Ayn Rand: moral dimensions of liberty and capitalism

DOUGLAS B. RASMUSSEN leads the January 2010 blog discussion on Rand:

No doubt, it is because of the moral or ethical dimension of her understanding of the role of government and the nature of capitalism. This understanding is as follows:

1. The purpose of government is the protection and implementation of the basic individual rights of life, liberty, and property. These ethical principles define, sanction, and provide the foundation for liberty as the paramount value for the political/legal order. The sole legitimate purpose of the state is the protection of liberty, and if the state pursues any other ends, then it debases its legitimacy.

2.Capitalism is neither immoral nor amoral. Rather, it is, as Rand states, “a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.”

Individual rights are the linchpin of Rand’s political philosophy, and it is in terms of this concept that she understands capitalism.