The Book Club: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand with Eric Daniels | The Book Club 

“Money is the barometer of a society’s virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent but by compulsion, when in order to produce you need to obtain permission by men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull then by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you - when corruption is rewarded and honesty becomes self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed.”

I regretfully admit, I was once a liberal. Reading Atlas Shrugged didn’t convert me. However, it did make me question my previously held beliefs. This led to my reading of authors like Thomas Sowell and Milton Friedman which did convert me to a libertarian/conservative viewpoint. In other words, Rand was my “gateway” to the right. I know Michael doesn’t care for her, but I think there would be fewer conservatives without her.

My Dad has told me that when he was a young man he was reading The Fountainhead and random strangers, seeing him with it, would come up to him and say, "You're reading The Fountainhead? Man, that book changed my life!"

started reading, then had to pair with the audio book because it was so long. I went through school as one of the first wave of students that was taught all things should be for the greater good and selflessness was valued... so when I first read fountain head and then atlas shrugged.. I was engrossed in the story that valued the individual and his selfishness. (and all the imperfection and drive that comes with it) I think reading this book the summer before I went to College saved me from the marxist doctrine the sociology class chalked on the sidewalk.

Carving 7 foot atlas sculpture right now

Maybe I was 13-14, one of my favorite movies was 'the Fountainhead.' My Dad, a Libertarian way back from the 60s, true borderline anarchist, gave me this book as a challenge. It did help form my ethos. Time to pick it up again...

My favorite character is the one who gets all the other oligarchs to invest in South American railroads and mines … only to have it all fail and then laugh at the oligarchs that followed his investment advice. Delectable!

This is one of the first books where you read the businessmen, CEO’s, capitalists are portrayed as moral heroes

Atlas Shrugged I read it in High School. It was recommended by my best friend. When I read this book it open up my mind, it made me what I am today a proud conservative Republican and a proud retire vet.

1984 and Atlas Shrugged are two great books of literature that warned us of what could happen before it happens.

Before I never understood how we would even end up with people as deluded or narcissistic as the antagonists of atlas shrugged...until this year, and now I understand why they were so terrifying

I love this novel and have read it more times than I can remember. Once, I was on the last page, read it and closed the book. I thought, "What a great book." I opened it and began reading it again. I read that damn book two times in a row. What a masterpiece.

The answer to Michael Knowles’ dilemma is in the very quote that he read at 19:52 - “If you asked me *for more than you meant to me*, I would not give it”. That is, I think, the key to her philosophy. When we pretend to love those that mean nothing to us, then it is not love at all. As a Christian, I fully agree with that. I read Atlas Shrugged at 19 years old. After the Bible, it is most definitely the most influential book I have come across. Thank you for this invaluable series. ❤️🙏

I'm loving the book club. Atlas shrugged is one of my favorites.

The book was on the suggested reading list for the economics class I took in college and I did a disservice to myself by not reading it. I finally read it in 2010 and flogged myself because my 19 year old self didn't read it as it would have made parts of my life make sense and would have been a guideline for a lot of the decisions I made and kept me from making a lot of mistakes.

I enjoyed Atlas Shrugged. I read it twice, and the truth is I loved John Galt's speech. It's full of gems, original ideas.

I first became interested in Atlas Shrugged because of the video game Bioshock. I like analyzing how fictional worlds come to be and applying their logic to what I see around me. Needless to say I've read both Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead, both are very fascinating whether you agree with Ayn Rand or not. If nothing else you will learn something from studying Rand's works, especially how to understand people.

I'm like 13 hours into Atlas Shrugged and my God is making me depressed. I had to stop listening to it because there's way too many parallels with today's society.

Oh, Atlas Shrugged. So much of it made me nod my head and say, "Yes and amen!" And then I get whiplash switching from nodding to shaking my head, saying, "No, that's way off!" What a ride. Maybe I'll read it again in ten years.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I have so many highlights in this book of ideas I've directly heard politicians express or sometimes almost verbatim use in their speeches

I love Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand. They changed my life for the better. Great video. 👍

I've made it through Atlas Shrugged over 10 times (I pretty much stop counting by that point). Literally, the only books I've read more times are Kipling's The (First) Jungle Book and Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.

