Maybe Ayn Rand knew something when writing “Atlas Shrugged”: the case of James Taggart
Review: "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
I read "Atlas Shrugged" almost four decades ago, long before I understood alcoholism. Although I was never enthralled with author Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism, her cult-like behaviors or her personal life, I delighted in her understanding of the wealth-enhancing benefits of free markets and grasp of the idea that capitalism's fiercest opponents were often those who only pretended to be capitalists. I knew from Gabriel Kolko's "The Triumph of Conservatism" that businessmen, under the guise of "consumer protection"or similar pretext, frequently seek favors by getting government to impose regulations that are good for them and bad for their competitors. Rand described such crony capitalists in her books, but I couldn't possibly have understood then ...
