What is the importance of Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged, in the book, The Virtue of Selfishness?

Atlas Shrugged was Rand's last work of fiction, published in 1957. In this work, Rand applies her theory of Objectivism and creates a world that illustrates what she believed should be the role of a person's mind in society. Her notion of the ideal man is depicted in the novel's heroic protagonist, John Galt. The novel is set in America during a period where the industrialists rebel against the collective resentment toward them by going on strike and retreating to a hideaway in the mountains. As a result, American society and economy begins to collapse, and the government perpetuates this collapse by increasing its controls over industry and the people. The plot is simply a means for Rand to convey her political and philosophical ideas. She illustrates how a collectivist society destroys the individual by stifling his progression, forcing him to live for the benefit of a group rather than for his own interests. Rand refers to Atlas Shrugged throughout The Virtue of Selfishness to provide concrete examples, though fictional, for her abstract ideas.