In this chapter, Rearden withdraws his moral sanction from both the family and the politicians that persecute him. He has realized that morality is the most powerful weapon that evil men wield in their war against good. (“They have a weapon against you,” Francisco said at Rearden’s wedding anniversary. “Ask yourself what it is, sometime.”) The self-sacrifice moral code has been used against him for years. The self-sacrifice moral code allows worthless men to make outrageous demands of productive men, who feel morally obligated to satisfy them. Under this code, a productive man supports a gang of parasites, martyring himself in the name of selfless service. He must embrace his exploiters and proclaim his duty to them. He must feed them his lifeblood while accepting their sneers, abuse, and condemnation. The good man is forced to sanction his self-immolation.
In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand asks what would happen if productive men rejected the demands for service to the parasites and refused to accept guilt for their achievements. Rand provides the answer through Rearden’s transformation. Rearden has come to understand that his productiveness is a great virtue and that the behavior of his family and the politicians is evil. At his trial, Rearden refuses to accept their moral right to loot his wealth. By withdrawing his tolerance of their actions, he exposes them for what they are—thieves with vicious pretensions to moral rectitude.
Francisco’s sex speech furthers Rearden’s liberation from the ethical system that has constrained him for so long. Rearden mistakenly believes that bodily desires are divorced from intellect and the soul. At some level, Rearden knows that his attraction to Dagny is more than physical. His body wants her because his mind knows her greatness. While consciously holding the philosophy that divides the mind from the body, he holds an inner belief—and lives by the view—that the two support each other. Francisco merely gives him the words to recognize what he has always known was true.
