"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion ... " - Ayn Rand

Posted by GaltsGulch 8 years, 4 months ago to Pics
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"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion - when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice- you may know that your society is doomed." - Ayn Rand


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  • Posted by james464 8 years, 4 months ago
    I would argue to Ms. Rand that you don't need to see these signs to know the society is doomed...it is too late by then.

    When the general sense toward absolutes is disdain and ridicule, you have then encountered the enemy where his defeat is sine qua non to the survival of your society.
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 8 years, 4 months ago
    This was one of a couple things I encountered while reading Atlas Shrugged that actually didn't allow me to sleep after reading it. It churned around in my head well into the night. Another was the quote about men abandoning science. At that time I had been involved in research that had been completely lied about by management and the lies reported as truth in the media - within a year of me reading Atlas Shrugged. There really are massive truths in that book.
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