Who is Responsible For What You Do?

"He didn't invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?"

"Who?"

"Rearden. He didn't invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn't have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it's his? Why does he think it's his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything."

She said, puzzled, "But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn't anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?"

~ Atlas Shrugged, Ch. 9, p. 1

There are two antithetical political visions of America fighting for the future of America but they are not simply political; they are philosophical, psychological and spiritual, reaching into the depths of what makes life worth living.

Success in America has always been admired because it has been connected with not only hard work but with the courage that it takes to decide to make something happen, to take responsibility for your own success or failure, to trust your own mind and abilities and to see your vision through to reality.

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