Politics at an Extreme

The present-day American government allows our politicians to have their own ideals and beliefs (within reason, of course) about what they think should become governmental policy. This has served us for 250 years. The system does have its flaws and kinks, but it works. And, should an ideal be unfit for actual public policy, checks and balances prevent these flawed laws (dare I say... (f)laws?) from becoming policy. The government as portrayed in Atlas Shrugged takes these ideals to an extreme. Directive 10-289, one of these (f)laws brought in by Wesley Mouch, shows just that; it's a outrageous directive set about by idealistic bigots. In this directive, the economy is frozen, leaving no room for innovLittle to no connection or personal interest in the state of the economy is shown. Plus, these laws seem to be spurred on solely by the businessmen that back the politicians. It seems that the checks and balances that have been known to keep the present-day government free of faulty laws have been removed, and only a government of "dog-eat-dog" politicians remain. The United States as portrayed in Atlas Shrugged starting to resemble a socialistic/communistic society (also suggested by the names of some of the other countries), one where the government creates policy and affects all aspects of life.