People fall into the black hole of seeing Atlas Shrugged as just a battle of business owners, professors, musicians, and thinkers. It was also a celebration of the working class. The men and women that the Washington Swamp ignores. That's why this book changed the lives of so many working class people. The workers have a very important role in the background of the novel..

Rand was virtually unknown in Europe when I came of age in the 80s; only the cognoscenti knew of 'Atlas Shrugged'.

I read the Fountainhead too.

Atlas Shrugged?? I've read books based on real/true events from the past but wow this book was written 65 years ago and describe what is going on today...we are currently living this book now.

This book was my red pill. After reading it I couldn’t stop seeing government corruption everywhere.

Atlas Shrugged is a huge book. Start with "Anthem". It only took me three hours to listen to it and its great.

Michael, You did a very good job of interviewing. Your guest knew his subject, wanted to talk about it, and you let him. It must be difficult for an interviewer to simply be quiet and let an authority talk about his subject. I have read the book twice. I agree that Cristians and Conservatives don't agree with many of Rand's ideas but we Conservatives want one thing she championed. We want to be left alone. Maybe it is time for me to read it a third time.

Great Guest. New found respect for Clemson. Great talk, absolutely love great books. Hearing “wise” people discuss them, adds to something incredible already. Many Blessings to All 🙏 🇺🇸

Please consider adding your content to Rumble. I rarely look to RU-vid anymore but, enjoy your channel.

Yes! We named our daughter Francisca in part as a nod to Atlas Shrugged.

This book is excellent. Yes it’s timeless. It applies today.

Atlas shrugged is one of the most impactful books I ever read ,I would highly recommend it it gives you a perspective that's needed in order to understand how the world works and how the government when interfering with individuals it can only do us deservice

atlas shrugged is probably the book that most changed my life. I have read it 3 times already. Kudos to Eric Daniels for his terrific explanation.

Oh man, it's been years since I made the slog through Atlas Shrugged. This brought it all back to me.

Mad Men has brought me to Atlas Shrugged. I enjoyed it so much: it was slow summer and I worked at my empty school as it was the time for exams - most of all I enjoyed the love piece between Dagny and Hank. I was so in love with his character. I adore the notion of taking a personal responsibility for any actions. I believe people should seek and do good in life. But on the other hand some ideas in the book may be utopian. But nevertheless it is a masterpiece.

I've read it once, but have listened to it on audible (52hrs) 4-5 times, wonderful and scary accurate book. We don't talk of the movies

One of my favorite books.

Wonderful discussion on Atlas Shrugged, best I've heard so far. I have to admit that the book has been my favorite for years, and I also questioned the egoist part of it at first. The way Eric clarified the position really clarified well, and I hope that helps others who have also questioned that topic. I'd also like to say that no one, no matter what they say, actually does anything that doesn't benefit themselves in some way. Including charity. It's a bitter pill most people reject instantly, until the person puts their distaste aside and looks at the literal reality of the situations. There is always a pay off, be it emotionally, mentally, physically or monetarily. Always.

I read this book about 15 years ago and I remember having a couple of reactions to it. First off, I really enjoyed it all the way up until Rand attacked Christianity. I also remember how my attitude towards my coworkers dramatically changed while I read this book: I have always had a strong work ethic and this book reinforces the virtues of such an ethic but it also denigrates those who do not... which is how it impacted my view. I started viewing my coworkers as lazy and started to shape my perception of them (their entirety or whole character) simply by productive output. Did anyone else have a similar experience?

*By far the easiest large book to read! Loved every page!*

The guest, Professor at Clemson, was outstanding! fluid and understandable. Haven't read the book, but followed all his points of view. Well done, sir!

