Ayn Rand

A man's sexual choice is the result and the sum of his fundamental convictions. Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life.

The only proper purpose of government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man's self-defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force.

The root of all evil is the belief that there are no objective moral values.

The symbol of all relationships among men, the symbol of all civilized life, is the market.

Love is an act of selfishness.

The worst evil is not the act of the wicked, but the indifference of the good.

Intellectuals are the most dangerous class in any society.

Man is an end in himself.

Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life.

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.

A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

Every man is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others.

The proper method of fighting for freedom is to be free.

Man's mind is his basic means of survival.

One must never sacrifice a principle for a compromise.

To love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self-esteem, is capable of love—because he is the only man capable of holding firm, consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed values.

The average man is a conformist, meekly accepting the doctrines and dogmas of the reigning collective.

The primary purpose of morality is to teach you how to live, not how to die.

Poverty is not a virtue.