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Product Description
From Library Journal
As an interesting relic of the past, this outlandish piece of propaganda is worth the listener's time, even though the author's overconfident sense of her own rightness and persistence at pressing her points with little respect for opposing views can quickly become more than a little annoying. Using outdated words such as "altruists" to represent the forces of evil who would overburden the poor, beleaguered American business community, Rand "protesteth" far too much. Americans have seen many of the abuses come to pass that Rand, writing in 1946, claimed would never happen if free enterprise were just left to its own devices, so many of her arguments will be lost on a modern listener. For instance, the antitrust laws forced railroad barons to use illegal payoffs to forge ahead with expansion, and they shouldn't, therefore, be blamed the antitrust laws are the real problem. Narrator Anna Field's cold, crisp voice is actually well suited to such a heartless piece as this. Recommended. Mark Pumphrey, Polk Cty. P.L., Columbus, NC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Book Description
The foundations of capitalism are being battered by a flood of altruism, which is the cause of the modern world's collapse. This is the view of Ayn Rand, a view so radically opposed to prevailing attitudes that it constitutes a major philosophic revolution. In this series of essays, she presents her stand on the persecution of big business, the causes of war, the default of conservatism, and the evils of altruism. Here is a challenging new look at modern society by one of the most provocative intellectuals on the American scene.
This edition includes two articles by Ayn Rand which did not appear in the hardcover edition: The Wreckage of the Consensus," which presents the Objectivists views on Vietnam and the draft; and Requiem for Man," an answer to the Papal encyclical Progresso Populorum.
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The disintegration of philosophy in the nineteenth century and its collapse in the twentieth have led to a similar, though much slower and less obvious, process in the course of modern science. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The disintegration of philosophy in the nineteenth century and its collapse in the twentieth have led to a similar, though much slower and less obvious, process in the course of modern science. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
From an Ayn Rand Burnout,
By Mr. Tickle Snort "Mr. Ticklesnort" (Houma, LA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (Mass Market Paperback)
A friend of mine gave me a copy of Rand's "The Anti-Industrial Revolution." I devoured it in a day, and from then on I was hooked. This was GREAT STUFF! It made sense like nothing I'd ever read before. Next came Atlas Shrugged, then the Fountainhead. Then I moved on to Anthem and The Virtue of Selfishness. At this point, I started to annoy friends and realtives, who always lost arguments with me when I retorted with an objectivist bromide. For example, someone would complain about how technology was ruining the world, and I'd then explain how it was actually saving the world. One friend said to me that I starting talking like a sound byte instead of a human being. When I finally worked my way to Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal, I began to realize something. The world is not a world of Howard Roarks (Human Super Beings) and Elsworth Tooheys (No Good Looters). Though Objectivism is brilliant, (as was its author) I doubt that people can live this way %100 of the time. You really can't undestand what I mean unless you read a large chunk of Rand's philosophy. Capitalism is a great book because its more "grounded," if that makes any sense. But if you've read all of the "big ones" (Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead), then this book will seem all too familiar. It's really not her best, or even close, IMHO. But for die hard fans, well . . . .
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique defence of freedom,
By
This review is from: Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (Mass Market Paperback)
This riveting compilation of 26 essays includes contributions by Alan Greenspan, Nathaniel Branden and Robert Hessen. It is primarily a treatise on the moral aspects of capitalism. The themes revolve around human nature and mankind's relationship to existence. Capitalism is advocated because it is the only system compatible with the life of a rational being.Rand claims that the classical defenders and modern apologists of capitalism are by default responsible for undermining it. In her view, they are unwilling or unable to fight the battle on moral-philosophical grounds. The essays provide a plethora of gripping insights and novel angles. Rand detests the idea of using altruism to defend capitalism. She proposes rationality instead, with a ruling principle of justice. I do not necessarily agree with her on this but I enjoy Rand's scathing criticism of conservatism's perceived fallacies. Her vitriolic dissection of the 3 conservative strains is highly amusing! She identifies and attacks the Religious and the Traditionalists but really unleashes the sharp edge of her scorn on those who defend capitalism from the argument of mankind's depravity. In the essay Requiem For Man, she savages the encyclical Populorum Progressio by Pope Paul VI, in which she also rips apart the reactions to it by publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine. The book consists of two parts. The first is Theory And History, which includes essays on inter alia war, the persecution of big business, antitrust, gold and economic freedom, property status of the airwaves, and patents and copyrights. Part two: Current State, includes essays on the anatomy of compromise, the art of smearing, rule by consensus as a form of fascism, and the student rebellion. The final two essays: Man's Rights and The Nature Of Government, appear in the appendix. Whatever the flaws in Rand's Objectivist philosophy, this book remains a brilliant and unique defence of freedom and capitalism. Moreover, history has proved Rand a prescient thinker who was correct in many of her analyses. Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal ranks among the very best of her non-fiction works. It is highly engaging, thought-provoking and often quite amusing. The book concludes with an index and a bibliography listing titles by Henry Hazlitt, Isabel Paterson and Ludwig von Mises, amongst others.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding,
By A Customer
This review is from: Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (Mass Market Paperback)
Having been a fan of Ayn Rand since reading Atlas Shrugged, I eagerly dove into this volume. In a word---OUTSTANDING. If you need a reason to validate the importance of capitalism, it's play in creating FREEDOM and what the real root of all evil (it's not capitalism), then read Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. It may not only change your thinking, but also change your life.
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