I started the book after breakfast, and after the first 20 pages knew that Eddie Willers was me, and I needed to be something better, and read the next 300 pages in one sitting, only stopping when I heard the dinner bell and thought at first it was the lunch bell, but didn't realize I'd been so absorbed that I didn't HEAR the lunch bell, then felt my stomach growl, and decided to stop to get dinner. What a ride!!!! I would not be the MAN I am today had I not read Atlas Shrugged. I may not be John Galt, ever, but it's been a long time since I was merely Eddie Willers. In the early 1990s The Library of Congress discovered that after the Bible, this was the book folks said had changed their lives more than any other book. By the Obama Administration, it was the most widely read novel in the history of man.

I got this book on audio. I’m going to have to listen again. But only after I listen to Speechless: Controlling Words Controlling Minds

The description of the people on the doomed tunnel train as true today as back then

Now non-fiction. I have read it 5 times.

I just got all of Rand’s books. This school year is going to be great.

Atlas Shrugged was supposed to be a work of fiction; not a f#@king playbook for the Democratic Party. But here we are. The audio book is awesome (and, truthfully, the only way I got through it). My husband and I have listened to it multiple times.

I first read Atlas in 1968 after 3 years in the altruistic Peace Corps in Ethiopia. Rand said in 1957 that if Atlas sold 50,000 copies, it would save the world. It sold about 9,000,000 and it saved my life. I realized that every productive person on the earth was a slave to their criminal governments, that this was the biggest problem facing mankind through the centuries, that it was a problem that interested me, affected me and mine and was a problem that I as a professional capitalist problem solver thought I could solve and I did so. I wrote 3 books, "The Illegality of Taxation and Regulation", "The Trade Party - The Future"' and "The End of Socialism, Fascism and Communism and the Birth of Capitalism", all of which were ignored. I sent out thousands of those books, letters to the media and politicians, and to friends and relatives, again all ignored. But that was all right. My attitude from the beginning was that of the Seabees, "The Difficult I Do Immediately, The Impossible Takes a Little Longer." In 1989, I got myself free from that slavery when I formed the first capitalist party in history, which I called The Trade Party, to differentiate it from the Force Party, which consists of factions of parties. There once was a famous bank robber named Willie Sutton. When he was finally caught, he was asked by a reporter, "Why do you rob banks?" Willie replied, as though that was the stupidest question he had ever heard, "That's where the money is!" If you ask a democrat, republican, libertarian, socialist or communist, "Why do you rob from capitalists?" their answer is precisely the same as Willie's. Capitalists produce wealth, fascists of all stripes, no matter what they call themselves, steal it and use it to bribe supporters. The identifying characteristics of fascism are extortionist taxes and regulations. Capitalists do neither. Capitalists earn and persuade and we live by trading solutions to each other's problems for fun and earned profits. All the governments in history have been and are fascist. There has never been a capitalist society. Capitalists have only been allowed to exist if they serve the needs of their fascist governments for food, clothing, shelter, wealth, and weapons. Yet all the progress in history has come from the thinking and efforts of capitalists. The freer we are, the most progress that is made. It took me from 1968 until 1989 to get myself free from slavery, THE DIFFICULT. Since then, I have tried to free everyone else, THE IMPOSSIBLE, but no one was interested in actually being free. Lots of people were eager to talk the talk of freedom but absolutely no one was willing to walk the walk. Why, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, is everyone willing to be slaves to fascists, left, right and center, but be afraid to fight back? Fear, ignorance and bribes! All governments have been terrorist organizations getting money and obedience through the inducement of fear in the hearts, minds, eyes and souls of their citizens. In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, former IRS Commissioner Donald Alexander formally admitted that the IRS was a terrorist organization. Capitalists are rewarders, not terrorists. I approach politics from a point of view different from every other human being on the planet. That means that it is an either-or situation - either I am crazy for thinking this way or all the other 8 billion people on the planet are stark raving mad for believing in, voting for or supporting fascism. I believe I am the one who is right. Change! I define politics as the study and practice of proper human relationships. Fascists see politics as the process of gaining and keeping control of political power which I define as the ability to harm the innocent on a massive scale and get away with it. Since this is only possible in or associated with government and since harming the innocent is always evil, no matter who has this power, the question arises, "Why do human beings need governments at all?" Each human being comes with a built-in government, his or her own mind, and develops a philosophy over time to guide it. Everyone's philosophy changes day-to-day as we learn. I look at the Taliban, Joe Biden, the southern border, the pandemic, rights, powers, education, constitutions, history, etc. and realize that I have already solved the problems. Or rather Ayn Rand has. I am just finishing up her work, along with millions of others. I am working on a 4th book with a working title of "The End of Governments as Men Have Ever Known Them". Every government in history has been an organized crime syndicate, an extortion, fraud, bribery and murder racket. Who needs criminals for anything? No innocent honest person needs criminals. I'm almost 80, suffer from Parkinson's and atrial fibrillation and could pass away or be killed by some fascist or content slave at any day and though i have not yet actually freed a single slave, I have done the necessary thinking and writing. I know how ideas work in a human's mind so I have put a lot of ideas in the minds of lots of people and all I have to do is sit back and wait for those ideas to work their magic. All fascists make the mistake of thinking that man is ruled by guns, goons and bribes, but man is ruled by ideas, not by force. All I can say is, "We never had to worry about any of it, did we?"

