--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect…" description: "\"Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a cu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/gore-vidal-466_audience_ayn-rand-s-philosophy-is-nearly-perfect_2877043.jpg" --- # Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its… ![“Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society… To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/gore-vidal-466_audience_ayn-rand-s-philosophy-is-nearly-perfect_2877043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/gore-vidal-466_audience_ayn-rand-s-philosophy-is-nearly-perfect_2877043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/gore-vidal-466_audience_ayn-rand-s-philosophy-is-nearly-perfect_2877043.jpg) > “Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society… To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote condemns Rand's philosophy as morally corrupt, warning that its appeal signals a troubling societal shift toward greed and egotism. **In simple terms:** Rand's ideas are immoral and dangerous. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge harmful ideologies. Themes morality politics culture philosophy Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - political discourse - academic curricula - media analysis - public policy - activism Key Concepts ethical relativism authoritarianism social decay Questions to Reflect On - How does moral judgment shape political movements? - What alternatives to greed-driven values exist? A Different Perspective The argument may oversimplify complex philosophical debates. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ayn-rand/) [Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious/) [Egotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egotism/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Immoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immoral/) [Immorality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immorality/) [Immorality Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immorality-makes-3966780/) [Justify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Immoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-immoral-3676689/) [Objectivism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectivism/) [Ominous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ominous/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Perfect Immorality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-immorality-3966781/) [Phases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phases/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Rand Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rand-philosophy-1230179/) [Size](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/size/) ## Related quotes > [To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/to-justify-and-extol-human-greed-and-egotism-is-to-my-mind-not-only/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“Yet, as Ayn Rand’s philosophy entered his world, a turning point followed—a moment of revelation that shifted both his thinking and allegiance. By 2004,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-galian/yet-as-ayn-rand-s-philosophy-entered-his-world-a-turning-point/) [Laurence Galian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-galian/) > [ ...there ... remains a huge following \[of Ayn Rand's philosophy\] of those who ignore the indiscretions, infidelities, and moral inconsistencies of the founder and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/there-remains-a-huge-following-of-ayn-rand-s-philosophy-of-those-who/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [ I reject her \[Ayn Rand's\] philosophy. It's an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/i-reject-her-ayn-rand-s-philosophy-it-s-an-atheist-philosophy-it/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [“Part of what attracts us to artists is their otherness, their refusal to conform, their big middle finger stuck up in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-kellerman/part-of-what-attracts-us-to-artists-is-their-otherness-their-refusal/) [Jesse Kellerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-kellerman/) > [“To irrational principles, one cannot be loyal. Ideas that are not derived from reality cannot be consistently practiced in reality. --as quoted by Leonard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/to-irrational-principles-one-cannot-be-loyal-ideas-that-are-not/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Saint Petersburg in revolt gave us Vladimir Nabokov, Isaiah Berlin, and Ayn Rand. The first was a novelist, the second a philosopher. The third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-robin/saint-petersburg-in-revolt-gave-us-vladimir-nabokov-isaiah-berlin-and/) [Corey Robin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-robin/) > [ “To sum it all up, the \[Ayn\] Rand belief system looks like this: 1. Facts are facts: things can be absolutely right or absolutely… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/to-sum-it-all-up-the-ayn-rand-belief-system-looks-like-this-1-facts/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [... there is an irrational, cultish tendency in many intellectual movements, and Objectivism, alas, is no exception. Ayn Rand's personal obsession with loyalty did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/there-is-an-irrational-cultish-tendency-in-many-intellectual/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [People don't mind immoral messages. They don't mind art which says that murder is good, cruelty is good, sex for sex's sake is good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/people-don-t-mind-immoral-messages-they-don-t-mind-art-which-says/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“(Rand’s philosophy is called objectivism, coincidentally enough),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-moynihan/rand-s-philosophy-is-called-objectivism-coincidentally-enough/) [Brendan Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-moynihan/) > [“Who is John Galt?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/who-is-john-galt/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [If parasitism, favoritism, corruption, and greed for the unearned did not exist, a mixed economy would bring them into existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-parasitism-favoritism-corruption-and-greed-for-the-unearned-did/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“You do not need commandments to tell you what is right and wrong, you need reason. YOU NEED TO THINK. What are the consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kassandra-dick/you-do-not-need-commandments-to-tell-you-what-is-right-and-wrong-you/) [Kassandra Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassandra-dick/) > [“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/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [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/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! 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That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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