Undoing the Myth of Ayn Rand’s Prescient Dystopia: An Understanding of Atlas Shrugged’s Hegemonic Powers

Abstract

This thesis tries to explore the seductive powers of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, using Roland Barthes’ notion of myth, Antonio Gramsci’s concept of Hegemony and various definitions of the Utopian, namely, Fredric Jameson’s. Rand’s novel having been of extreme influence not only in concrete policymaking and economics, but also having shaped a more general conception of in the neoliberal era, this work also takes an activist stance in unveiling the constructedness of the novel. By doing this, hopefully, some of the beliefs it professes will no longer appear as self-evident truths. In order to achieve the latter, the novel is studied using different approaches: a political, a literary, and a mythological approach. The first part looks into the work’s place within the Utopian canon. The second part discusses Atlas Shrugged’s role within the larger hegemonic process that led to the rise of neoclassical economics. The third part studies the narrative’s convincing qualities as a myth-making story.