My favorite book of all time, so brilliantly written.

I've always been curious about this book so I'm thrilled I'm thrilled to have this content.. Nice to have intelligent Conversation and dialog. I'm sure it will be very relevant.

Wow, religious conservatives admit Rand exists now? This is an improvement

Whittaker Chambers' review of Atlas Shrugged was despicable. He actually had the nerve to equate her with the Nazis (as if a Jewish woman born in Russia could EVER admire Nazism), saying that she wanted to send people to the "gas chamber". Anyone who's actually read the book knows how ludicrous that comparison is. I quote from the Galt speech: “Whatever may be open to disagreement, there is one act of evil that may not, the act that no man may commit against others and no man may sanction or forgive. So long as men desire to live together, no man may initiate-do you hear me? no man may start-the use of physical force against others." That is DIAMETRICALLY opposed to the Nazi philosophy.

This book changed my life forever. Watching you guys from Mexico 🗽.

Now this is an episode you can't afford to miss

I'm most of the way through the book for the first time. I just finished John Galt's speech. I really love this book. It puts so much into perspective.

Fantastic dialogue and review of Atlas Shrugged. Brilliant!

Currently reading it for the first time and I’m only about 1/10th of the way through so far, so I can’t watch this just yet, but I dropped by to leave a Like 👍

The best book report ever. Thank you Messer's Knowles and Daniels.

Normally, when Knowles mentions anything about Rand, I find myself yelling at my windshield. This time, Daniels did a nice job of making my points.

When I see someone advocating for modern American socialism, it reminds me of the story of the 20th Century Motor Company in the book.

I love--love--the concept of Atlas Shrugged. It's brilliant. The execution... not so much. I think if a talented writer/filmmaker could get to the absolute core of the story, the essential essence of it, there is a great movie or series there (the three well intended films that adapted it a few years back lacked cohesion, let alone the craft necessary to make it happen)...

I had to have the Cliff's Notes on hand when I read Atlas Shrugged. This conversation had some great insights that I hadn't thought of before.

Yes!!! Thank you. This is my favorite book. It blew my mind when I first read it and every time after that

If you want the "Lord of the Rings" version of Atlas Shrugged, read Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series, particularly Faith of the Fallen.

This book really shows you the compartmentalized nature of a country going through the motions mindlessly. The "Who is John Galt?" line expresses it perfectly. It acts as an unspoken truth behind each and every action. During my second read-through, I paid careful attention to the "altruist"-types.

Awesome to see Eric here!

