Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Quotes from Ayn Rand

Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).


I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

Man’s unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself.

Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone.

Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.

There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.

When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is.

The most depraved type of human being is the man without a purpose.

Learn to value yourself, which means: to fight for your happiness.