Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, fiction or fact?
by Michelle Albert Vachris; Elizabeth Samios
International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (IJPEE), Vol. 7, No. 2, 2016

Abstract: Ayn Rand's 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged describes a society stifled by an ever increasing amount of economic regulation in the form of laws, directives and plans. But could such fictionalised overregulation ever take place in real life? This paper compares the fictional regulation of Atlas Shrugged to actual legislation that has been passed in the USA. We demonstrate how the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule, the Equalization of Opportunity Bill, the Colorado Directives, and Directive 10-289 have real-world parallels. Plans to create communities similar to that of Galt's Gulch have even been attempted. In addition to providing an analysis of how Atlas Shrugged is reflected in our economic reality, the paper demonstrates how this work of fiction can be used in the classroom to foster the study of economic regulation and economic freedom.

Online publication date: Sat, 03-Sep-2016

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (IJPEE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com