Atlas Shrugged/James Taggart

The President of Taggart Transcontinental and a leader of the Looters. Taggart is an expert influence peddler who is incapable of making decisions on his own. He relies on his sister Dagny Taggart to actually run the railroad, but nonetheless opposes her in almost every endeavor.

As the novel progresses, the moral philosophy of the Looters is revealed: it is a code of anti-life. The goal of this code is to not exist, to become a zero. Taggart struggles to remain unaware that this is his goal. He maintains his pretence that he wants to live, and becomes horrified whenever his mind starts to grasp the truth about himself. This contradiction leads to the recurring absurdity of his life: the desire to destroy those on whom his life depends, and the horror that he will succeed at this.

James Taggart appears in:

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 Section114
 Section131
 Section132
 Section143
 Section144
 Section146 - Mentioned.
 Section148 - Mentioned.
 Section152
 Section161