Atlas Drugged Read online

  Like an owl on a tree branch, looking out through his round, horn-rimmed glasses without blinking, mechanically, he surveys the audience quickly from left to right, right to left—then, glares straight ahead. Without small talk or introductory humor, he immediately gets down to business. He taps the microphone, which the audience, still applauding, takes as its cue to be seated. Mimicking a Christian making the sign of the cross, he leads the audience in tracing a dollar sign, in two strokes with his right hand—from his forehead to his upper chest and, from left to right, across his chest—intoning, “In the name of free markets, self-interest, and the holy goal of profit. Amen.”

  “My fellow New Atlantans, John Galt lives! There is no God but the market. The market is God! Government is Satan!” Manfreed proclaims. The crowd jumps up and erupts in another thunderous round of applause, at the same time repeating in unison, “The market is God, the market is God, hi ho the dairy-o, the market is God.” Finally able to begin after five minutes of vainly trying to quiet the audience, he declares, “John Galt lives through us. We are his prophets. He showed us the way to freedom. We trust in ourselves. We trust in free markets. Markets never fail. Markets are all.” Again, the audience goes wild and the applause is deafening. “Decades ago, Galt’s Rational Restoration turned our failing, socialistic, anachronistic, government dominated nation of looters into the Corporate States of America. We boldly changed our name from united to corporate as an act of historical will, the sign of our entirely new beginning, a declaration to the world of our shared sacred values and a rejection of everything that had poisoned our national being. We were cleansed and cleansed ourselves of the stench of stagnant, festering socialism.

  “Word of our Restoration could be heard around the world. Nation after nation watched with envy as we dedicated ourselves to ourselves, picked up the pieces of our ignoble past, and converted ourselves into an engine of unbridled prosperity. We liberated every man, woman, and child to follow their self-interest, not the public interest—and to make no excuses for it. We became truly free for the first time in our history. If someone else hurts, we finally understood, that’s their problem, not yours or the government’s. That’s what BandAids are for. If I’m okay, but you’re not, well it’s too bad for you. Vita sugit: Life sucks. Suck it up or get sucked up. Such simple, honest, self-evident (but too long ignored) declarations freed us from the mental shackles of ever thinking we owe anybody else anything. We are the source of the greatest transformation of society in human history. We threw off the chains of government. We ended regulations and oversight that have added costs but no benefits to every sector of business. I never tire of relishing in the glory that we have brought upon ourselves.

  “At this our yearly time to celebrate together, I am thrilled to report the breaking news that, though it has taken us decades, for the first time in our history, in all of our fifty states and our territories, we have finally done away with the last vestiges of outmoded legislation that imposed undue hardship on manufacturers to prove the safety and effectiveness of drugs. That’s right! Consumers in the market are now totally free to make their own choices on what is best for them. Scientists and researchers and their employers are now free to develop what may be miracle cures, without having to spend years testing them to the satisfaction of some small minded government bureaucrat. They will come to market faster than ever before. And once again, the morality of the market will protect the public. Manufacturers’ self-interest will guarantee that they will make their products and procedures safe and effective. Otherwise, no one will buy them. In the few instances in which problems may arise, the market will alert the public to hazards and drugs will be discontinued or modified. The market works perfectly—if only people will let it!”

  “Yes, yes, John Galt lives!” shouts a man in the audience and the entire assembly applauds and stands, this time stomping its feet. Manfreed looks up and, for the first time, acknowledges the crowd. Once again, he crosses himself with a dollar sign, at which people begin jumping up and down and clapping their hands over their heads. After five minutes of unabated frenzy, Manfreed finally gets the crowd to quiet down and sit.

  “In the recent past, we have lifted all environmental regulations and taxes that have stifled the growth of businesses and siphoned off their profits. We have outlawed dreaded unions that have crippled the private sector.” Thunderous applause. “They can no longer force wages up and secure benefits or strike and bring business to a standstill.” Thunderous applause. “We have eliminated the corporate income tax. There are no more minimum wage laws, occupational safety, leave and overtime laws.” Again the audience applauds wildly. “We have liberated business and liberated labor.” The audience on its feet begins to chant, “Manfreed, man freed, man freed!”

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, over the loudspeakers, a mysterious male voice thunders, “John Galt is dead!” The crowd is thrown into total confusion, near panic. Some people are visibly frightened. People shake their heads, asking each other What? What did you hear? Who’s talking? Where’s it coming from? Was that the same voice that said “bullshit” when the president was speaking? But no one has an answer.

  Obviously disturbed, Manfreed looks around the pavilion, waiting for someone to give him an explanation for the unprecedented interruption. The head of the technical staff rushes out from backstage and whispers in his ear. But from the way he shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head from side to side, as well as the puzzled expression on the professor’s face, it appears he has no explanation.

  And just when the audience settles down and he prepares to speak, again the voice declares, “John Galt is dead!”

