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Summary: She made-bare the essentials of capatilism. Bravo!
Review: Capatilism: the unknown ideal is the eighth book, by Ayn Rand, that I have read/ studied. It is every bit as good as all the others, only it is a non-fiction book and so it is not quite as much fun reading as are Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. In this work, Rand shows how capatilism almost came in to full laisse faire existence in the 19th century, how that brief peoriod of the 19th century was the one and only time in the history of the world when men were able to improve their standard of living by such a tremendous amount, in such a short span of time; All as a result of capatilism, a free, unregulated economy and industry. Rand demonstrates how the liberal's efforts to regulate industry and the economy, both for the supposed "good of society" have since stifled the progress which, in the era of the 19th century, was only in its "budding stages." Rand shows how the political interests of "liberals" have changed from the time of the new deal, when liberals still had ideas and values, to the present time when all liberals really want is to sieze control of all production, to the demise of not only those who are both producers and taxpayers, but of the supposed benificiaries of the liberals redistributive efforts. Rand demonstrates how not just liberal but altruistic agendas have been at work, through all of recorded history, in all societies of the world's past, attempting to stifle capatilism: (the only system in which man is rewarded for his individual production) by siezing control of the efforts of productive men, thorough regulations and taxation in worthless, grossly inefficent programs of redistribution of "wealth." Rand lists and disects every common argument against capatilism which you will hear in every day life in the media, from politician, co-workers, and even in university classes. She demonstrates the internal fallacies and omissions within every such argument; This IS one are of the book which may prove to be very enlightning to even the most dedicated supporters of capatilism (of which, I am one). You will find interesting chapters on the interests of communists with regard to capatilism as well as (believe it or not) the interests of Catholics with regard to communism. And how, according to Rand, the Catholic religion formally stated, in the 1960's that it would prefer to see a reversion back to anti-capatilist times; something to the order of the Middle Ages. This is a great book! Rand is all for capatilism, and after reading it, you may find that you really didn't have a complete understanding of what capatilism is/ could be, or even of the periods of time in which it may ever have existed.
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Summary: Silly
Review: With "defenders" of capitalism like Ayn Rand, who needs enemies. This isn't really philosophy kids.
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Summary: Study real economics instead of this
Review: A militant and dogmatic atheist, Rand preached a version of unmitigated individualism and what she called the "Virtue of Selfishness," an ethic that glorifies egoism and the material gratifications of Economic Man. At her funeral in 1982 an immense dollar sign stood beside her casket, and the characters in her books are always sketching the symbol in the air like early Christians sketching the sign of the cross. For all her hatred of religion, Rand managed to turn herself and her ideas into her own private church, and her intolerance of dissent rivaled that of the Ayatollah Khomeini. One story, about Murray Rothbard, shows how far she carried it and how seriously she took herself. Murray, one of the world's leading free market economists and libertarian thinkers, was a lifelong agnostic, but his wife, Joey, was and is a Christian. When they were younger, they had some truck with Rand and her circle of worshippers, but then the Great One found out about Joey's faith. Rand gave Joey six months to soak herself in Rand's own screeds against religion. If, at the end of that period, Joey abandoned her beliefs, she and Murray could sign up with the Source of All Truth Herself. If not, Murray would have to divorce Joey, or else they would be exiled to the outer dark. Murray, quite properly, told Rand to go take a flying jump up in the lake (or words to that effect). He kept his wife, and his wife kept her faith, and somehow they managed to live happily without the benefit of Ayn Rand's wisdom.
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Summary: Bringing human-rights and economics together
Review: Ayn Rand's book is not about religious cultivism - usually the only argument that critics manage to articulate. It is about the missing ideological link between human rights (individual rights) and economics. This book should be regarded as food for thought - claiming that only a free economy can be part of a free society. This is true by definition but Rand is simply one of the few non-technical minds that put it to paper without equations. (That government intervention is restricting our wealth and personal freedom has been proven infinite times before.) Another striking feature is the non-scientific assumption about man's selfish altruism. It was only decades later that her non-scientific assumptions were actually confirmed by the major biologists of our time. It is true that many of her arguments skip scientific explanations - but she is never dangerously far off from our biological and economic understanding of humans. A must read for every open mind. A must read for those who believe in the possibility of doing good for themselves and others at the same time. As a European - I know that 99% of all academics in Europe have never come even close to thinking about similiar ideas. That is restricitng their understanding of the US altogether...
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Summary: Ayn Rand demonstrates Capitalism Natural for Individuals
Review: Another great book in defense of the commonly-misunderstood concept of capitalism is "Capitalism" by George Reisman.
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Summary: Overall, a wonderfull defense of capitalism.
Review: The essays by Alan Greenspan present the reader with a glimpse into the motivation of the current Fed Chief. Rand's essays are a modern defence of capitalism. The collection shows how most of the problems with capitalism orginate from government interference with the free market. This is a must read for anyone with an interest in economics.
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Summary: Take an introductory course in Economics instead!!!
