In preparation for studying the economic underpinning of Ayn Rand's philosophy ,Natalie first reviewed and reread the text pages describing the different economic systems: market, command, and mixed market. On the whiteboard, I outlined the basis of Ayn Rand's argument that altruistic government spending will ultimately stymie technological progress and create totalitarian societies. I defined utopia and dystopia and referenced Thomas More's 1516 book ,"Utopia". Natalie was familiar with both concepts . After noting the number of government programs intended to address social issues, I posed the question for future consideration whether Ayn Rand's arguments are valid i.e. can we have altruistic government and freedom simultaneously? I told Natalie that after she reads the novel, she will write a critique of the novel addressing that issue. She indicated she understood the issue she needed to focus on in her reading and participated in class discussion on the issue. We also reviewed Natalie's answers to Chapter 1 of the study guide and addressed areas where she had questions. For homework, Natalie is bring to class tomorrow the beginning of her long essay as she has asked that we use tomorrow's class to assist her writing and organizing the essay. I further assigned reading Chapter 2 of the novel.