  Squinting and looking around the pavilion to see if he can identify where the voice came from, shaken but not wanting to wait too long to suggest that whoever was interrupting had gotten the best of him, Manfreed speaks haltingly, as though waiting for another attack, but continues: “Year after year, we have proven that true democracy rests on Free-for-All economics—unencumbered by regulation and dedicated to the proposition that self-interest is Godliness. You now live in a system that strives to protect your ‘natural liberty.’ You have been freed from the debilitating, false notion that you are your ‘brother’s keeper.’ And you are free of any guilt for believing and acting upon your self-interest. You know you are only your own keeper. You want nothing from anyone else, nor will you give anything to anyone else. We have liberated each and everyone to go it alone and to fulfill themselves on their own terms.

  “We have eliminated government from any role in the destructive act of mediating between the public and business and industry. It’s every man for himself. We’ve proven that, if you can find it on the Internet—and you can find everything on the Internet—you don’t need government to do it. We have preserved inherited wealth. We have eliminated tariffs. We have ended the false and misplaced idea of consumer protection. Rational human beings can protect themselves. We have totally dismantled the government agencies that intervened between you and the providers of goods and services. You can now have what you want when you want it. Decades ago, we ended what used to be called ‘the social safety net’—the welfare state’s Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all the disempowering programs that pandered to people’s needs and that enslaved them without their even knowing it. It was a net that trapped them—and from which we liberated them.”

  Smiling for the first time, regaining his stride after the disturbing, inexplicable interruption, Manfreed continues, “Markets, as we know, protect us in more ways than government can or than we can imagine. Free markets make free agents. Free markets make free men. On the walls around us are written the timeless truths that energized John Galt and that have guided us ever since. You now live freer than ever. You all know the benefits that you have enjoyed and continue to enjoy. That’s why you’re here today—to celebrate your liberation. We have prospered. We have remade our economy. We have remade ourselves. We have drugged ourselves—and continue to
drug ourselves—on the libation of total liberation that can only come from pursuing our unbridled self-interest. Each and every one of us is Atlas in our own universe. The world is ours.

  “A free market is the closest thing to a miracle mankind can achieve. And yet, ironically, it is the ultimate achievement if, and only if, people get out of its way. Mortals cannot improve upon it, because to intervene and attempt to do so is to fiddle with freedom. Imagine a place where all individuals can express themselves uninhibited and undaunted—a state of nature, in which people are kept from suppressing others. Through the competition of the market, some people may rise and achieve;others may fall and fail. Markets are inherently unequal and always volatile. Their volatility ensures their freedom. And that’s true beauty.

  “The free market is pure democracy. No one is guaranteed or deprived of a place. In the dynamic of the market, no one can be on top, or even successful, forever. There is always someone with a better idea waiting to raise the bar and force others to meet or exceed them—and make others relinquish their place and fight to regain it, if they choose or can. The market polices itself. The market confers advantage and takes away advantage. The market is king, lord over all: It can mitigate racial differences, bring harmony to the nation, and foster creativity and innovation. Just let the market work, unbridled by regulation, and peace will reign.

  “But it has not been easy to achieve the glorious prosperity we celebrate today. I know you have heard this account retold every year. You know the story. But today, this year especially, really put yourselves in the place of Galt, Dagny Taggert, and their fellow captains of industry. Just imagine the moral courage it took for them to do what they did. Just imagine what it was for them to turn their backs on everything they had built. When they acted, they had no idea of the outcome of the risks they were taking. But out of their deepest and most admirable self-interest, Galt, Dagny Taggert, and the other captains of industry—the creative, rational minds who joined forces with them—destroyed what they had created to save it.

  Once again, the mysterious voice over the loudspeaker blares out, “John Galt is dead!” The audience is visibly disturbed. Many fidget in their seats. Some stand up and look around to see if they can discover the source of the interruption.

  His jaw clenched but pretending not to have heard the disturbance, Manfreed continues. “They first went on strike, retreated from the world. They brought a corrupt nation to its knees. It had devolved into nothing more than millions of people putting their hands out for whatever charity the government threw their way. Galt and company watched as, one by one, industries collapsed without them and as the strong arm of government foolishly and ineptly intervened, making matters worse—until there was nothing left.

  “People across the territory were in open revolt and on the verge of taking up arms. Galt and his allies accomplished their goal. They proved they were the true and only engines of the economy. And finally, he and the others returned, rolled up their sleeves, and rebuilt what they had once destroyed. That’s how powerful and creative they were. They rewrote our Constitution. They renamed our nation. They transformed the failed United States of America into a glorious corporate state. They restored fifty deadbeat states into the prosperous Corporate States of America we celebrate today and that we will for years to come. They set an example for all of us to follow. They set an example for the world to follow.

  “They, we, have accomplished much by committing ourselves to a relentless agenda. Year after year, we have fought reactionary forces. Sometimes, they have even won—fortunately, only temporarily. We never give up—and never will.”

