Discuss the Book
Buy the BookThe Philosophy
An epic masterpiece.
Set in a near-future U.S.A., Ayn Rand’s thrilling masterpiece features the mysterious disappearance of the top innovators and industrialists—and demonstrates a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest.
Why Businessmen Need Philosophy
The capitalist’s guide to the ideas behind Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged
Essays on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged
This is the first scholarly study of Atlas Shrugged, covering the historical, literary, and philosophical aspects of Ayn Rand’s magnum opus. Topics include: the novel’s creation, publication, and reception; its nature as a romantic novel; and its presentation of a radical new philosophy.
A New Moral Code
The morality of capitalism is a major theme in Atlas Shrugged, which for the first time in history offered a full defense of capitalism, not just as a practical system of economics, but also as the only moral social system. This page offers more information on Ayn Rand’s unique vision of capitalism as presented in Atlas Shrugged.
What is Capitalism?
“Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned. The recognition of individual rights entails the banishment of physical force from human relationships: basically, rights can be violated only by means of force. In a capitalist society, no man or group may initiate the use of physical force against others. The only function of the government, in such a society, is the task of protecting man’s rights, i.e., the task of protecting him from physical force; the government acts as the agent of man’s right of self-defense, and may use force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use; thus, the government is the means of placing the retaliatory use of force under objective control.”
—Ayn Rand, “What is Capitalism?”
From Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
—Ayn Rand, “What is Capitalism?”
From Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Why Is Capitalism Moral? The moral justification of capitalism does not lie in the altruist claim that it represents the best way to achieve “the common good.” It is true that capitalism does—if that catch phrase has any meaning—but this is merely a secondary consequence. The moral justification of capitalism lies in the fact that it is the only system consonant with man’s rational nature, that it protects man’s survival qua man, and that its ruling principle is justice.
—Ayn Rand, “What is Capitalism?”
From Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
—Ayn Rand, “What is Capitalism?”
From Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
