“Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense. An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.
Ayn Rand (verified)
The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z (Primary source)
The Ayn Rand Lexicon is a reference guide to the philosophy of Objectivism. Compiled from Ayn Rand’s extensive writings, it presents her views on hundreds of topics—from philosophy and politics to art and psychology—in an alphabetical, easy-to-browse format.
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“Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense. An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.
An individualist is a man who says: I will not run anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone—nor sacrifice anyone to myself.”
Ayn Rand (verified)
“Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”
— Ayn Rand (verified)“I don’t intend to build in order to have clients. I intend to have clients in order to build.”
— Ayn Rand (verified)“A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.”
— Ayn Rand (verified)“Who will let you? That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
— Ayn Rand (verified)“In those days we did not trust anyone who had not been in the war, but we did not completely trust anyone.”
— Ernest Hemingway (verified)“The end does not justify the means. No one’s rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others.”
— Ayn Rand (verified)“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”
— Richard Feynman (verified)“Everyone has the right to make his own decisions, but none has the right to force his decision on others.”
— Ayn Rand (unverified)