This one is a pretty long read - 60 hours. I usually don’t read fiction, but this one came out of a recommendation. The author Ayn Rand explains her term “Objectivism” through this fictional setup. The author promotes “Objectivism” as a philosophy for living on earth.
Objectivism is supremacy of the reason. Every decision in every walk of life needs to be made by your mind. It is practical to be selfish, for your own needs first. Work hard to achieve the production, to earn the right to consume based on your value of production. Focus on happiness, to live a fulfilled life on earth. Money is not evil, it is just a medium of exchange, my value to yours.
The men of the mind are the people who run the world. They are the motor that keeps the world running. These are other people who produce a lot of value in the world. In the book, the world has chosen alternate way of life, where it is everyone’s responsibility to every other individual. Need dictates the way of life, rather than value. In such an environment, one man decided to stop, to stop producing for the sake of others. He decides to stop the motor of the world.
There are 4 essential elements of Objectivism:
Reality:
Reality exists and there in only one form of reality, the one which we live in. There is no concept of supernatural in this reality.
Reality exists, regardless of whether we want it to or not.
Reason:
Reason is the decision making tool for the mind.
Reason is man’s basic means of survival.
Self Interest:
Self Interest is moral.
The individual right to life, liberty, and property allows everyone freedom to live as a trader.
Capitalism:
A free market for exchange of value. The productive genius of free men will bring innovation.
Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.
Objectivism is different from the mixed economy we live in today. It’s more of an extreme side involving capitalism. Every man works to create value, and exchange value for value at a fair rate. No one lives on alms received from others. Objectivism is a way of thinking. Capitalism is the economic system here. Ayn Rand proposes a Laissez-faire capitalism. Laissez-faire is an economic philosophy of free-market capitalism that opposes government intervention. This provides maximum incentive and least government interference.
The book is a worthy read to understand the idea of Objectivism. This book depicts an alternate reality where world has moved to a “need” based structure. This social structure seems disrupting the way of life. Then one man refuses to accept the principles forced down on him and starts his journey to stop the motor of the world.
After reading this book, I have moved to “Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith, which is a fundamental work in classical economics. It’s the analysis on wealth generation. The book was published in 1776, yet the concepts are still relevant. The book provides details on how Capitalism generates Wealth.