"Let me explain this.  There are, fundamentally, only two causes of the progress of the nineteenth century -- the same two causes which you will find at the root of any happy, benevolent, progressive era in human history.  One cause is psychological, the other existential -- or: one pertains to man's consciousness, the other to the physical conditions of his existence.  The first is reason, the second is freedom.  And when I say "freedom," I do not mean poetic sloppiness, such as "freedom from want" or "freedom from fear" or "freedom from the necessity of earning a living."  I mean "freedom from compulsion -- freedom from rule by physical force."  Which means: political freedom. "
by:
Ayn Rand
[Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum] (1905-1982) Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter
Source:
Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern World, A lecture delivered at Yale University on February 17, 1960, at Brooklyn College on April 4, 1960, and at Columbia University on May 5, 1960. Published as a pamphlet by the Nathaniel Branden Institute in 1967, and now included as a chapter in the book, Philosophy: Who Needs It
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Reader comments about this quote:
Ayn is spot on, as usual.
 -- jim k, Austin     
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    Having escaped from the Soviet Union she certainly knows what she is talking about.
     -- cal, Lewisville, Texas     
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     -- David, Mannington      
    Sad that 'Freedom' is no longer a word used by the very government representatives entrusted with its protection...
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    I don't quite agree with most of Rand's definitions BUT, close enough to give 5 stars.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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