Producers vs. Looters and Parasites

The producers in Atlas Shrugged represent the culmination of Rand's artistic goal to portray the human ideal; and their conflict with looters and parasites is the fullest statement of what she saw as an eternal conflict in human life. This lecture will discuss that conflict as the master theme of the novel, encompassing all the other thematic elements, along with Galt's strike as the master plot.

This program, suitable for those new to Rand's ideas, includes discussion of:

1. The eternal conflict
2. Plot implementation: The strike and the collapse
3. Characterization: Producers, looters, and the worlds they make
4. The meaning of the strike

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NOTE: This program is a part of the "'Atlas Shrugged' as a Philosophical Novel" lecture series presented at The Atlas Society's 2006 Summer Seminar. Other lectures from the series can be found linked below:‍

• Reason vs. Anti-Reason
• The Pursuit of Happiness
• The Unity of Mind and Body
• Trade vs. Power ‍