In this episode, Jonathan does a close read of the first scene between Dagny and James Taggart. James protests against Dagny's approach to business by citing some half-baked theories about capitalism and morality. Jonathan picks apart the argument and identifies some of the straw-man arguments that Ayn Rand deploys through the voice of James Taggart.  Jonathan also analyzes James's reaction to Dagny in the context of patriarchy.

Today's Moment of Non-Contradiction comes from Quora.

My five themes to explore in this podcast's close read of Atlas Shrugged are:

1. What is human nature?
2. Straw-man arguments and their impact on the world Ayn Rand creates.
3.  Dagny Taggart as a true hero.
4. How empathy can be de-legitimized.
5. What is Capitalism and what is wrong with it? 

Questions or comments? Email me at: [email protected]

Learn more about Jonathan Seyfried at their website, https://jonathanseyfried.art

If you'd like to support my creative work, please visit my Patreon page. 

The intro/outro music was composed by John Sib.

The podcast theme image was created by Karina Bialys.

Support the show