Most businessmen view the subject of philosophy with contempt. They hold the view that philosophy deals with meaningless abstractions that have nothing to do with practical life.

Why Businessmen Need Philosophy—a posthumous collection of essays by Ayn Rand and other Objectivist intellectuals, published in 1999—demonstrates the opposite view: that philosophy has crucial significance to businessmen’s lives.

In the title essay, philosopher Leonard Peikoff explains how the very existence of business depends on a philosophy of egoism, reason, and reality—all of which are under attack in today’s culture. These attacks—most prominently, the attacks on business and businessmen as selfish—are fundamentally responsible for America’s ever-growing welfare and regulatory state, which deprives businessmen of the freedom that they need to survive and flourish.

Why Businessmen Need Philosophy includes two previously un-anthologized, hard-to-find essays by Ayn Rand. One, “The Money-Making Personality,” is a philosophical and psychological analysis of two fundamentally opposite types of businessmen: the “money- maker” and the “money appropriator.” The other, “An Answer for Businessmen,” is a brief piece telling businessmen how to respond effectively to their intellectual attackers.

Another essay of note is “The Dollar and the Gun,” by Harry Binswanger—on the crucial and often-ignored difference between the economic power possessed by businesses and the political power possessed by the government.

Why Businessmen Need Philosophy is important reading for any businessman who wants to defend his freedom—and anyone else who wants to understand and defend business.

Table of Contents

• Introduction by Richard E. Ralston
• Why Businessmen Need Philosophy by Leonard Peikoff
• The Money-Making Personality by Ayn Rand
• An Answer for Businessmen by Ayn Rand
• Proposition 211: Lawyers Against Justice by Leonard Peikoff
• Warning: The FDA Can Kill You by Leonard Peikoff
• Immigration by Leonard Peikoff
• The Evil of “Respecting Nature” by Leonard Peikoff
• Health Care is Not a Right by Leonard Peikoff
• Why Businessmen Should Be Honest by Edwin A. Locke and Jaana Woiceshyn
• Individualism: The Only Cure for Racism by Edwin A. Locke
• Wall Street Under Siege by Richard M. Salsman
• “Buy American” Is Un-American by Harry Binswanger
• The Dollar and the Gun by Harry Binswanger
• The Philosophical Origins of Antitrust by John B. Ridpath
• Antitrust “Returns” With a Vengeance by Richard M. Salsman
• For Further Reading
• Afterword: The Ayn Rand Institute
• Contributing Writers

(Softcover; 203 pages)

Additional Resources:

• Buy the book
• Buy the audio book
• Audio Excerpts
  • An audiobook recording from the title essay
  • An audiobook excerpt from “An Answer for Businessmen”