Much has been made in recent weeks, since the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate, of Ayn Rand and her signature work, Atlas Shrugged. The premise of the novel, for anyone who is not sure, is that the rich capitalists of society decide to withdraw from the rabble and form their own society of super-rich, super-strong super-people. This scenario has never played out, here in the real world. In my opinion, it probably never will. Read on for my thoughts about why.
Of course, this scenario has never actually transpired in our society, and probably never will. The mere thought of it is laughable. Imagine the super-rich, capitalist superman trying to make it without the rest of society. Here is the picture I get in my mind: Our admirable hero is cold, starving, and with only the clothes on his back, trapped in the woods with nothing to protect him but his green pieces of paper with pictures of famous people on them. Actually, we would have to subtract the green pieces of paper from our present-day scenario, since wealth is mostly just digits on a computer screen at this point. Like I said, the thought of it is laughable.
So, where do the rich get it wrong? Well, two main points come to mind. First, let us examine the idea that the rich would be better off without the rest of us. What gall it takes to make such a statement! Imagine a person with personal servants in the home making such a statement. The rich cannot even maintain their own homes independently, yet we are supposed to believe that they will withdraw from society and form a better society on their own? Ridiculous! The rich have not worked an honest day of work in years, or in their lives in some cases, yet we are supposed to believe that they will build a better society from the ground up? Absurd! Better yet, have at it. As a member of the lower 99% of society, I say go ahead. I am extending my invitation to the super-fantastic 1% of society to completely withdraw from society and build a better one from the ground up. Withdraw from our roads, our water and sewage systems, and our electric grid. Build your own heating and cooling systems, communications devices, and entertainment. I have a feeling that the best you will be able to do is fan yourselves with your green pieces of paper and use them to pass notes.
The second fallacious argument by the 1% for their withdrawal from society is that the rest of us would be worse off without them. If the rich withdraw their creativity and genius, the rest of us will be too inept to keep society running. Again, the notion is absurd on the face of it. Let us be clear: the rich do not possess magical powers or super-secret knowledge that is unobtainable to the rest of us. If they withdrew from society, other talented individuals among the rest of us would step into their places. In addition to that, the better part of the knowledge and skills that actually run our society lie with the rest of us. The person who fixes your heater or air conditioner is not going to forget everything he learned because the rich withdraw from society. The person who teaches your children will not forget how to do it because all the rich people ran away. The person who cooks your food, the person who fixes your car, the person who makes sure the electricity keeps flowing into your home, none of them will magically forget everything they learned just because the rich get feelings of superiority and slink away into the darkness. So, to the rest of us, disavow yourselves of the notion that the rich are superior to you in any way. They are not!
The truth of the matter is that, if anybody should be threatening to withdraw from anybody else, it is we, the 99% who should be threatening to withdraw from the 1%. Personally, I would love to see them try to make it on their own when their bank accounts are worthless because the rest of society will not accept their notes. I would love to see them try to make it on their own when their maids and butlers withdraw services from their homes, when their personal chefs step aside and refuse to continue stuffing their faces with all manner of lavish fare, when their groundskeepers and maintenance men refuse to service their homes and landscapes anymore. Then, we shall see who is really self-sufficient. As for the rest of us, I am confident we could organize ourselves sufficiently to maintain, and even expand, the society we have already built together. (And yes, we did build it together!)
Solidarity!