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Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike (2012) - Page 3

post #61 of 70
4/8/13 at 7:55am
Howard Roark's big courtroom speech in The Fountainhead came across pretty well in the movie version of that book; not sure if they abridged it. Of course, that was Gary Cooper at his most wooden. Sort of fit the material so it worked. Sort of.
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post #62 of 70
4/8/13 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Distorted View Post

The 60 page Galt speech at the end of Atlas Shrugged promises to be a real snoozer in Part III. I found the abbreviation of the d'Anconia Money Speech disappointing for too little left, while the opposite will be a blessing with the Galt Speech, but his speech is the Rand philosophy in total, so how do you compress it?
I thought her philosophy is pretty clear at this point just watching part 1&2,and I can't stand people who bloviate so yes let's hope they trim that in appropriate manner.
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post #63 of 70
4/8/13 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 
Rand's philosopy is clear to anyone who has read her books. But I can't bring myself to re-read them, my 40+ year old memories are enough.

Admittedly, her books are somewhat dated by history. As I said in my review of AS1, I would have hoped that they had updated the trains to something more current, such as a Virgin Galactic-type suborbital space plane transport. That would have made for a much better movie but at a much higher cost for visual effects.

What people conveniently forget about Rand's philosophy is that she lived through the Bolshevik Revolution as a member of the Middle Class, and had a classical education in the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. Her philosophy opposed Communism, Socialism, and Totalitarianism - in fact collectivism in any form. Instead she promoted laissez-faire capitalism and was utterly opposed to the use of military force.

It's not exactly modern Libertarian thought, but it has much in common with it. Robert A. Heinlein is mainstream Libertarianism and was mildly critical of "Randites", being a shrewd observer of humanity, warts and all. Both writers were also inspired by Samuel L. Clemens IMHO.

I don't think either Rand or Heinlein gave enough thought to basic human greed. Both major political parties in the USA have sold out to those with money. You can buy any Legislation you want and only lip service is paid to the Constitution by either party.

I'd like to vote the bastids out, but with the sorry state of education, and the basic palliative attention paid by both parties to the middle/lower class, while the "bread and circuses" of entitlements and sports/entertainment/internet keeps them enthralled, there just is little chance of change.

I'm gonna retire soon and let the rest of you support me. I'd hate to be anybody under age 40, who'll get to pay the highest taxes in history while the ship of state sinks. But I'm retiring to a small farm with a well, solar power, a large garden, and a few chickens. It's a time-honored way of surviving in a bad economy when the currency becomes worthless - which should happen within two decades by my reckoning.

I'm looking forward to AS3, and I'll start a 3rd review thread for that. Meanwhile, all of you get back to work and file your taxes on time, as I'm gonna need your money.
Edited by Gary McCoy - 4/8/13 at 1:54pm
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post #64 of 70
4/10/13 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary McCoy View Post

Rand's philosopy is clear to anyone who has read her books. But I can't bring myself to re-read them, my 40+ year old memories are enough.

Admittedly, her books are somewhat dated by history. As I said in my review of AS1, I would have hoped that they had updated the trains to something more current, such as a Virgin Galactic-type suborbital space plane transport. That would have made for a much better movie but at a much higher cost for visual effects.

What people conveniently forget about Rand's philosophy is that she lived through the Bolshevik Revolution as a member of the Middle Class, and had a classical education in the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. Her philosophy opposed Communism, Socialism, and Totalitarianism - in fact collectivism in any form. Instead she promoted laissez-faire capitalism and was utterly opposed to the use of military force.

It's not exactly modern Libertarian thought, but it has much in common with it. Robert A. Heinlein is mainstream Libertarianism and was mildly critical of "Randites", being a shrewd observer of humanity, warts and all. Both writers were also inspired by Samuel L. Clemens IMHO.

I don't think either Rand or Heinlein gave enough thought to basic human greed. Both major political parties in the USA have sold out to those with money. You can buy any Legislation you want and only lip service is paid to the Constitution by either party.

I'd like to vote the bastids out, but with the sorry state of education, and the basic palliative attention paid by both parties to the middle/lower class, while the "bread and circuses" of entitlements and sports/entertainment/internet keeps them enthralled, there just is little chance of change.

I'm gonna retire soon and let the rest of you support me. I'd hate to be anybody under age 40, who'll get to pay the highest taxes in history while the ship of state sinks. But I'm retiring to a small farm with a well, solar power, a large garden, and a few chickens. It's a time-honored way of surviving in a bad economy when the currency becomes worthless - which should happen within two decades by my reckoning.

I'm looking forward to AS3, and I'll start a 3rd review thread for that. Meanwhile, all of you get back to work and file your taxes on time, as I'm gonna need your money.

Very well said. smile.gif
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post #65 of 70
4/10/13 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary McCoy View Post

I'd hate to be anybody under age 40, who'll get to pay the highest taxes in history while the ship of state sinks.

They won't be the highest in history. The highest in history was during WWII, where the tax rate on the high end topped 90% and on the low end was around 20%. Yes, we were financing a humongous war, but those rates stayed high through the next several decades, including times of peace. Obama is instituting a return to the Clinton Era tax rates of ~40%, which is higher than the younger Bush era (because Dubya specifically targeted the previous administration's rates), but historically speaking, it's still below much of the 20th century and is nothing we haven't seen before. Even during the Reagan era tax rates didn't dip below 40% until deep into his second term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States#History_of_top_rates

Yes, Democratic administrations increase tax rates, especially on the upper class. That's been nothing new since FDR.


At any rate, using Atlas Shrugged (the movie or the book) as a prophecy about the ruin of the country is in my opinion fruitless. There are legitimate concerns about the Obama administration. Him sending the country into an economic apocalypse is not one of them.
Edited by Tulpa - 4/10/13 at 3:51pm
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post #66 of 70
4/14/13 at 2:51am
Thread Starter 
Although I appreciate the thoughts, please try to mention the movie in your message. Any comments about politics belong very much on the side.

I don't happen to think Obama is going to cause our doom either. Nor will Global Warming drown us. But running out of the cheap oil we use to grow the food for 90% of the human population, that is really gonna hurt. I plan to live within walking distance of lots of food plants and animals.
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post #67 of 70
4/14/13 at 9:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary McCoy View Post

But running out of the cheap oil we use to grow the food for 90% of the human population, that is really gonna hurt. I plan to live within walking distance of lots of food plants and animals.

 

We already came up with a solution to that decades ago. There was a movie made about it, starring Charleton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. biggrin.gif

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post #68 of 70
4/14/13 at 10:41am
There's plenty of oil, unfortunately, which keeps research into and development of alternative, cleaner sources stuck in low gear. Ms. Rand would understand just how that works - and no doubt approve.

The more immediate problem is running out of potable water in certain volatile areas of the globe. That and coastal flooding around the edges of continents, droughts within, and really big storms. It's going to be a swell century.
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post #69 of 70
4/14/13 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary McCoy View Post

Although I appreciate the thoughts, please try to mention the movie in your message. Any comments about politics belong very much on the side.

You might heed your own advice. Your comment previous to this had only a passing mention to the movie, about as much as mine did.
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post #70 of 70
4/15/13 at 9:21am
Thread Starter 
Back to work, you lackeys! It's tax day!
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