Next Meeting: Tuesday February 16th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 13: February 16, 2010: Pages 752 - 815
*Part 3: Chapter 2: The Utopia of Greed

Here are the questions for next week.

*** Chapter 2: The Utopia of Greed ***

* What kind of lesson is Ragnar attempting to teach the world by his
piracy? Is he right to do so? Why do the other strikers disapprove?
(757-8)

* Why does Dagny want to earn her keep as Galt's cook and maid? What
does the work—and the wages in gold—mean to her? (760-1)

* Why is communication with the outside world from the valley
forbidden during the vacation month? Should Dagny have asked for a
special exception to tell Hank that she is safe? (763-4, 769)

* Why did Francisco go on strike? How was Dagny the final argument
for doing so, even though that meant giving her up? Are his reasons
selfish or selfless? (765-7)

* Why does Francisco accept Dagny's taking Hank as a lover? Why does
he say that she still loves him? In what way does she love him?
(767-8)

* Why and how will Francisco be richer producing one pound of copper
in the valley than in producing tons of copper in the outside world?
What does that say about the value of wealth? (771)

* How are Dagny's feelings for John Galt different from her feelings
for Francisco? Why is the difference important to her? (770)

* Why do Dagny and Galt feel such strong sexual desire for each other—
yet refrain from consummating it? Would it be wrong at this point—and
why? (775-81)

* How are Dr. Akston's three pupils—John, Ragnar, and Francisco—both
normal men and extraordinary? (786) What were the critical points
about their education? (786-90)

* How does Dr. Akston explain the roots of Dr. Stadler's moral decay?
What choices did Stadler face? Where did he choose wrongly? Why is
Stadler the most guilty? How has he made the world in his own image?
(789-91)

* Why must Dagny hear of ever collapse in the outside world if she
stays in the valley? Why would that be unendurable for her? Why does
Galt insist on that so openly? (794)

* Why does Francisco want Dagny to stay with him for the week? Why
does Dagny want Galt to decide? What is the significance of his
decision? What would have been the effects on Dagny, Galt, and
Francisco if Galt decided otherwise? How would that act of self-
sacrifice have been faking reality? (796-8)

* Why does Dagny choose to return to the world? What does she still
have left to learn? (806-7, 811-2)

* What is the significance of the title of this chapter?