Ayn Rand Quote

"Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values. Gold was an objective value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'"

by:	Ayn Rand [Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum] (1905-1982) Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter
Source:	Atlas Shrugged, p. 385-386, (1957).
Rating:
Categories:	Debt, Destruction, Fiat, Force, Gold, Money, Morality, Power, Production, Protection, Theft, Wealth
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Sounds like someone who knows the intention and action of the Federal Reserve Bank. There is a section in "The Patriot Act" that gives back to the government the OK to confiscate Gold from its' citizens. The victims she is talking about are every man and women who work, save and produce positive results for their selves, their families the companies that they work for and thus for the Country. As Spike Lee would say they're,"Doing The Right Thing."  -- SolidSonLight, San Francisco Bay Area      1
Rand was right about this. But this method apparently was working fast enough, so now we have a new method..."stimulus".  -- J Carlton, Calgary
One of the greatest scams in history was when good ol' Franklin Roosevelt had the ownership of gold outlawed and Americans turned in their gold for paper down at the bank. With the socialist nuts running things now, it could happen again.  -- jim k, Austin,Tx      2
-- Christine, Haverhill, MA
Ranting against the very fabric of society. By this argument all forms of barter which do not trade in gold are void. No more paying for your doctor's visit with a flock of chickens 'cause they are not gold and have arbitrary value assigned to them...  -- Anonymous, Reston, VA, US      2
Another completly non sensible comment from Reston. The quote references the use of fiat currency as opposed to gold backed currency. How do you get that it attacks the barter system out of it...delusional?  -- J Carlton, Calgary      1
Rand was well ahead of her time. What is happening today would not surprise her at all.  -- cal, lewisville, tx
Another mis-direction / false dichotomy from A from Reston. Chickens and all other species of value can not lawfully or legitimately be compared to a valueless note, made visual on paper (paper is valued by weight; a 1 dollar note is equal in wealth to a 100 dollar note/ electronically also). Barter is an exchange of free market values (produced or raw wealth). The here topic paper exchange, at end of a gun, exposes a forced exchange of value for debt.  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
Good one Mike. I think it was Ludwig vonMises who said: "Governnment is the only entity that can take a valuable commodity like paper, slap ink on it, and make it completely worthless".  -- J Carlton, Calgary      3
Yes, Reston, I would agree that we are ranting about the very fabric of our society -- economic slavery. As this fabric veils the original intent of a free republic, it must be torn asunder if we are to free oursleves from the ever tightening noose around our necks. Rand is brilliant; I just finished reading The Fountainhead and am now starting Atlas Shrugged. It is hard to argue with such sound logic. (Check out youtube videos of Rand with Phil Donahue, Mike Wallace, and Tom Snyder) Rand grew up in commuist Russia, so keep it up, Reston, if you have your way it won't be long for us, too, to experience the delusion of totalitarianism whether 'socialist', 'fascist', or 'communist.' Just how do you think paper money is created anyway, Reston? If it were the real salvation of the people, why not just print up $50,000 for every person and just give it to them? That would work, eh? Why do we need taxes when the government can just print up whatever money it needs? Wake up, man, you are being duped.  -- E Archer, NYC      2
We vote looters into public office.__ 5 stars also for the vonMises quote.  -- A.WOODS, Gloucester
Just a bit 'beyond the point'.. I would like to cite Alexander the Great's exasperation at finding that the India that he thought he had 'conquered' did/nt 'seem' to have lost on anything.. bullion notwithstanding !! So then - 'sovereignity' of the individuals / the nation matters most - I suppose.  -- Vedapushpa, Bangalore - India
What she predicted has already happened. The United States has been sold out, and its citizens enslaved to the International Banking Cartel which owns The Federal Reserve, The Bank of England, and The ECB. MISTER obama, MISTER reid, and MISTER boehner only need a few more months to complete the final transactions, as well as seal the coffin of the American Civil Rights. It's the end of the American Empire, and the beginning of the New World Government.  -- Mistah Kurtz, Anytown      2
A major caveat here; money, gold, specie of value etc. is "NOT" a base of a moral existence. It is the reverse. Morality derives from the inner being. When actions are derived on morals - such illustrates the religion of the individual. For those that exploit money as a moral issue, that individual's religion is exposed. For example; socialism is an economic system that morally demonstrates religion's immorality of man.  -- Mike, Norwalk      2
"Account overdrawn" Says everything.  -- Bruski, Naples FL
Roosevelt outlawed gold and folks turned in for paper. A bad deal.  -- Jim K, Austin
Both Libya and Iraq (two of the most successful countries in the region) were going to base their currency on a gold standard and move away from the dollar and look what happened to them.. It has NOTHING to do with fighting so called terrorists or tyrants it has everything to do with central banks and the psychopaths that own the media. Why are Americans so afraid of shouting out enough is enough and start fighting these war and wall street criminals. I notice on facebook there are hardly any anti establishment comments and I think you all know why.........  -- Robert, Somewhere in Europe      2
A very good observation Robert, Somewhere. The same problem everywhere. The inner being is where solidarity is born of values based with nature on ones relationship with our Creator. Following a sound path, a natural foundation leads, to the example of honesty and goodness put forth. The individuals moral base, is not what money can buy, rather what is a Wholesome family unit. It is not just the Americans to shout, but the World catching up to LIBERTY DECLARED. Facebook, that is a stream to plant carefully.  -- Ronw13, Yachats Or
That is why Gold has always been the human currency. Nobody like Ayn Rand to make it clear to everyone !  -- Luis, Pérez
-- John W. Tobin, Newcastle, Wa.
-- warren, olathe

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