Abstract

Ayn Rand is perhaps most widely known as an uncompromising advocate of laissez‐faire capitalism. This chapter focuses on Rand's account of some of the crucial philosophical premises implicit in the operations of a free market. It covers briefly the basic approach to knowledge and values that Rand argues is implicitly embedded in the operations of a free market. The chapter then moves to a discussion of her view of how this approach plays out: that it is the producers of economic values (not the consumers) who govern the operations of a free market. Next, it explores Rand idea that statist systems are not alternative forms of economic production but simply the destruction, partial or total, of producers. Finally, the chapter sketches Rand's views on the relation of philosophy to economics and discusses her evaluations of some free‐market economists.