Abstract

Often identified as one of the more popular utopias of the twentieth century, Galt's Gulch, the name of the utopia in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, has not been analyzed as such. After the Gulch is located in the context of the book's larger story, the nature and structure of the utopia are described. This utopian vision is then critically analyzed and found wanting on two main criteria: its logical adequacy, completeness, and stability and in terms of the soundness of its psychological and sociological underpinnings. Problems on all these dimensions are detailed. As it is a premier example of right-wing, libertarian dreams that inspire political action, it is argued that it is imperative that the accuracy of such utopias be examined. In addition, the philosophical and methodological errors found here can be instructive in how to critically evaluate utopian visions in general.