Robbin' Hood
Robbin’ Hood
“You know somethin', Robin. I was just wonderin', are we good guys or bad guys? You know, I mean, uh? Our robbin' the rich to feed the poor” (Robin Hood, 1973).
Little John and Robin Hood ponder the ethical dilemma of their ambition to assist the poor by stealing from the wealthy government. In theory, taking money from a government who earned its wealth by grossly over-taxing the poor is a noble deed. The underlying implications and real world scenarios that parallel Robin Hood’s plight, however, are not so noble. The misleadingly positive concept of “Robin Hood” masks the negative realities enforced by the government in an effort to level the playing field. Destroying Robin Hood, thus removing the candy-coated barrier to reality, is my ultimate desire. I am “the friend of the friendless” (Rand, 1957, p. 529). My name is Ragnar Danneskjold.
I can easily and truthfully answer the moral dilemma that Robin Hood and Little John face; they are in fact “bad guys”. While Robin Hood and his Merry Men set out to award aid to the poor, I question what the recipients of their aid had done to earn the help. Ironically, it is the not the stealing aspect of Robin’s operation that appeals to my objection. The disagreement instead lies in the distribution of unjustly stolen goods and money to unworthy beneficiaries. I seek to erase the concept of Robin Hood from the entire world by stealing from those who need the help and returning the seized wealth back to its rightful owner – the party that earned it.
In a meeting with Hank Rearden, I began to plant my influence and explain what some perceive to be “criminal behavior”. Ten years of Rearden’s life, money, and efforts were spent developing a revolutionary form of steel that was lighter, cheaper, and more durable than the previous standard. The new steel was the choice of nearly every steel customer. While Rearden Steel’s business boomed due to a superior product and his own...
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