To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
Ayn RandRead
I am opposed to all forms of control; I am for an absolute laissez faire, free, unregulated economy. I am for the separation of the state and economics, just as we had separation of state and church, which led to peaceful coexistence among different religions...so the same applies to economics. If you separate the government from economics, if you do not regulate production and trade, you will have peaceful cooperation, and harmony and justice among men.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote advocates for a free economy without government regulation, equating it to the separation of church and state that fosters peace among religions.
Ayn Rand argues for a completely unregulated economy, where government intervention is absent. She believes that just as the separation of church and state promotes peaceful coexistence among various religions, so too would a lack of governmental control over economics foster cooperation, harmony, and justice in society. By restraining government's influence on trade and production, Rand envisions a society where individuals can thrive and coexist without conflict.
Themes
Laissez FaireEconomyGovernmentFreedomCooperationPeace
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on economic policy, one could quote Rand to argue against government regulations.
More from Ayn Rand
All quotes →The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
Ayn RandRead
It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.
Ayn RandRead
What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion.
Ayn RandRead
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.
Ayn RandRead
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
Ayn RandRead
Similar quotes
In the beautiful, man sets himself up as the standard of perfection; in select cases he worships himself in it. Man believes that the world itself is filled with beauty -he forgets that it is he who has created it. He alone has bestowed beauty upon the world -alas! only a very human, an all too human, beauty.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
The last few hours were certainly very painful," replied Anne: "but when pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure. One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering-
Jane AustenRead
The Court is most vulnerable and comes nearest to illegitimacy when it deals with judge-made constitutional law having little or no cognizable roots in the language or design of the Constitution.
Byron WhiteRead
The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.
VoltaireRead
Submitting to censorship is to enter the seductive world of 'The Giver': the world where there are no bad words and no bad deeds. But it is also the world where choice has been taken away and reality distorted. And that is the most dangerous world of all.
Lois LowryRead
Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful.
Gertrude SteinRead