Atlas felt a sense of déjà vu
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
“One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary.” –Ayn Rand
That’s a pretty concise economics lesson. And despite the universal opprobrium directed at Rand’s work in the mainstream media, this is a novel that refuses to be killed that easily, precisely because its themes are so universal, whatever you think of the prose style. Go to the source, or check out ‘Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand’ by Leonard Peikoff if you’d prefer a non-fiction ‘A to Z’ exposition of Rand’s philosophy you can scan through in a weekend.
The Economist via Toronto Star
March 8, 2009
The spikes in sales of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ coincide with specific developments in the economy
Books do not sell themselves. That is what films are for.
The Reader, the book that inspired the Oscar-winning movie, has shot up the bestseller lists. Another recent publishing success, however, has had more help from Washington, D.C., than Hollywood: Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
Reviled in some circles and mocked in others, Rand’s 1957 novel of embattled capitalism is a favourite of libertarians and college students. Lately, though, its appeal has been growing.
According to TitleZ, a firm that tracks bestseller rankings on Amazon, the book’s 30-day average rank on Feb. 21 was 127, well above its average over the past two years of 542. On Jan. 13 its ranking was 33, briefly besting President Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope.
Tellingly, the spikes in the novel’s sales coincide with the news. The first, in September 2007, followed dramatic interest-rate cuts by central banks, and the Bank of England’s bailout of Northern Rock, a mortgage lender. The October 2007 rise happened two days after the Bush Administration announced an initiative to coax banks to assist subprime borrowers.