Атлант расправил плечи
The Non-commercial
"WhatmadeyouthinkthatIdidnotlikeit,Mr.Scudder?"Philipaskedhumbly.
"Well,it’sgoingtopinch,isn’tit?Thelongarmofsocietyisgoingtotrimalittleoffthehorsd‘oeuvresbillaroundhere."Hewavedhishandatthebar.
"WhydoyouassumethatIobjecttothat?"
"Youdon’t?"BertramScudderaskedwithoutcuriosity.
"Idon‘t!"saidPhiliphotly."Ihavealwaysplacedthepublicgoodaboveanypersonalconsideration.IhavecontributedmytimeandmoneytoFriendsofGlobalProgressintheircrusadefortheEqualizationofOpportunityBill.Ithinkitisperfectlyunfairthatonemanshouldgetallthebreaksandleavenonetoothers."
BertramScudderconsideredhimspeculatively,butwithoutparticularinterest."Well,that’squiteunusuallyniceofyou,"hesaid.
"Somepeopledotakemoralissuesseriously,Mr.Scudder,"saidPhilip,withagentlestressofprideinhisvoice.
"What’shetalkingabout,Philip?"askedBettyPope."Wedon’tknowanybodywhoownsmorethanonebusiness,dowe?"
"Oh,pipedown!"saidBertramScudder,hisvoicebored.
"Idon’tseewhythere’ssomuchfussaboutthatEqualizationofOpportunityBill,"saidBettyPopeaggressively,inthetoneofanexpertoneconomics."Idon’tseewhybusinessmenobjecttoit.It’stotheirownadvantage.Ifeverybodyelseispoor,theywon’thaveanymarketfortheirgoods.Butiftheystopbeingselfishandsharethegoodsthey’vehoarded—they’llhaveachancetoworkhardandproducesomemore."
