12-04-2010, 09:17 AM
I hadn't heard anything about the movie for quite some time. It has been proposed many times, even way back before Ayn passed away, back around 1982 I think. It certainly will be interesting to see how the movie compares to the book. For those who have enjoyed the novels, she wrote several non fiction books, I suggest "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal" Full of essays on various topics such as child labor, the depression, and my favorite, the history of the transcontinental railways, built with government subsidies (mostly land) because the government wanted quick access to the west coast. The first case of government intrusion on the economy in large scale, the result was railroads owning land which they leased to farmers they helped bring from Europe, then proceeded to charge freight rates designed to keep them alive, but no more. The government then declared business men were evil, and passed the Sherman act. Ayn points out that no railroad had been willing to build such a line on their own, as the costs could not be recouped due to the lack of traffic. Meanwhile, there was intense competition in the east, where traffic could sustain multiple railroads. And the rates were low, because of the competition. She proceeds to show how all the common stories of business corruption were caused by government intrusion. She tells the story of Vanderbilt's famous "the public be damned" Great book.
