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Living in a society, instead of on a desert island, does not relieve a man of the responsibility of supporting his own life.

Ayn Rand

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Ayn Rand
Age: 77 †
Born: 1905
Born: February 2
Died: 1982
Died: March 6
Essayist
Journalist
Literary Critic
Novelist
Philosopher
Playwright
Science Fiction Writer
Screenwriter
St. Petersburg
Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum
Life
Islands
Desert
Instead
Responsibility
Society
Living
Relieve
Doe
Supporting
Men
Island

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The sky is like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through.
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As we gain knowledge, we do not become more certain, we become certain of more.
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When the common good of a society is regarded as something apart from and superior to the individual good of its members, it means that the good of some men takes precedence over the good of others, with those others consigned to the status of sacrificial animals.
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There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.
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The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.
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That which exists possesses identity he could keep it out of existence by refusing to identify it.
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Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism. It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man’s genetic lineage-the notion that a man’s intellectual and characterologic al traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry.
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It was the greatest sensation of existence: not to trust but to know.
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In a capitalist society, all human relationships are voluntary.
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Don't worry. They're all against me. But I have one advantage: they don't know what they want. I do.
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People are not embracing collectivism because they have accepted bad economics. They are accepting bad economics because they have embraced collectivism.
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Degrees do not matter... one does not bargain about inches of evil.
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Self-esteem is reliance on one's power to think... The man of authentic self-confidence is the man who relies on the judgment of his own mind.
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The mind is the attribute of man. When man is born, he comes into existence with only one weapon with him--The reasoning mind.
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Is it advisable to spread out all the conveniences of culture before people to whom a few steps up a stair to a library is a sufficient deterrent from reading?
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