Comments on: Going John Galt http://blog.zenmervolt.com/2009/04/08/going-john-galt/ Just another town along the road. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:30:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Zenmervolt http://blog.zenmervolt.com/2009/04/08/going-john-galt/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Zenmervolt Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:06:54 +0000 http://blog.zenmervolt.com/?p=221#comment-22 I still think that my physical therapy comparison holds more strongly than your examples. It's painful, and certainly involves suffering (there's a reason that people used to joke about Physical Therapists being "Physical Terrorists"), but the end result is that the muscle becomes healthy again. In your examples, the malfunctioning parts are thrown away or starved of vital fluids, but Galt does neither. His productivity is not an ability exclusive to himself; the ability for self-sufficiency exists in every human (rhetorical purposes here, let us ignore, for a moment, the obligation to help those who are physically unable to work, etc) so Galt is not denying anyone the means to live. The unproductive pieces are not thrown away as "gangrenous limbs", but are rather rehabilitated into productive members of the societal body as happens during physical therapy and rehabilitation. To be sure, Galt's actions are hyperbolic for narrative reasons, and I agree that people are unwise to "go Galt" in a literal sense, but I cannot agree with any evaluation of Galt that equates him with a terrorist. I still think that my physical therapy comparison holds more strongly than your examples. It’s painful, and certainly involves suffering (there’s a reason that people used to joke about Physical Therapists being “Physical Terrorists”), but the end result is that the muscle becomes healthy again. In your examples, the malfunctioning parts are thrown away or starved of vital fluids, but Galt does neither. His productivity is not an ability exclusive to himself; the ability for self-sufficiency exists in every human (rhetorical purposes here, let us ignore, for a moment, the obligation to help those who are physically unable to work, etc) so Galt is not denying anyone the means to live. The unproductive pieces are not thrown away as “gangrenous limbs”, but are rather rehabilitated into productive members of the societal body as happens during physical therapy and rehabilitation.

To be sure, Galt’s actions are hyperbolic for narrative reasons, and I agree that people are unwise to “go Galt” in a literal sense, but I cannot agree with any evaluation of Galt that equates him with a terrorist.

]]> By: Strix nebulosa http://blog.zenmervolt.com/2009/04/08/going-john-galt/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Strix nebulosa Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:15:52 +0000 http://blog.zenmervolt.com/?p=221#comment-21 I agree with your characterization of Galt's ultimate goal. The point is that he's willing to let a whole lot of people suffer and die to achieve that goal. An apter analogy would be lopping off a few gangrenous limbs so that only the healthy parts of the body remain. Or, even more precisely, the healthy heart refusing to pump any blood to those organs that aren't working properly. No matter the worth of the ultimate goal, the sacrifice is tremendous. Terrorists believe they have worthy goals as well. I agree with your characterization of Galt’s ultimate goal. The point is that he’s willing to let a whole lot of people suffer and die to achieve that goal. An apter analogy would be lopping off a few gangrenous limbs so that only the healthy parts of the body remain. Or, even more precisely, the healthy heart refusing to pump any blood to those organs that aren’t working properly. No matter the worth of the ultimate goal, the sacrifice is tremendous. Terrorists believe they have worthy goals as well.

]]> By: Zenmervolt http://blog.zenmervolt.com/2009/04/08/going-john-galt/comment-page-1/#comment-19 Zenmervolt Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:30:30 +0000 http://blog.zenmervolt.com/?p=221#comment-19 <em>"So yes, the means are different–omission versus commission–yet the end goal of Galt and real-world fanatical jihadists is identical: the destruction of Western civilization."</em> I cannot agree with this assessment. The goal of terrorists is indeed the destruction of Western civilization, but that is not the goal of John Galt. Galt's goal is the eventual revitalization of Western civilization. In the same way that physical therapy's goal is to revitalize the body by forcing weakened muscles to work and, through that work, become strong, Galt's goal is to "revitalize" Western civilization by forcing the parasitic elements to become productive. “So yes, the means are different–omission versus commission–yet the end goal of Galt and real-world fanatical jihadists is identical: the destruction of Western civilization.”

I cannot agree with this assessment. The goal of terrorists is indeed the destruction of Western civilization, but that is not the goal of John Galt. Galt’s goal is the eventual revitalization of Western civilization. In the same way that physical therapy’s goal is to revitalize the body by forcing weakened muscles to work and, through that work, become strong, Galt’s goal is to “revitalize” Western civilization by forcing the parasitic elements to become productive.

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