Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand, Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan, Robert Hessen
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Book Reviews of Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Book Review: A Must Read
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who have not given Atlas Shrugged a shot, perhaps intimidated by its girth, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal seems to summarize its best points. While I don't consider myself a true objectivist--I am one of the mixed up individuals who CAN advocate 100% lasse-faire free market policy and yet entertain the idea of a realm "beyond the grave"--Capitalism spends its time advocating (mostly) the areas where objective concepts can work. Ayn demonstrates the roots of war, persecution of big business, child labor, copyrights, leftist student rebellion, and "extremism". Also, ironic commentary by the market "bubble popper" himself, Alan Greenspan, show how much a man can change in 30 years, as he blasts antitrust laws and the abolition of the gold standard. All in all, this collection of ideas will really make one realize exactly why Tom Daschle can persuade 1/2 the American public that the rich are getting more tax returns than they deserve in thirty seconds (Lexus and Muffler). Logic and reason cannot win without the facts--our society doesn't have time for the facts. The Keyensian socialism that is running rampant in government economics and university economic departments MUST be aware that their policies are simply illogical "band-aid on broken leg" policy--it is an ideological philosophy that is shared among them. All in poverty is better than wealth discrepency. One quote shown throughout this our history (and this book) is simply "At the cost of WHOM?". Keep that in mind when watching both our lefties and righties and their great new programs offerred (clips for 30 seconds) on your local news.Book Review: Ayn Rand's Capitialism: The Unknown Ideal
Summary: 5 Stars
"Is man a sovereign individual who owns his person, his mind,his life,his work and its products- or is he the property of the tribe(the state,the society,the collective) that may dispose of him in any way it pleases,that may dictate his convictions,prescribe the course of his life,control his work and expropriate his products?Does man have the Right to exist for his own sake-or is he born in bondage, as an indentured servant who must keep buying his life by serving the tribe but can never acquire it free and clear?"
These are beautiful words that relate with me and my thinking and It is RATIONAL,the book is for rational People, A Must for Conservatives and Political Junkies. Capitalism -True Capitalism *No State Involved*- works, but as Ayn Rand puts it in her book so elegantly It's never been given the chance by a people and a media with The "Mob/Collective"*my choice of words here* mentality.
If it has a downfall for me it is the Final Chapter in Response to The Then Pope and Comparing Catholicism with Communism just because of the ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PAUL VI ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES. MARCH 26, 1967,she then goes on to rant about how Barbaric the Church is and That St Augustine was Against people being their own and that St Thomas Aquinas was the only one she admires in some words.Sadly As A Catholic it bothered me(Not because it's true) and the fact that she was an Amoral or Immoral Atheist does not help her arguments in the last chapter.
Despite this setback the book is an excellent defense and seething rebuttal to common myths and outright lies about Capitalism.
Book Review: The Forgotten Ideal
Summary: 5 Stars
Capitalism, by Ayn Rand, is a collection of 26 essays that discuss more than what the title would lead you to believe. Most articles were written by Rand, while a few were penned by others including a much younger Alan Greenspan. Rand opens the book with a chapter called "What is Capitalism." Greenspan writes on antitrust law and gold. Economics is rarely exciting, but the authors manage to make in interesting.
One editorial review posted on the Amazon.com page for Capitalism states that the book is, "An interesting relic of the past," and goes on to call it an "outlandish piece of propaganda," but this is actually a classic example of "Extremism or the Art of Smearing" as explained in Chapter 17. While the liberals at Amazon.com and the Library Journal might consider Rand an outlandish relic of the past, her books logically explains the philosophy and principles upon which our economic system rests. Because we have drifted away from our founding ideals and the government schools no longer teach United States history well, or economics at all, capitalism has become the forgotten ideal and younger generations must seek out their heritage in the books of Ayn Rand and others. That is why these books continue to sell well.
Rand was no friend of Judeo-Christian values, but she strongly believed in many values that most Americans once shared, limited government, laissez-faire economics and property rights. If you want a better understanding why these principles made America great you should read this and her other works.
Book Review: Her least original book, and she had help
Summary: 5 Stars
That's why it's her best: she knew her strengths and stuck to them, letting other people do the hard parts. She also had the sense to include a shortlist of recommended reading, which she had never done before and never did again.So we can forgive this book some of its antilibertarian, statist flaws: for example, her defense of "big business" as "America's most persecuted minority" (Murray Rothbard had a few chuckles over this); her thoroughly statist account of "The Nature of Government" and her oracular dismissal of anarchocapitalism; her undermining of the Second Amendment by declaring that government needs a monopoly on the power of coercion (the whole point of the federalist system is to _avoid_ such a monopoly, though perhaps Russian immigrants don't always grasp this point); her insistence that the American commonwealth was based on the (also statist) philosophy of Aristotle (when in fact it owed a great deal more to John Calvin, though Calvin himself might have been surprised to hear it).
In fact, forget her own positive account altogether; her philosophy itself was almost uniformly rhetorical-polemical nonsense. But she had a fine knack for picking apart the arguments of some of the _opponents_ of capitalism, and there's quite a bit of that in this volume.
And her bibliography will introduce you to Ludwig von Mises. For _that_, we can forgive her a lot.
Book Review: Certainly makes the moral case for Capitalism
Summary: 5 Stars
She certainly makes the case in a true poetic fashion, however, her attempt to justify a limited government, and worst, to claim that it can operate without violating the non-aggression principle, discredits her somewhat. But other then that, this collection of essays shows how brilliant of a thinker and writer Ayn Rand was. How she is able to expose the moral fallacies behind the current altruistic/collectivist philosophy is amazing. She puts into words the many things I believe many of us feel inside but don't really know how to express in words, or have been conditioned to suppress by our culture and schooling.
This is quite an educational piece of literature. All to often, free-market and freedom advocates fail to make the moral case. They make the mistake of defending freedom and Capitalism from an altruistic perspective- it is the best economic system for the common good. But this is a mistake, as Ayn Rand points out, while that fact is ture, it alone is secondary to the fact that Capitalism is the only political/economic system that is compatible with individual rights. That is its true moral virtue.
The Amazon editorial review is a disgrace! It is not an objective review, but a personal ideological attack. The statements made in that review are baseless and no attempt is made to justify them. Amazon should be ashamed!