Along with "Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt, this is the best introduction I know to the topic of Capitalism and economics. With all the baloney out there, this book will give you the essential moral perspective and help guide you in fighting the anti-Capitalism fallacies we are all bombarded with on a daily basis, in America and around the world. The Appendix with "Man's Rights" is essential reading for everyone. Ayn Rand clarifies the basis for rights and why only the system of laissez faire Capitalism respects the rights of the individual, by taking the initiation of force out of human relationships.

If you think you understand the meaning, purpose and philosophy behind free markets, free enterprise and capitalism, but haven't read this book, then you are dead wrong. Read the book, and when you do, keep a bag nearby . . . to catch the scales as they fall from your eyes.

Great influence on my writing

Objectivism is a hierarchical philosophy. Starting with Metaphysics/Epistemology at the base, followed by Ethics, and finally Politics (excluding Aesthetics for current purposes). In addition to that, given the nature of this content, it would be somewhat difficult or confusing without a good background in basic economics. With that in mind I suggest the following material as a pre-requisite in order to better understand this book.

Economics
1. Basic Concepts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
2. Economics in One Lesson: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
3. Intermediate topics: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Ethics
Ayn Rand's The Virtue of Selfishness

Even though both Economics and Ethics (well, all knowledge) depend on Epistemology, the need is more explicit in case of Ethics. For that reason, I suggest going through my review of The Virtue of Selfishness for the pre-requisites I mention there.

As a side note, while an interest in philosophy starts with Politics, Ethics, or Philosophical Psychology, understanding philosophy starts with Metaphysics and Epistemology. This poses an interesting challenge: If you start at the beginning, you may not see the point of the struggle. If you start in the middle, you may not see the full proof. A way to work around this is to go through the resources twice.

The lectures that you read are a fabulous explaining how the free market can empower millions of people. I like this better then Atlas Shrug, since I just want the reasoning and facts.

Should be required reading for every high school student in the United States...

Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal was a(nother) really thought-provoking book from the ever subtle Ayn Rand (she is not subtle). At the very least, she is quite consistent (and adamant). Despite managing to quote herself more than any other source, she takes the time to highlight numerous articles from her "Scrapbook of Evil" in order to intellectually disembowel the woeful authors. It is stimulating reading. Seriously. Especially if you enjoy mind-bendingly complicated sentence structure. And tirades. Which I do.

Something I would have enjoyed would be Rand's opinion on how to practically implement her vision of government. Like a transition plan or road map. Maybe an idea of her views were on crime and punishment? As I plan on reading the rest of the Ayn Rand bibliography at some point, I will see if she elucidates these and other points in her other books. In any case, there's a lot of food for thought for anybody who makes the effort to read it. Highly recommended!

This book is a collection of essays by various authors (though mostly Rand) explaining why Capitalism (pure unrestricted Capitalism) is the only moral economic system in existence. It was published in the 1960’s and is strangely relevant today.

The authors rail on collectivism and the mixed economy. They attack the Sherman Act and criticize protesters in Berkeley. If an idea promotes, or an action results in force upon one person or group by another, the authors destroy the philosophical underpinnings of the idea or group in question.

You could really boil down their ideas into a simple statement about individual rights superseding collective rights. Rand states it eloquently in the appendix.

“The United States was the first moral society in history.

All previous systems had regarding man as a sacrificial means to the ends of others, and society as an end in itself. The United States regarded Man as an end to himself, and society as a means to the peaceful, orderly, voluntary coexistence of individuals.  All previous systems had held that man’s life belongs to society, that society can dispose of him in any way it pleases, and that any freedom that he enjoys is his only by favor, by the permission of society which may be revoked at any time.

The United States held that a man’s life is his by right, which means by moral principle and by his nature. That a right is the property of an individual, that society as such has no rights, and that the only moral purpose of a government is the protection of individual rights.

A right is a moral principle defining and sanctioning man’s freedom of action in a social context. There’s only one fundamental right, all the others are its consequences or corollaries, a man’s right to his own life.” [Emphasis mine]

No matter what you feel about Rand, you cannot argue that she isn’t brilliant. Further, it’s tough to argue against her position successfully without looking like a communist at the end of the debate. With Rand, it’s “either – or”. There is no in between. You either believe in individual rights and personal freedom, or you don’t.

Her premise can be personally challenging if you haven’t put in the necessary work to build a concrete philosophical foundation for your worldview. To be fair, purposefully seeking out an intellectual challenge is decidedly against human nature. I don’t think many people have really dug into the “why” of what they think and believe – and then continue to question what they learn as they progress toward deeper understanding. Rand is but one of many authors/philosophers that can help you sort things out. But I can see why she rubs so many the wrong way, especially to those who still have much “sorting out” to do.

I think this book is a great read, and easy to understand. However, try reading the appendix first, where many of her premises are contained in explicit form.

This is a treatise basically detailing Rand's crushing love affair with high-achievers. In it she goes on at length about the moral superiority of capitalism (as compared to socialism or communism) as it is the only system to honor the primacy of the rational human mind. Just as every politician should be required to read The Constitution as their nightly bedtime story, every corporate executive should be required to read this book nearly as often. If capitalists today were truly as moral as Rand would have them be, we'd have a much different (dare I say better) economy right now.

Ideological delusion.

I read this about 4 years back. I feel this is an eye-opener for anyone who is totally oblivious to the idea of capitalism. The more you read the more clearer you become in understanding capitalism as not just a successful model for growth and prosperity but the only successful model among several other political science theories. Remember Ayan Rand is a Russian who migrated and settled in the United States like several other immigrants and her understanding of the country's political and economic foundations is mind boggling. Most of my unanswered questions about capitalism and capitalists were answered and she has displayed an amazing power of reason throughout this book. Her style of writing might come across as rude but I felt the tone was justified to express anger against the
unending nonsense that surrounds us everyday in the name of other political theories. The book is quite elaborate and covers many aspects of our everyday life including consumerism , war and the military. Must read if you are even remotely interested to know about Capitalism.

Synthesized essays directly touching all capitalists societies today. As social system capitalism societies can be ill as well. Rand precisely diagnoses parts of the fundamental mistakes made by the State. Government explicitly accelerate those mistakes with intentionally applied mechanism related to defense the State stat-quo.