Abstract

This article explicates Ayn Rand's economic thought as expressed in her nonfiction and fiction writings. It concludes that Rand's formal knowledge of economics was relatively limited and that her case for the free market economy is almost entirely ethical and political. Nevertheless, her insight into the complexity of such an economy was acute and her view that true human flourishing is only possible in a laissez-faire context rested on the recognition that it is the only context that can completely liberate the creative potential of the human mind.