Ready Reference Treatise: Atlas Shrugged

“Atlas Shrugged" was Rand’s fourth and last novel. It was first published in 1957. It was her longest novel. Rand considered “Atlas Shrugged” to be her magnum opus in novel writing.

Its working title was “The Strike.” The plot of the story revolves around a dystopian United States where the most creative industrialists, scientists, and artists go on strike. They go to a mountainous hideaway and they build an independent free economy.

John Galt is the hero and the leader of the strike of the industrialists, scientists, and the artists. In his words the strike is described as “stopping the motor of the world.” The major minds behind the nation’s wealth and achievement are withdrawn.