  Again, the voice over the loudspeaker blares out, “John Galt is dead!” Visibly shaken and exasperated, Manfreed says, “At the same time that we have shown that the Free-for-All market benefits everyone without exception, we have fought off criticism—vehement, preposterous attacks—that our system, the perfectly organized market, impoverishes anyone, exploits the poor, and rewards only the rich and powerful. But we never let our defenses down. We never rest. We live in perilous times—more perilous by the minute. We may be challenged, but we are winning. And we will continue to win, as long as we remain committed to our goals and purposes.”

  Suddenly, Manfreed’s microphone goes dead. Then, a loud, uninterrupted, wailing sound emanates from the speakers. He looks up in frustration and disbelief. The audience begins to squirm. A technician immediately runs on stage. He whispers to Manfreed and then, managing to get the microphone working again, tells the crowd it is just a minor problem, people are working on it, and it will be fixed immediately. The wailing stops. Manfreed begins again. Again, his microphone goes dead.

  To no avail, Manfreed tries to speak loud enough to be heard in the vast pavilion. He waits, furious. And after two minutes, his microphone appears to be working, so he hesitates but continues: “The Galtian Restoration is constantly under threat from minds that were never completely reeducated and that have passed on their misplaced notions to younger generations. As a result, there are still some looters among us who hold on to vestiges of our shameful past. They make the absurd claim that some people have not prospered because of us. They say others have been forced into poverty. Of course, they refuse to accept responsibility for their own failure. The looters’ game is to try to foist guilt on you and me—guilt for their failure, their weakness, and their irresponsibility; guilt for our success, strength, and power. They want us to provide for the needs they say they have. And I’m sorry to say that there are still even some people who feel pity and give them what they beg for.

  “Let me be perfectly honest with you, my fellow New Atlantans. On this, the 67th anniversary of the Galtian Restoration and the founding of New Atlantis, we can take absolutely nothing for granted. In fact, as never before, we are perilously close to losing the battle others fought so nobly before us and for which we have worked for so long. The whole Restoration hangs by a thread. All of us need to recommit to drinking deeply, to drugging ourselves on all of the principles that have thus far guided our success. We need to take on the world full force and to hold it within our grasp. We all need to become Atlas on steroids in communities across this nation and across the world.

  “As you know, in November, we will have national elections. And by what can only be called a fluke of election reform, Cary Hinton is in danger of being elected president.” The audience gasps, then stands, chanting, “No, no, Cary, no. No, no, Cary, no.” Hoping to quiet the audience, Manfreed shouts, “If she is elected, you can say goodbye to everything we have accomplished over the last sixty-seven years.” The audience chants even more loudly “No, no, Cary, no.”

  “That’s no exaggeration,” Manfreed continues, struggling to be heard. “The great, integrated, free market that we have created will be destroyed.” The audience gasps, then begins to chant, “Cary, Cary, go away, come again another day—not!”

  “My friends,” Manfreed says, “Cary Hinton is our sworn enemy. She will undo all of the advances we have made and take us back to the Dark Ages of government intervention and socialism. If nothing else, we all need to understand that we are in a constant state of revolution. We can take nothing for granted. We must always be vigilant. Forces are always working against us.

  “As many as ten states within our Corporate States are on our active watch list for takeover by government interventionists, a new generation of looters. Around the world, thirty nations are potentially sliding into socialism. There are always people who will backslide because they have been brainwashed by holdouts who were brought up under a debilitating system of government and economics and never became worthy converts. They are not up to the challenges of accepting responsibility for their actions and letting the Free-for-All market work. They would rather intervene for their personal, short-term interest and blood-suck the energy of others. They are parasites. And we must stop them from taking from the rest of us.

  “In part, we are our own worst enemy: Our very success ha
s sown the seeds of the backlash we are seeing. Last year was a banner year for turning crises into free market opportunities at home and abroad. To mention just a few: Floods in Mississippi swept away dilapidated houses and businesses—mostly fishing and small farming—on prime, waterfront property, to which owners had questionable title, it turns out. Owners could never afford insurance and could not possibly afford to rebuild. So, a smart developer, true to his glorious self-interest, realized the unique opportunities of the situation and bought up 40,000 acres.

  “Free from any government interference, he’s been able to get title to the land, dredge it, sell lots, and build state-of-the-art houses and commercial sites. He has almost finished creating a total corporate city. Water, electricity, roads, libraries, schools, parks—everything that was once mistakenly thought to be the responsibility of government is now privately owned. The developer is his own government, meaning there is no government beyond him. It’s pure Free for All economics. The beauty of it is, whatever people want they can get— as long as they pay for it, no different than going to a movie or buying groceries. And for the owner, everything, and I mean everything, is pure profit. He is setting the pace for others here and abroad.”

  The audience applauds. But once they settle down, a tall, young man, with a shock of red hair, probably in his mid-twenties, stands up, looks around, raises his hand to get Manfreed’s attention and, without waiting to be called on, asks, “Where are the 25,000 people who used to live on that land in Mississippi going to live? And how are the 7,500 businesses put out of business going to earn a living?”