Sacrifice and the Apocalypse: A Girardian Reading of "Atlas Shrugged"
This essay uses the mimetic theory of controversial literary anthropologist René Girard to explicate a central but neglected theme in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged: sacrifice. In Rand's view, big government is supported by a sacrificial ideology founded in the idea of Original Sin that fosters...
| Veröffentlicht in: | The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies. - Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999. - 11(2011), 2, Seite 161-188 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2011
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies |
| Schlagworte: | Biological sciences Behavioral sciences Religion |
| Zusammenfassung: | This essay uses the mimetic theory of controversial literary anthropologist René Girard to explicate a central but neglected theme in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged: sacrifice. In Rand's view, big government is supported by a sacrificial ideology founded in the idea of Original Sin that fosters the petty resentments of the masses while scapegoating the productive elite. John Gait triggers the self-destruction of this "infernal" sacrificial machine by withdrawing its intended victims. The resulting political collapse opens the way to a Randian utopia beyond the theorizing of Girard (and Friedrich Nietzsche, whose work is discussed in conclusion), a society without sacrifice. |
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| ISSN: | 21697132 |