her works did more than provide philosophical underpinnings - her newsletters and books brought me to the world of Austrian economics. Armed with Rand’s ideas as a philosophical base and Von Mises’ ideas in economics, I set out to make my mark in the world.
Now Rand’s magnum opus “Atlas Shrugged” has finally made the high screen after 15 years of abortive attempts. For a while I thought we’d see a blockbuster - Angelique Jolie was reputed to be interested in making the movie. At the end though we see two unknowns cast in the lead; and we see the lead male, Paul Johnson, make his directorial debut.
Let’s see what sort of movie has been made of the book. The other Rand book that made the screen was the Fountainhead.
I found the film disappointing even though the cast was stellar and even though Rand wrote the script:
- Gary Cooper,
- Patricia O’Neal,
- Raymond Massey with
- King Vidor as director (King won 8 Academy awards and was nominated 5 other times).
However this movie, ‘Who Is John Galt’, will turn out, Rand’s ideas have helped me make sense of the world.
For example, we are seeing popular uprisings in the Middle East. Will they lead to democracy? Unlikely I fear. The French Revolution led to Napoleon in France, so too will this upheaval probably leading to another dictatorship. (The Society of Muslim Brotherhood?).
Why do I say this?
Because political institutions are part of a culture - they don’t spring from a void. The philosophical ideas so necessary for a society of individual rights has not borne fruit in the Middle East, at least to date. In the absence of fertile soil, it is unlikely we’ll see democratic institutions rise - no matter how much we wish it otherwise.
And I do wish it were otherwise. I would love for events to prove me wrong but I doubt that will happen.
Here’s a link to the movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W07bFa4TzM&feature=player_embedded
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