--- title: "5 Characteristics Quotes By Ayn Rand" description: "5 Characteristics quotes by Ayn Rand. Plus more from Ayn Rand and more Characteristics sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are_519807.jpg" --- > [It is true that the welfare-statists are not socialists, that they never advocated or intended the socialization of private property, that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are-not-socialists-that-they/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are_519807.jpg) > [There are four characteristics which brand a country unmistakably as a dictatorship: one-party rule, executions without trial or with a mock trial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-four-characteristics-which-brand-a-country-unmistakably-as/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/ayn-rand-59_brands_there-are-four-characteristics-which-bra_783362.jpg) > [Politically, the goal of today’s dominant trend is statism. Philosophically , the goal is the obliteration of reason; psychologically , it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/politically-the-goal-of-today-s-dominant-trend-is-statism/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/ayn-rand-59_ambition_politically-the-goal-of-today-s-dominant_1550945.jpg) > [ The difference between \[socialism and fascism\] is superficial and purely formal, but it is significant psychologically: it brings the authoritarian nature of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-difference-between-socialism-and-fascism-is-superficial-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/ayn-rand-59_abolition_the-difference-between-socialism-and-fas_1991866.jpg) > [The essential characteristic of socialism is the denial of individual property rights...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-essential-characteristic-of-socialism-is-the-denial-of-individual/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_the-essential-characteristic-of-socialis_2200390.jpg) ## Other authors on Characteristics ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/ayn-rand/#itemlist", "name": "5 Characteristics Quotes By Ayn Rand", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is true that the welfare-statists are not socialists, that they never advocated or intended the socialization of private property, that they want to 'preserve' private property-with government control of its use and disposal. But that is the fundamental characteristic of fascism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are-not-socialists-that-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are_519807.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are_519807.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are_519807.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is true that the welfare-statists are not socialists, that they never advocated or intended the…” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are four characteristics which brand a country unmistakably as a dictatorship: one-party rule, executions without trial or with a mock trial for political offenses, the nationalization or expropriation of private property, and censorship. A country guilty of these outrages forfeits any moral prerogatives, any claim to national rights or sovereignty, and becomes an outlaw.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-four-characteristics-which-brand-a-country-unmistakably-as/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/ayn-rand-59_brands_there-are-four-characteristics-which-bra_783362.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/ayn-rand-59_brands_there-are-four-characteristics-which-bra_783362.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/ayn-rand-59_brands_there-are-four-characteristics-which-bra_783362.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are four characteristics which brand a country unmistakably as a dictatorship: one-party rule…” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Politically, the goal of today’s dominant trend is statism. Philosophically , the goal is the obliteration of reason; psychologically , it is the erosion of ambition. The political goal presupposes the two others. The human characteristic required by statism is docility, which is the product of hopelessness and intellectual stagnation. Thinking men cannot be ruled; ambitious men do not stagnate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/politically-the-goal-of-today-s-dominant-trend-is-statism/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/ayn-rand-59_ambition_politically-the-goal-of-today-s-dominant_1550945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/ayn-rand-59_ambition_politically-the-goal-of-today-s-dominant_1550945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/ayn-rand-59_ambition_politically-the-goal-of-today-s-dominant_1550945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Politically, the goal of today’s dominant trend is statism. 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Under fascism, men retain the semblance or pretense of private property, but the government holds total power over its use and disposal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-difference-between-socialism-and-fascism-is-superficial-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/ayn-rand-59_abolition_the-difference-between-socialism-and-fas_1991866.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/ayn-rand-59_abolition_the-difference-between-socialism-and-fas_1991866.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/ayn-rand-59_abolition_the-difference-between-socialism-and-fas_1991866.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The difference between [socialism and fascism] is superficial and purely formal, but it is significant…” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The essential characteristic of socialism is the denial of individual property rights...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-essential-characteristic-of-socialism-is-the-denial-of-individual/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_the-essential-characteristic-of-socialis_2200390.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_the-essential-characteristic-of-socialis_2200390.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_the-essential-characteristic-of-socialis_2200390.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The essential characteristic of socialism is the denial of individual property rights...” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/ayn-rand/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/ayn-rand/", "name": "Characteristics Quotes by Ayn Rand", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/ayn-rand/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/ayn-rand-59_characteristics_it-is-true-that-the-welfare-statists-are_519807.jpg" }, "description": "5 Characteristics quotes by Ayn Rand. 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