Capitalism is the system of the future—if man is to have a future. —Ayn Rand

Man's Nature

Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action. He cannot obtain his food without a knowledge of food and of the way to obtain it. . . . To remain alive, he must think.
["This Is John Galt Speaking," Atlas Shrugged]

The action required to sustain human life is primarily intellectual: everything man needs has to be discovered by his mind and produced by his effort.
["What Is Capitalism?" Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal]

Since values are to be discovered by man’s mind, men must be free to discover them—to think, to study, to translate their knowledge into physical form, to offer their products for trade, to judge them, and to choose, be it material goods or ideas, a loaf of bread or a philosophical treatise.
["What Is Capitalism?" Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal]

Since knowledge, thinking, and rational action are properties of the individual, since the choice to exercise his rational faculty or not depends on the individual, man’s survival requires that those who think be free of the interference of those who don’t.
["What Is Capitalism?" Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal]

Freedom is the fundamental requirement of man’s mind.
["What Is Capitalism?" Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal]

Man's Rights »