This book was published the year before I was born. I first read it at age nineteen and I've read it at least once a year ever since. Each time I get more out of it. I read it again last month and it struck me harder than ever because of what is going on in the US and the world. #AtlasShruggedIsNowNonfiction

Interesting you would mention the potential tension between the and Christians, which I agree because most Christians believe only what they are taught versus studying, but as a Christian myself with a degree in theology I had no issues with this book at all.

You need to understand "selfishness" as "altruism is bad" and why. Claiming some version of, "Ayn Rand thinks you should be selfish" is kind of an oafish take of a serious proposition. edit: I built a 3500 employee IC design / mfg company by age thirty, so I identify with some of the characters and ideals in that book.

They don’t just find the motor “on an abandoned research bench.” They find it in abandoned factory which has been thoroughly looted, stripped of all its chattels, except for this motor, which has been left untouched, judged by the looters as worth less than the CEO’s custom glass shower curtain with the naked mermaid on it.

Next, please do "Animal Farm" by George Orwell!😁 I read and studied this when I was in 8th grade (now in 20s).

Just downloaded from Amazon. Have heard so many mentions, has to be worth the read. Thanks.

Animal farm, 1984, Atlas Shrugged were required reading when I was in middle and high school

Just read it this year was so worth the read

Suggestion: The Fountainhead with Michael Malice

Was an awesome episode mike! I watch your show all the time as well as many other conservative channels. As an atheist I was always felt a bit uncomfortable discussing politics and religion with religious people in the past. I always thought there was so many differences that the point was moot. I've come to the realization however over the years that many of the people I thought were looking out for our best interests have a certain degree of moral flexibility zero belief in philosophy let alone ethics. People have become agnostics not just in the belief in god but in almost every part of life. That I am not on board with in any way shape or form.

I taught Anthem along with Animal Farm to freshmen in high school. I showed The Fountainhead to my American Lit class. Atlas Shrugged was beyond their ability.

This book was the event of my 16th year. If only I had read Milton Friedman instead! But I never even watched his TV program! He was outside my awareness. But Ayn Rand was a fascinating writer of a truly suspenseful story. At 16, I was hers! I went on to her nonfiction books like For the New Intellectual. And of course, having read Rand, I knew I deserved to be that new intellectual. She flattered the reader with her identification of virtue with intellectual acceptance of her ideas. She was a period of my life that came to an abrupt close when I learned facts about her personal life that I could not accept and that was in impossible conflict with my moral principles.

I heard of this book by playing Bioshock. I did not know it was so interesting. I now want to read it.

The video keeps emphasizing the length of the book, as if reading it is some kind of chore. I've never thought of it that way. It's quite readable. Ayn Rand expressed her ideas in a very lucid manner.

Great and accurate analysis of the greatest modern philosophical novel written to date

I wish they had discussed Dr. Robert Stadler, who is the most interesting and tragic character in the book, in my opinion.

Atlas Shrugged was the first serious conservative fiction book I read. It was really powerful read for me and I was blown away by its characters moral values. It set me straight about the way governments are the obstructions to our own goals. I needed to understand if I needed to rely on the government to keep me going with welfare checks and disability handouts. But it was not right for me. I needed to think for myself and build my own living without state dependency.

I watched the Venezualean documentary of this book.

I read Atlas Shrugged after it had been recommended by three acquaintances-all liberals! Knowing how conservative I was, they all thought I would like the book. After Atlas, I read some of her other works, then read her biography and discovered she was someone I would certainly not want to have in my home, despite agreeing with MOST of her philosophy. I had to overlook the amoral aspects of the protagonists, concentrating more on their strong individuality and libertarian focus. That, for me, is the main point of the novel. As a Christian, I feel strongly about both morality and the sacredness of the individual. Rand and I part company on the former, but coincide on the latter.

I've never had the patience to sit down and read a 1200 page book but, I learned that the motivation behind Ayn Rand's philosophy as well as that portrayed in Atlas Shrugged was motivated by what she saw/experienced in Soviet Russia (and perhaps, what she didn't). This book is, amongst other things, a celebration (or even a romanticism) of capitalism. At the same time, it is a manifesto of Ayn Rand's understanding of what it means to be human. Listening to this explanation of the book, I am more intrigued by it than ever. I thought a movie was made out of this.

