From The Atlas Society:
“Tea parties.” “Going Galt.” You’ve probably seen a growing number of references to these in the media, online, and on signs at rallies reacting to new government spending and controls.
The Boston Tea Party was a rebellion against excessive government. Today’s “tea parties” say “no” to spending without limit and the government takeover of our lives….
If you’ve read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, you appreciate the parallels between today’s disintegrating world and the events depicted in that prophetic novel. Atlas Shrugged is the story of how productive people went on strike, withdrawing their services in protest against a society that damned them for being productive and expropriated the fruits of their labor….
What is “Going Galt?”
- “Going Galt” doesn’t simply mean getting angry. That would be “Going Postal.” It means having righteous indignation at the injustice of a political system that bails out individuals and institutions for irresponsible behavior and at the expense of those like you who prosper through hard work and personal responsibly.
- “Going Galt” means asking in the face of new taxes and government controls, “Why work at all?” “For whom am I working?” “Am I a slave?”
- “Going Galt” means recognizing that you’re being punished not for your vices but for your virtues.
- “Going Galt” means recognizing that you have a moral right to your own life, the pursuit of your own happiness, and thus to the rewards you’ve earned with your labor.
- “Going Galt” means recognizing that you deserve praise and honor for your achievements rather than damnation as “exploiters.”
- “Going Galt” means recognizing that you do not need to justify your life or wealth to your neighbors, “society,” or politicians, or bureaucrats. They’re yours, period!
- “Going Galt” means recognizing that the needs of others do not give them a claim to your time, effort, and achievements.
- “Going Galt” means shrugging off unearned guilt, refusing to support your own destroyers, refusing to give them what Ayn Rand termed “the sanction of the victim.” It means taking the moral high ground by explicitly rejecting as evil the premise of “self-sacrifice” that they sell to you as a virtue- in fact “self-sacrifice” is an invitation to suicide.