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Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal Mass Market Paperback – July 15, 1986

by Ayn Rand (Author), Nathaniel Branden (Author), Alan Greenspan (Author),
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 731 ratings
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In this series of essays, Ayn Rand presents her stand on the persecution of big business, the causes of war, the default of conservatism, and the evils of altruism.

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. 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 that 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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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Signet
  4. Publication date
    July 15, 1986
  5. Dimensions
    6.73 x 4.13 x 0.98 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0451147952
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0451147950
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the most revolutionary and powerful works on capitalism—and on politics—that has ever been published.”—Professor Leonard Peikoff, Barron’s magazine

About the Author

Born February 2, 1905, Ayn Rand published her first novel, We the Living, in 1936. Anthem followed in 1938. It was with the publication of The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) that she achieved her spectacular success. Rand’s unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience. The fundamentals of her philosophy are put forth in three nonfiction books, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, The Virtues of Selfishness, and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. They are all available in Signet editions, as is the magnificent statement of her artistic credo, The Romantic Manifesto.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signet; Reissue edition (July 15, 1986)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0451147952
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451147950
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.73 x 4.13 x 0.98 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 731 ratings

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  1. Ayn Rand

    Ayn Rand

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    Ayn Rand's first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936, followed by Anthem. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved spectacular and enduring success. Rand's unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience and maintains a lasting influence on popular thought. The fundamentals of her philosophy are set forth in such books as Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, The Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal, and The Romantic Manifesto. Ayn Rand died in 1982.

    (Image reproduced courtesy of The Ayn Rand® Institute)

    See more on the author's page
  2. Alan Greenspan

    Alan Greenspan

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Alan Greenspan was born in 1926 and reared in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. After studying the clarinet at Juilliard and working as a professional musician, he earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from New York University. In 1954, he cofounded the economic consulting firm Townsend-Greenspan & Co. From 1974 to 1977, he served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Gerald Ford. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed him chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, a position he held until his retirement in 2006.

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
731 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly the best of Ayn Rand... but...
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
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This collection of essays is truly the best of Ayn Rand, but the best entries in this book were actually written by Alan Greenspan and Nathaniel Branden, not Rand herself. In particular, Greenspan's two essays about antitrust and the gold standard, as well as Common Fallacies About Capitalism by Branden, are three of the best and clearest writings that I've ever encountered about these subjects. Every word of this book is absolutely worth your time, but those three pieces are the best. I should mention that I wouldn't recommend this book as a stand-alone, because it makes frequent reference to Atlas Shrugged, The Virtue of Selfishness, and (to a lesser extent) The Fountainhead, so I suppose you should read those three books first before reading this one. (And besides, if you're a libertarian or a conservative, you do kinda have to read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged at some point in your life anyway, whether you end up enjoying them or not. That's just the rules.)

In general, I have mixed feelings about Rand and her writing. For one thing, if you're more interested in history, economics, or public policy rather than in philosophy, you may find her endless philosophical lectures to be off-putting. Certainly, there's a lot of epistemological baggage that goes along with the full-throated defense of capitalism throughout her work. But in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Rand mixes in a lot of economic and political history and economic theory, to go along with her usual philosophical musings. The end result is an invaluable reference for anyone who values freedom in general, and free markets in particular. Of the four books by Rand that I've read, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal is far and away the best one.

This is a mass market paperback, and currently it appears to be the only edition that is available as a new book (rather than used). But the font is the same size as it would be in a larger trade paperback version, and the quality is pretty good overall.
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Lead-foot
5.0 out of 5 stars Breaking through the all too common misconceptions about what capitalism actually is
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2016
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A few years ago, after living through the worst presidency I've witnessed, that of Bush 43, I began to pay more attention to econo-political ideas. I was a moderate leftist, believing that conservatives and their Wall St partners had bankrupted the world economy. I was very receptive to liberal criticisms of so-called capitalism and the profit motive as the conduit for the greed that led to the aforesaid bankruptcy. It really seemed to me that the only solution was a more stringent regulatory environment. Looking back on it, I can still understand why I believed as I did.
Somewhere along the line, I began to start questioning my beliefs. I went back to school to earn an MBA and learned more about finance and economics. I hypothesized my own views about all this as though I were a business owner or CEO, facing turbulent market conditions. Then I noticed something. No business owed me a job, no gov't agency owed me survival, no one else owed me anything. In simple terms, my needs place no justifiable moral obligation on anyone else.