Review: Since I am a trained economist I dislike garbage written by charlatans who doesn't have a clue about social scientific methods. This is far from the worst I have seen but nevertheless has little merit in showing the virtues of capitalism.Take an introductory course in Economics instead!!! Another thing that bothers me are the cult-like properties of Objectivism. In Rand's books her followers find justification for behaving in a anti-social manner that is slowly destroying the fabric of the societies of the Western World. This egoism is supposedly derived from "reason". In the real world however there is no reason for people not to find fulfillment and meaning from helping others and caring for their family and friends. The accusation that "altruism", i.e. decency and goodness, leads to tyranny is nothing but products of a very paranoid mind. The craziest thing about this though is the fact that Ayn Rand has been raised to a saint-like status by her followers. No disagreement with her writings is ever accepted and if you disagree you are an evil communist/collectivist. To be a true individualist you must agree with everything she has ever written. Isn't this collectivism in a true sense? No, says her followers, those views are derived by reason and must therefore be share by all intelligent human beings. Pretty scary!! Note that Objectivism, like Marxism, Freudianism and Jungianism, is a closed system of thought in the sense that any critisism of the system is automatically seen as a symptom of unreason. This is what makes Objectivism a religion rather than a philosophy or scientific method. And this is also the reason for the fanatical behavior of her disciples.
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Summary: Rand's best nonfiction -- read it!
Review: In what is probably her best work of nonfiction, Ayn Rand sets out to provide a _moral_ basis for capitalism, a social/political order in which the human rights to life and property are respected and there are no (other) limitations on freedom of trade. That capitalism is today to some degree a _known_ ideal is in some measure due to the influence of Rand's ideas as represented in this volume. One of this book's great strengths is its inclusion of helpful essays by Nathaniel Branden, Robert Hessen, and Alan Greenspan. This is the _only_ volume of nonfiction published during her lifetime to include essays by anyone other than herself and Branden. It is also the only such book to include a bibliography of recommended reading. (Non-Objectivist works are listed with a caveat that the ideas contained therein may not be fully consonant with Rand's.) And they are more than helpful: their presence suggests _why_ this volume represents Rand's best work. That she was willing and able to include essays by, and references to, other writers surely indicates that she was confident enough in her own views to acknowledge her need for supplementation outside her own areas of strength. In my own view, Rand was a first-rate political thinker, a pretty good ethicist, a lousy epistemologist, and not a metaphysician at all to speak of. (In the latter three fields, she would have profited from closer attention to the writings of Brand Blanshard, whom she respected highly despite some disagreements. _The Letters of Ayn Rand_ indicates that he sent her a signed copy of _Reason And Goodness_ when it was published.) Her philosophy is at heart an attempt to ground her defense of capitalism in ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics, and it becomes gradually less successful the further she wanders from her strengths. But in political theory, she was on firm ground -- and she knew it. And in this collection of essays she is at her best, arguing that the only proper function of government is the protection of individual rights, that individual rights are the only kind there are, that apparent failures of the free market are actually failures of the _government_ to restrict itself to its proper role, and generally, that capitalism is the only economic system fully consonant with man's nature as a value-seeking agent who survives and thrives through the application of reason to reality. So if you plan to read one nonfiction work by Rand, this is the one to read. If she sparks your interest, then go on to read the flawed but helpful _Philosophy: Who Needs It_ and _The Virtue Of Selfishness_. Then stop, unless you're just morbidly curious. Her works in epistemology and aesthetics do not measure up to the standards set in these collections and are of interest largely for the chroniclers of the bizarre personality cult that grew up around her. To find out about _that_, read Jeff Walker's idiosyncratic but interesting _The Ayn Rand Cult_.
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Summary: Showing the myths for what they are
Review: In a well organised sequence of essays Ayn Rand and contributors shake the misconceptions that still prevail about what capitalism is and what it does. Simply put it means the removal of force from human relations (whether by mugger or government) so that people deal with one another based upon reason and free association. Sound good? It is, unless you want control over other people, or access to things they make! Being free to think and act (not forcing others) means owning the produce of that thinking and acting, ie property. Without the right to the product of your thinking and acting why think and act? What happens inder those conditions is well demonstrated by the impoverished communist nations like Cuba. Rand analyses each topic with the same insight and logic, debunking myths and exposing fraudulent ideologies - its a fascinating journey, often challenging. Definately a must have for anyone interested in liberty, in politics and in how some nations became rich, whilst others did not.
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Summary: Clearest Definition of Capitalism I've Read
Review: Why didn't I read this in high school? Probably because I went to a government school. It is such a shame that so many people in the US know virtually nothing about capitalism and why it is the ONLY moral basis for a government. In school I was taught that FDR was the savior of the United States in the 30's. If you want to know what REALLY happened to cause the Great Depression read this book (hint: the government did it!). The fact that our government *allows* capitalism to exist in any form is the only reason we have such a high standard of living in the US. Read this book and you'll begin to see how much better off we'd be with Laissez-Faire capitalism. *sigh*
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