You may recall from the book that John Galt, the enigmatic protagonist, started off as a young engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Company.

When the owner of the company died, the heirs decided to run the business according to the new enlightened principles of the time.

Primarily, they let all the workers vote on how the factory was supposed to be run and how much everyone should be compensated.

And it was soon decided that "everybody in the factory would work according to his ability, but would be paid according to his needs."

Naturally, bright hard-working employees soon left; they found themselves working around the clock for the benefit of others who felt entitled to contribute as little as possible.