Although I was familiar with this book, I felt for a long time that I wasn't ready for it. Should all those liberal beliefs I'd adopted turn out to be wrong? In some ways, no. I was still sure that bigotry and nationalism weren't defensible. In basically every other way, yes. Liberal economic ideas are, once you're honest about policy ideas, fully indefensible.

Conservative or liberal leaning, I definitely recommend one take the ideas advanced in this book seriously. Consider them and be honest with yourself. The most extraordinary idea for me is that the cause of most of the problems of which we lament is the same regulatory power we hope will fix them. After this I'll be studying economic history of this regulatory environment to determine if/how it led to market imbalances and distorted incentives. So long as gov't has legal power over commerce, crony capitalism (NOT REAL CAPITALISM) will never end. Yet I'm curious to see how the regulatory machinery may create more problems than it solves. For now, I'd consider myself tentatively in favor of laissez faire capitalism.

I can also fully recommend the blog talk radio podcast of Dr Yaron Brook. It's a very thought provoking show for those tired of being locked into the outdated liberal-conservative buckets.
109 people found this helpful
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Ragnar
5.0 out of 5 stars Rand is a great defender of freedom, capitalism, reason and prosperity
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013
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Ayn Rand is a foremost advocate of reason, freedom, prosperity and capitalism. She states in the introduction of Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal: "This book is not a treatise on economics. It is a collection of essays on the moral aspects of capitalism." She first defines capitalism, which is NOT the interventionist fascism of today's America. America is currently nearly totalitarian socialist. Historically, such systems always collapse economically and socially, be they communist like Soviet Russia, fascist like Nazi Germany, or some other form of total dictatorship.

Capitalism is the economic and productive system that automatically springs from freedom. Freedom requires very little governmental control over the people and their everyday actions. Other building blocks of a free society include, but are certainly not limited to: natural law and the rule of law, not the rule of men; very limited governmental bureaucratic control; and trade instead of war. All these fundamental societal basics are necessary prior to personal freedom and productive wealth. See all of Ludwig von Mises' works, particularly "Human Action." Although most Americans still believe in these concepts, today America is very far removed from them. The socialists, be they communists or fascists, have nearly destroyed this great country where I grew up. Yet capitalism's detractors point to all the problems created by our socialist government as some how having been created by capitalism. Not so fast, says Rand.

Rand discusses man's rights, alienation, the nature of government, business as a persecuted minority, the roots of war, fallacies of capitalism, what is true free enterprise, and moral assaults upon freedom and prosperity. One of her best non-fiction books. It will open your eyes, as all her works do.
6 people found this helpful
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Sergio Mincarone Filho
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for straighten up your distorted sense of life
Reviewed in Brazil on January 16, 2021
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Rand provides a full application of the objectivist philosophy on the subject of capitalism, the one and only moral system of living in society without harming anyone's individual rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Comprised of essays of herself, Greenspan, Branden and Hessen, it shows how the altruistic-collectivist philosophy obliterates anyone's rights to exist, to further its own life and to be happy.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Chandra
Reviewed in India on July 5, 2020
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Detailed analysis with facts
In-depth interpretation of individual rights and power of moral and rational principles and human intellect .
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (50th Anniversary Edition)
Reviewed in Mexico on September 17, 2018
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It is a book that collects several works regarding the philosophy behind capitalism in an understandable format. I recommend to those that seek more insight of capitalism from a perspective of the objectivist philosophy.
One person found this helpful
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Atlas is shrugging
Reviewed in France on February 21, 2020
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Ce livre est l’équivalent de note de bas de page du roman Atlas Shrugged.
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park3r
5.0 out of 5 stars Capitalism, the only moral system.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2017
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This is undoubtedly one of my favourite books. It is full of essays, with clear and concise defence of Capitalism. It's a brilliant book for picking up when you have 5 minutes and time to read a quick essay.

I found myself enjoying Alan Greenspan's essays more than I thought. He really could be Dr Stadler. How can a proponent of a Gold Standard then become the head of the immoral, Federal Reserve and then inadvertently help cause the 2008 crises, with the help of Bill Clinton. It truly is Atlas Shrugged coming to life. (Check out John Allison lectures on the financial crises on YouTube. His explanation is truly remarkable and brilliantly explained).

Capitalism is truly the only moral political and economic system. I honestly think, if this book was more widely read, it would change the world.
9 people found this helpful
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