The Effects Of Ayn Rand s Philosophy, Objectivism And...

Gage Cherry 7 SEPT 2017 ENGL 1010 Section 463 Bioshock: An Objective Look at Objectivism and Anarcho-Capitalism It is in this paper that we will explore the effects of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, as it has been expressed through her novels (e.g. Atlas Shrugged) and subsequently the Socio-Economic Movement that has risen because of it, Anarcho-Capitalism. We will look at the consequences, both positive and negative, of Objectivism by examining 2K Boston’s 2007 award-winning game, Bioshock, and assessing how the fictional city of Rapture can be compared to a hypothetical model of 21st Century America should we choose to adopt the ideas and Socio-Economic Theories that are explored at length within the game. It is early on in†¦show more content†¦Andrew Ryan’s utopia has fallen into absolute disarray, which clearly demonstrates that Bioshock as a whole can be construed to be a criticism of the dangers of Objectivism and the step that logically follows it, Anarcho-Capitalism. Now how this matters is not simply that a fictional city in a fictional game fell into anarchy and subsequently disarray as a result of this moral philosophy and socio-economic system. What makes this a concern is that these ideas are becoming more and more accepted within modern society. There are continuous discussions regarding a number of things in today’s society, such as â€Å"Do Corporations have rights?† and â€Å"To what limit should Government be allowed to impose regulation on the Private Sector?† which can accurately be assessed as being partially symptomatic of this increasingly prevalent line of thinking. Upton Sinclair wrote â€Å"The Jungle† as a criticism, not of the meatpacking industry as a whole, but of how the workers were treated.2 It is safe to assume that if we were to implement the line of thinking evident in Andrew Ryan’s ‘utopian’ Rapture, that we would undo over a century’s worth of progress in regard to Workers’ Rights, Health Regulations, and a slew of other things which have only served to positively impact not only the quality of life, but the quantity of life, of Americans today. One of the major innovations in Rapture was the discovery of ADAM and following that,