There was a lot going on in this chapter. As little as there was in the last, there was ten times as much in this one. It helps with the setting as the Reardon’s hold a cocktail party for their wedding anniversary. This was the perfect canvas for having all kinds of characters that may never be seen again in the book have impactful lines or reveal true colors.

I’m not going to try to keep things in chronological order today. I am going to use the different conversations to support what I see as the primary theme today. Before I get totally into it, there was one other thing that came up and that was an origin story of John Galt. Supposedly, he found Atlantis by sailing and he or his crew was never seen again.

Probably the most seminal moment in the chapter is the conversation between Henry Reardon and Frank D’aconia. The characters Frank, Dabny and Henry seems to be becoming a disrupters but more so Frank. He is stirring up the thought provoking insights like when he asked Henry “Why are you willing to carry them”? This is in context to the idea that there are the doers in life and then there are the non-doers (better phrasing than parasite?).

Among the conversations happing at the party, the political idea came up of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill. This is the idea that a person can only own one business so as to not become to rich, powerful or influential. The idea that there is a fragile balance between still having some degree of autonomy or freedom and too much is supported by this quote as well. “Property rights are only superstition. One holds property only by the courtesy of those who do not seize it.”

It is not just the economy discussions that lean toward communism. “Culture should be taken out of the hands of the dollar chasers. We need a national subsidy for literature.” Has anyone ever heard this argument for NPR? I have. When I was younger and a much different world, I used to sympathize more in this direction. Now that I am more mature, I feel like if people don’t value something enough to support directly, then is it really valuable? There are new and different ways today such as crowd funding and I am much more willing to let survival of the fittest prevail.

Earlier, when I talked over the division of doer and non-doers, this chapter gets into it with the Frank/Hank conversation. Frank is pointing out that Hank is killing himself to make a go with Reardon Metal while everyone else is whining about people becoming too rich. And yet, they are doing little to improve their own situation other that supporting laws that limit other’s potential.

While this was written almost 70 years ago, I feel like I could hear these conversations today. My observation is that we are lucky that position hasn’t fully taken hold. However, I predict that it is a matter of time. As an example in my lifetime I will use health insurance.

When I was really young, no one had health insurance. My dad got it added as a benefit when I was about four. Growing up and getting my first job, health insurance was a competitive requirement to attract employees. Almost fifteen years ago, it became a punitive requirement, have it or be fined. Even unemployed people have insurance through socialized medical programs. When we lay it all out, what we have effectively added was an abstracted layer between the patient and doctor. I defy you to prove that this is more effective treatment, more efficient process or even a better quality of standard.

Have we really achieved the care that we want by adding ‘insurance’? I think not. This entire charade has inflated the cost of care such that paying out of pocket is nearly un-achievable for all but the simplest of procedures leaving the companies dictating the care by proxy of affordability. What happens when the doers stop supporting the non-doers? Well, the non-doers force them to support them anyway through laws like healthcare.

End Your Programming Routine: As I eluded last week, there are those that see what is happening and those that do not. It seems that Frank and Dabny do not yet, do you? I am constantly amazed by the number of schemes or smoke and mirrors. You cannot tell me that the economy is burning in the background that everything is fine. What is the first step in correcting a problem? Admitting you have one.