Good review & commentary, as ever, Michael. Now When are you gonna do Witness by Chambers?? It's possibly one of the most important pieces of non-fiction of the 20th century, never more relevant than today! I'd love to hear you dive into it! 🙂

If I'm not mistaken, the game Bioshock is based on Atlas Shrugged.

What is really amazing is that there was a time, not really that long ago, that Hollywood would make a movie based on an Ayn Rand book.

Great discussion. Think I’ll write a thousand page autobiography about the experiences of my own life and the fellow players on my stage.

I don't understand why people have such a hard time reading it. Maybe because I read it last not first. My favorite book of all time is "The Virtue of Selfishness" it changed my life and is severely underrated and unappreciated.

"I left it as I found it. Take it: it's yours"

I read the book. The problem was getting through the love story between Hank and Dagney. What people overlook is there was a Railroad Cartel, and Dagny was against it. It was clear to me that Ayn Rand was also not a fan of the Cartels.

5:08 I just realized Knoles has a single side of his collar outside of his sweater. I'm eagerly waiting Eric to point this out or accept the situation awkwardly. Like Knowles has something in his teeth and he's not willingly to say. This episode just got a lot more intresting.

An eye opener ....must read !

When I saw this posted 3 weeks ago I knew it was time to finally embark on the journey of atlas shrugged. Though I did cheat and listen to the audio form of it. I am so glad I did. While it is quite wordy, and took me three weeks to finish it, I thoroughly enjoyed it,and want to thank you for giving me the little push I needed to start it.

Hello Mr. Knowles. You stated (around 14:50) that according to Ayn Rand "selfishness is THE virtue". I think that Rand and Objectivism describe selfishness as a virtue that is junior to or downstream from the virtue of rationality. Ayn Rand originates the philosophy of Objectivism with three axiomatic fundamental concepts: existence, identity, and consciousness. Every attempt to disprove these axioms will ironically demonstrate a proof in favor of them. Rand then integrates and builds upon these axioms while identifying the nature and function of human consciousness. The nature of human consciousness is predominantly identified as "volitional", and it includes two key ideas: 1) A volitional consciousness causes and requires a person's existence to be governed by their ongoing choice amongst options for their thinking activity and their behaviors. 2) The individual owner of a volitional consciousness can allow it to sit idle, while its owner chooses to be aimless, passive, stagnant, fogged out, etc. The owner also has the choice to be active, productive, engaged, focused, purposeful, etc. Living productively and actively is not automatic - it requires choice and effort. This identified nature of a volitional consciousness causes and requires the application of "rationality", which is THE fundamental virtue within Rand's philosophy. Rationality is the primary human action applied to #1 and #2 described above. The virtue of selfishness relates to two key concepts: a) One must first create and maintain a "self" in order to be selfish, and many people skip on doing this. A self has an identity, a knowable character, a defined purpose, a direction, an aim, a set of guiding principles regarding what is good/bad and right/wrong ... along with thoughtful reasoning that the person has for "Why?" and "What for?" to justify their own adoption of each of these elements of their self. We can recognize a selfish person because we observe them living in a manner that expresses a self ... "this is who I am, and these are my commitments, and here is the value that I am generating". A person who is selfless is tyically living 2nd-handed by copying others, deferring to others, or living through others, and they are typically more aimless, loafing, passive, or continually malleable without real convictions - they cannot be selfish ... because they are choosing to not have a self nor sustain a self. b) Selfishness describes all normal survival activities including ... breathing, eating, movement, sleeping, earning, communicating one's needs and ideas, etc. The person values their own life, and this is demonstrated by their own continual actions to selfishly feed, protect, defend, and express themselves. "Lack of selfishness" is a form of self-sacrifice and a form of suicide.

This was a great summary by Eric. Very accurate and eloquent.