“利己主义”与“商人英雄”——论安·兰德的《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》

安·兰德最具代表性的长篇小说《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》以经济和商业活动为基本主题,以文学作品中并不常见的“商人”为主角,设计了独出心裁的“精英罢工”情节主线,充分演绎了其理性利己主义思想。安·兰德秉持理性自利的伦理观,将一切行为放到人性自利的逻辑中重新确认,将他人的利益纳入到自我的价值(体系)之中。她的经济观则是基于古典自由主义理念的自由放任和公平交易原则,而“商人”便是这一原则的道成肉身。同时,安·兰德也支持相当有限的“守夜人”国家设计,对“大政府”的干预可能对社会、个人造成的侵害极为警惕。安·兰德对“理性”之力过于理想化,也忽略了许多复杂的现实难题,但其小说对理念的渲染和英雄形象的塑造却富有魅力,形成了一种“浪漫现实主义”的独特风格,其影响力至今不衰。

Ayn Rand’s magnum opus,Atlas Shrugged,sets productive individuals as the main characters and focuses on the economic activities in the industrial and business world. Rand presents her philosophy of reason,individualism and egoism in the storyline of the strike of the creators. She is critical of altruism and expresses the advocacy of rational egoism in the novel. According to her Objectivism philosophy,one should hold his or her own life as the highest value and act according to the self-interest as the standard of good. The enterprisers in the story are the incarnations of Rand’s idea of economics,which is based on the laissez-faire and fair trade principles. Meanwhile,Rand prefers the "night-watchman"state to the omnipotent government,for she is vigilant about the potential hazard to the individuals caused by the latter. Atlas Shrugged contains Rand’s statement of the essential significance of the yet idealized reason. By depicting the men and women of personal charisma and expressing the ideals of Objectivism,it shows the style of romantic realism.