Category Archives: Quotes

Quotes from my reading which may or may not have a bit of my own commentary.

Quote of the Day – Ayn Rand on Fighting for Freedom

Another quote from Ayn Rand’s speech “Apollo and Dionysus” that I linked to on Monday.  This one deals with, in short, Ayn Rand’s view on America’s role in fighting for freedom around the world.   This seemed a particularly relevant given the current concern over intervening in various areas around the world.

One thing that was not covered in this brief answer that would be extremely important, is what exactly is “freedom.”  As I pointed out in an earlier read more

Quote of the Day – Ayn Rand on Drug Prohibition

In listening to the speech by Ayn Rand I linked on Monday, she was asked during the Q&A session about the government’s prohibition of drugs.  While this deals specifically with drug use, it is applicable to any sort of consumption, or action for that matter, a man can choose.  (Any errors in the transcription are mine.)

I do not approve of any government controls over consumption generally of every kind. I would advocate that all restrictions on drugs be removed. I don’t believe read more

Quote of the Day – Price Fixing and Antitrust

Still reading Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” and a passage jumped out at me regarding price fixing and anti-trust.  Given recent news regarding Apple’s supposed price fixing in e-books, the on going concerns about Obamacare, not to mention such government practices as; rent control, price controls in all manner of agricultural products, this quote jumped out at me.

By what conceivable standard can the policy of price-fixing be a crime, when practiced by businessmen, read more

Quote of the Day- Superficiality of “Bigness”

I am still reading Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” and I came across the following quote.  The context is a discussion of anti-trust laws but it applies equally to thinking about government and business.

In the absence of any rational criteria of judgement,  people attempted to judge the immensely complex issues of a free market by so superficial a standard as bigness.”  You hear it to this day: “big business,” read more

Quote of the Day – Shopping as “Voting”

Once again Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” is the source for today’s quote:

Whenever you buy one product rather than another, you are voting for the success of some manufacturer.  And, in this type of voting, every man votes only on those matters which he is qualified to judge: on his own preferences, interests, and needs.  No one has the power to decide for others or to substitute his judgement for theirs; no one has the power to appoint himself “the read more

Quote of the Day – Economic and Political Power

It seems I can hardly open Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” without finding quotes worth sharing. This time it is about the difference between economic and political power:

Now let me define the difference between economic power and political power: economic power is exercised by means of a positive, by offering men a reward, an incentive, a payment, a value; political power is exercised by means of a negative, by the threat of punishment, read more

Ayn Rand, Thomas Jefferson and Chief Joseph – Quotes for the Day

Two quotes jumped out at me recently and helped me get clearer about the proper role of government.

The first is from Ayn Rand in her book “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal”

The only proper function of the government of a free country is to act as an agency which protects the individual’s rights, i.e., which protects the individual from physical violence.  Such a government does not have the right to initiate the use of physical force against anyone-a right which the individual does read more

Quote of the Day – Where the Blame Lies

I had taken a bit of a break from reading philosophy to give my mind a bit of a rest. I re-read for the umpteenth time, “Beguilement” by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is one of my favorite books, series actually.

It was something of a different experience reading it after having read of lot of Ayn Rand’s philosophy as I could see similar themes, especially in the main characters who, over the course of the series, go against what is expected of them and instead work for what gives read more

Quote of the Day – History Repeats Itself

Today’s quote comes from a talk by Ayn Rand, I believe from the 1960’s, about the so-called Robber Barons of the 19th century, and how they were actually the greatest benefactors of the United States, contrary to what popular history tells us.  About 5 minutes into the recording, which you can find here, she made a statement that jumped out at me enough to go over it repeatedly to write it down.  The groups she is referring to are the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.

In read more

Another Quote of the Day – Freedom is Fundamental

For those that may be curious, the quotes I have started posting are from my current reading, pretty much posted as I come to them.  They are passages that jump out at me as I go along. This particular quote is from Ayn Rand’s book “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” and is in the section discussing reason as man’s means of survivial.  As she says a bit earlier: “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.”  You have only to look around and see all things that are needed to allow man to survive in the world (food, shelter, clothing, defense, and etc) and enjoy life (books, movies, music, travel, and etc) to see that this is true.

“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.  Since men are neither omniscient nor infallible, they must be free to agree or disagree, to cooperate or to pursue their own independent course, each according to his own rational judgement.  Freedom is the fundamental read more