The Great Chain (Economic Ideal)

The 'great chain' is an allegorical term constantly used by Andrew Ryan which describes how industry and economy 'unites the people': in the sense that the consumers pay taxes and inject money into the government and capitalist system to pay for the upkeep of society for such thing as healthcare and general maintenance. In the context of Rapture, the 'great chain' refers to the economy that surrounds Rapture, acting as the foundation for rapture's 'free industry in an economic sense. In this way we are all united by the chain of industry, because industry provides the economic and capitalistic availability of goods, as well as providing jobs for the masses. Henceforth we can say that we are supported, not just united by the chain as without it people would be effectively living in a 3rd world country, with hardly and jobs or food, or luxury goods; all of which are provided for by industry, albeit this is a broad term.

" Something must be done about Fontaine. While I was buying buildings and fish futures, he was cornering the market on genotypes and nucleotide sequences. Rapture is transforming before my eyes. The Great Chain is pulling away from me. Perhaps it's time to give it a tug."

In this context Ryan refers to who has the greater sway of the economy of Rapture, thereby controlling the flow of money and such things as the rate of inflation throughout Rapture. If Ryan controlled the Great chain of industry, he would effectively control the economy if he could alter the 'chain' at a fundamental level. One of Ryan's 'ideals' is pure capitalism, the investment in and production of economic goods, and the flow of wealth throughout an economic framework, being controlled by one or a select few individuals, namely Ryan and Fontaine. In this sense, because they control the majority of businesses and industrial companies orientating Rapture, they have the power to sway the capitalist economy, therefore the people as well, hence the statement "The chain of industry ties and unites us".

The chain of industry unites us, in the sense that it requires absolute consumer input to keep it afloat, as with many multinational conglomerates today. We each inject income into the system which is then placed back into the system to attract an ever increasing number of consumers and so forth, in this way Rapture's economy can be described in a cyclic sense. The great chain of industry ties us, because a nation is bound only by the constraints of its economy, limiting consumer expenditure proportional the availability of goods. Our economy today is founded on the basis of supply and demand, if there is no demand there will be no supply, therefore we are tied together as a mass demographic one layman, who only 'owns' a portion of a gargantuan economy has no more power to sway it than the next man. However as a unified front, the people have a larger voice. This is also true of Ryan and Fontaine who control large segments of the economy of Rapture, who have the power to change the 'chain' as they see fit.

In a contextually analytical sense, the chain ties us in the sense of the people constrained in rapture and could be an analogy for the people trapped within Rapture, not just the economy.