Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, published in the United States in 1957. It is her longest work, the last of her four novels published during her lifetime, and the one she regarded as her magnum opus in fiction. Rand wrote it between 1946 and 1957, having conceived the idea in a 1943 conversation with her friend Isabel Paterson. In it she developed Objectivism, her philosophical system, which combines rational self-interest, the defence of property rights, individualism and laissez-faire capitalism, and which she set against what she saw as the evil of altruism and governmental coercion.

The story is set in a dystopian United States at an unspecified time, in the grip of an economic depression marked by shortages, business failures and falling productivity. It follows Dagny Taggart, operating vice-president of a major railroad, and Hank Rearden, a steel magnate who has developed an alloy lighter and stronger than conventional steel. Together they struggle against those in politics and business who want to appropriate their productivity. Meanwhile, some of the country's leading creators and industrialists vanish one after another, and the phrase "Who is John Galt?" becomes a common saying. They discover that Galt, a mysterious engineer, is leading a strike of the "men of the mind" from a hidden valley. The novel closes with the strikers preparing to build a new capitalist society on his philosophy.

Rand had first intended to call it "The Strike"; the final title was suggested by her husband, Frank O'Connor, and alludes to the Greek Titan who holds up the world. The book surprised readers by presenting businessmen and the state as antagonistic forces. Critics largely received it harshly, calling it crude, excessive or written in hatred, and Galt's speech of over three hours became a frequent target of mockery. Even so, the novel enjoyed lasting popularity and steady sales for decades, and it has been cited as an influence by many libertarian and conservative thinkers and politicians. After several failed attempts at adaptation, a film trilogy was released between 2011 and 2014 and was also widely criticised.