Ayn RandCapitalism: The Unknown Ideal

This collection of essays is truly the best of Ayn Rand, but the best entries in this book were actually written by Alan Greenspan and Nathaniel Branden, not Rand herself. In particular, Greenspan's two essays about antitrust and the gold standard, as well as Common Fallacies About Capitalism by Branden, are three of the best and clearest writings that I've ever encountered about these subjects. Every word of this book is absolutely worth your time, but those three pieces are the best. I should mention that I wouldn't recommend this book as a stand-alone, because it makes frequent reference to Atlas Shrugged, The Virtue of Selfishness, and (to a lesser extent) The Fountainhead, so I suppose you should read those three books first before reading this one. (And besides, if you're a libertarian or a conservative, you do kinda have to read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged at some point in your life anyway, whether you end up enjoying them or not. That's just the rules.)In general, I have mixed feelings about Rand and her writing. For one thing, if you're more interested in history, economics, or public policy rather than in philosophy, you may find her endless philosophical lectures to be off-putting. Certainly, there's a lot of epistemological baggage that goes along with the full-throated defense of capitalism throughout her work. But in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Rand mixes in a lot of economic and political history and economic theory, to go along with her usual philosophical musings. The end result is an invaluable reference for anyone who values freedom in general, and free markets in particular. Of the four books by Rand that I've read, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal is far and away the best one.This is a mass market paperback, and currently it appears to be the only edition that is available as a new book (rather than used). But the font is the same size as it would be in a larger trade paperback version, and the quality is pretty good overall.

Ayn Rand is a foremost advocate of reason, freedom, prosperity and capitalism. She states in the introduction of Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal: "This book is not a treatise on economics. It is a collection of essays on the moral aspects of capitalism." She first defines capitalism, which is NOT the interventionist fascism of today's America. America is currently nearly totalitarian socialist. Historically, such systems always collapse economically and socially, be they communist like Soviet Russia, fascist like Nazi Germany, or some other form of total dictatorship.Capitalism is the economic and productive system that automatically springs from freedom. Freedom requires very little governmental control over the people and their everyday actions. Other building blocks of a free society include, but are certainly not limited to: natural law and the rule of law, not the rule of men; very limited governmental bureaucratic control; and trade instead of war. All these fundamental societal basics are necessary prior to personal freedom and productive wealth. See all of Ludwig von Mises' works, particularly "Human Action." Although most Americans still believe in these concepts, today America is very far removed from them. The socialists, be they communists or fascists, have nearly destroyed this great country where I grew up. Yet capitalism's detractors point to all the problems created by our socialist government as some how having been created by capitalism. Not so fast, says Rand.Rand discusses man's rights, alienation, the nature of government, business as a persecuted minority, the roots of war, fallacies of capitalism, what is true free enterprise, and moral assaults upon freedom and prosperity. One of her best non-fiction books. It will open your eyes, as all her works do.

This is a great book on the economic system known as capitalism. Today, unfortunately capitalism has been denounced by people like Bernie Sanders as a system of greed and unfair advantage to the working class. This is a lie perpetrated by socialists. Come read the truth about capitalism, the only appropriate system for a free society. If you still hate capitalism, at least you will hear the best argument for it