Атлант расправил плечи
The John Galt line
"Why,no,Idon’tsaythatthatbridgewillcollapse,"saidthechiefmetallurgistofAssociatedSteel,onatelevisionprogram."Idon’tsayitatall.IjustsaythatifIhadanychildren,Iwouldn’tletthemrideonthefirsttrainthat’sgoingtocrossthatbridge.Butit’sonlyapersonalpreference,nothingmore,justbecauseI’moverlyfondofchildren."
"Idon’tclaimthattheRearden-Taggartcontraptionwillcollapse,"wroteBertramScudderinTheFuture."Maybeitwillandmaybeitwon’t.That’snottheimportantissue.Theimportantissueis:whatprotectiondoessocietyhaveagainstthearrogance,selfishnessandgreedoftwounbridledindividualists,whoserecordsareconspicuouslydevoidofanypublic-spiritedactions?Thesetwo,apparently,arewillingtostakethelivesoftheirfellowmenontheirownconceitednotionsabouttheirpowersofjudgment,againsttheoverwhelmingmajorityopinionofrecognizedexperts.Shouldsocietypermitit?Ifthatthingdoescollapse,won’titbetoolatetotakeprecautionarymeasures?Won’titbelikelockingthebarnafterthehorsehasescaped?Ithasalwaysbeenthebeliefofthiscolumnthatcertainkindsofhorsesshouldbekeptbridledandlocked,ongeneralsocialprinciples."
Agroupthatcalleditself"CommitteeofDisinterestedCitizens"collectedsignaturesonapetitiondemandingayear’sstudyoftheJohnGaltLinebygovernmentexpertsbeforethefirsttrainwereallowedtorun.
