---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Collectivism, as an intellectual power…"
description: "\"Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg"
---

#  Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal…

![“Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not yet been discovered.” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg)

> “Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not yet been discovered.”

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Freedom and individualism remain underexplored, while collectivism is considered obsolete.

**In simple terms:** Individualism is still valuable despite collectivism’s decline.

Key Takeaway

Explore personal liberty and market ideas.

Themes

individualism freedom capitalism politics philosophy

Mood

critical thought‑provoking

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- policy debate
- entrepreneurship
- education
- social movements

Key Concepts

liberalism economic theory

Questions to Reflect On

- How can individualism coexist with social responsibility?
- What reforms can make capitalism more equitable?

A Different Perspective

Capitalism faces criticism and practical challenges.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Collectivism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectivism/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Individualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualism/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/)

## Related quotes

> [Freedom, individualism, authenticity and being yourself so long as you don't hurt another's physical person or property: Sustained success comes only when you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-buckingham/freedom-individualism-authenticity-and-being-yourself-so-long-as-you/)

[Marcus Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-buckingham/)

> [“This wariness of authority reflected the most fundamental of all of Einstein’s moral principles: Freedom and individualism are necessary for creativity and imagination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/this-wariness-of-authority-reflected-the-most-fundamental-of-all-of/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [The Public provides freedom...Individualism begins after the roads are built, after individualists have had an education, after medical research has cured their diseases...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/the-public-provides-freedom-individualism-begins-after-the-roads-are/)

[George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/)

> ['Rugged individualism' has meant all the 'individualism' for the masters, while the people are regimented into a slave caste to serve a handful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/rugged-individualism-has-meant-all-the-individualism-for-the-masters/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [ \[Altruism\] is a moral system which holds that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/altruism-is-a-moral-system-which-holds-that-man-has-no-right-to-exist/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [The three values which men held for centuries and which have now collapsed are: mysticism, collectivism, altruism. Mysticism - as a cultural power -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-three-values-which-men-held-for-centuries-and-which-have-now/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [If men want to oppose war, it is statism that they must oppose. So long as they hold the tribal notion that the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-men-want-to-oppose-war-it-is-statism-that-they-must-oppose-so-long/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Freedom, individualism and being yourself so long as you don't hurt another's physical person or property: The true artist is a man who believes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/freedom-individualism-and-being-yourself-so-long-as-you-don-t-hurt/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“The matter on which I judge people is their willingness, or ability, to handle contradiction. Thus Paine was better than Burke when it came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-matter-on-which-i-judge-people-is-their-willingness-or-ability-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“As long as government has the power to regulate business, business will control government by funding the candidate that legislates in their favor. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-ruwart/as-long-as-government-has-the-power-to-regulate-business-business/)

[Mary J. Ruwart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-ruwart/)

> [“These ideas fit the experience of these Japanese women who often talked about searching for or trying to develop "self" (jibun). Cultivating or polishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-ross-rosenberger/these-ideas-fit-the-experience-of-these-japanese-women-who-often/)

Nancy Ross Rosenberger

> [The basic struggle today is not between individualism and collectivism, free enterprise and socialism, democracy and dictatorship. These are only the superficial manifestations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-basic-struggle-today-is-not-between-individualism-and/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [The public school system: "Usually a twelve year sentence of mind control. Crushing creativity, smashing individualism, encouraging collectivism and compromise, destroying the exercise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelve-year-sentence-of-mind/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The argument for collectivism is simple if false; it is an immediate emotional argument. The argument for individualism is subtle and sophisticated; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-argument-for-collectivism-is-simple-if-false-it-is-an-immediate/)

[Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/)

> [I don't envisage collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always individualism, sometimes the rest vote and sometimes they do not, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-don-t-envisage-collectivism-there-is-no-such-animal-it-is-always/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

## 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/)

[Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

## More Capitalism quotes

> [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/)

[Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/)

> [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/)

[Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/)

> [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/)

F. A. Harper

> [The free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the mall; the unfree market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-free-market-is-ugly-and-stupid-like-going-to-the-mall-the-unfree/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/)

[Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/)

> [There are no two countries with the same style of economic mechanism, with the same capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/there-are-no-two-countries-with-the-same-style-of-economic-mechanism/)

[Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [Historically, usury was defined as any interest whatever on an unproductive loan.Our whole banking system I have ever abhorred, I continue to abhor, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/historically-usury-was-defined-as-any-interest-whatever-on-an/)

[John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/)

> [Socialism is humanity's second nature. All politicians do is turn human vice into votes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/socialism-is-humanity-s-second-nature-all-politicians-do-is-turn/)

[Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/)

> [“Scholars have long debated whether capital markets lead to appropriate levels of saving and investment for future generations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-weimer/scholars-have-long-debated-whether-capital-markets-lead-to/)

David L. Weimer

> [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

[Browse all 3,832 Capitalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not yet been discovered.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ayn Rand"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-and-a-moral-ideal-is-dead-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Capitalism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-and-a-moral-ideal-is-dead-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ayn-rand-59_capitalism_collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-an_1999728.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their…” — Ayn Rand",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ayn Rand",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Collectivism, as an intellectual power and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-and-a-moral-ideal-is-dead-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/collectivism-as-an-intellectual-power-and-a-moral-ideal-is-dead-but/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
