Ayn Rand published her provocative and award winning novel Atlas Shrugged in 1957, with the first draft beginning in 1946. Note, Karl Marx's initial translation into English was provided by TB Bottomore from the London School of Economics and Political science in 1958. Rand’s thought-provoking inspiring novel created a stir to say the least.This essay pertains to the importance of work productivity..
Ayn Rand's objectivism is a philosophy described as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." Her philosophy falls within the motivational history of thought.
A brief overview of the history of motivational thought follows: Briefly, Socrates ,Plato and Aristotle's position were A. Socrates believed that knowledge and virtue are identical and that right knowing leads to right acting. In other words, knowledge is good and knowledge leads to virtuous action B. Plato equated good with knowledge. Knowledge is good, it can control the passions and is supreme to emotion. C. Aristotle believed the highest goal of human life is happiness with the activity of reason. Essentially , his emphasis was on virtue through knowledge and reason. Man could control his passions with the use of knowledge and rationality.. Simply put, knowledge, reason, virtue were motivators that lead to man’s happiness.
Later, followed the Age of Enlightenment with its many divergent thinkers such as Bacon, Goethe, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Kant, Locke, Paine , Hobbes, Rousseau etc.. Enlightenment was described as the use of reason, with goals, of rationality, that equal knowledge, freedom and happiness. In fact, Hobbes claimed that "desires" like hunger or thirst, sex, fear, lead humans with their competitive component to conflict and it’s the state that can protect the individual and permit him to gain some satisfaction from his desires..Rousseau condemned society and its influence on man as he believed that society generates egoism and as a result, man's needs and capacities do not correspond to one another, and that it leads him to frustration. In other words, man is good, but spoiled in a bad society.
A somewhat different point of view came from prominent philosophical Existentialists such as Arendt, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Sartre, Camus, Heidegger, Jaspers etc .They questioned man’s nature. and denied the primacy of rationality. They pointed out that impulsions are associated with human nature, and that experience provided by books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television have a great emphasis on the subjective experience of truth which is external or intersubjective.They also wrote about man's inauthenticity , his alienation and his difficulty in living a genuine life . Unfortunately, the standardization of mass society, mass communication ,propaganda and conformity, contributes to the individual being hopelessly lost.
Also, Spinoza, Freud, Murray and others theorized about the unconscious, life and death drives, urges, and the use of defense mechanisms that distort man’s reality. In fact, psychoanalysis was the treatment employed to assist the individual to develop a true understanding of the motivational dynamics occurring within the self. Additionally, Murray's ego needs like the concept of abasement describes man's pursuit of pain, injury, which is irrational. In other words, objectivity, reason and truth are difficult to obtain because of man's irrationality tendency. Freud's treatment was predicated on the belief that psychoanalysis could assist iman in finding, interpreting reality, the truth about themselves and that productive work and love are signs of mental health and his humanness. Similarly, Rand believed that productive achievement is man's noblest activity .
Enter protagonist John Galt, the inventor of the "motor" , the leader of the intellectual and productive strikers who are opposed to the looters and moochers.. The looters profited from the hard-earned wealth and the productive function of the others. The looters were also proponents of high taxation, government ownership, government spending, government planning, regulation, redistribution. They were bureaucrats and government officials who confiscated the earnings of others by the implicit threat of force. For example, grain from Minnesota was withheld and confiscated from some for another interest group . Some citizens starved , others did not . Additional examples of being exploited - nationalized industries , monopolies ,and with the railroad legislature regulators that legally sold supplies for their own profit. They also used force to secure property from the people who produced or earned
The moochers were unable to produce anything of value themselves. They appealed to the moral right. They enabled the lawful seizure by the government. They were the needy expliters ,freelancers and believed they were entitled.
John Galt’s soliloquy beautifully encompasses Rand’s philosophy . "I'm on strike….. Live for yourself … No such thing as Original Sin ,not serving others ,.... Don't give up the pursuit of your own happiness in order to serve others." Work will change when you're ready to pronounce this oath . "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man and ask another man to live for the sake of mine."
Pertaining to productivity also leads us to Karl Marx's ideas pertaining to work within capitalism.. Marx wrote about the notion that the essence of man's existence is alienated from his essence and that in reality he is not what he potentially is. He is not what he ought to be and that he ought to be what he should be.because of his work.
Work was the active relatedness of man to nature which also includes intellectual as well as artistic activity. According to Marx, "labor is alienated because the work has ceased to be part of the workers nature and consequently he does not fulfill himself in his work, but denies himself as a feeling of misery rather than well-being, which is not developed freely or are his mental and physical energies. He is physically and mentally exhausted .’
When man becomes alienated from himself., the product of labor becomes "an alien object which dominates him. The relationship is the same as the relationship to the sensuous external world and natural objects are in alien and hostile worlds. Capitalism interferes with the strength of his own creative work. And secondly, the objects of his own work become alien beings and eventually rule over him, becoming powers, independent of his power . Labor exists for the process of production and not for the process of production for the labor." Simply put, in capitalism, man's labor interferes with his ability to fully develop himself. He becomes a servant or slave to his oppressors. He also becomes unable to develop his true loving nature.He becomes obedient , non productive and oppressed . This exemplifies John Galt’s oath.
The importance and significance of work is clearly stated in Freud's quote "love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness." In essence, work reflects our efforts to contribute to society. fulfilling our ego ideal ambitions ( meeting ego needs of achievement and understanding) and resulting in personal fulfillment which is associated and contributes to positive aspects of our self-esteem. Work that is productive represents aspects by expressing our talents, skills and creativity while making meaningful contributions to society. It's our productivity that enables us to make meaningful contributions to our society. That follows in the direction of actualizing our human side. It's the opposite of alienation ,and corresponds with Rand’s thinking .
Rand depicts a warning and prophecy of a greedy, narcissistic,exploitive totalitarian government run by the powerful few. The head of state ( our newly elected president has never been associated with productive work) had his enemy Galt tortured because he wouldn't cooperate and submit even though he's promised a powerful government job. In the end, this totalitarian government falls. The ideas of Marx, the existentialists, Freud, Murray and Rand pertaining to man are insightful , cogent and associated with man's well-being.
PS
Dad told me to get an education and use my mind , not my back . He also said be your own boss. Right on dad.
Reference
Cofer,C.N. & Appley, M.H. Motivation Theory and Research.
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