"Ideas are the greatest and most crucially practical power on earth," wrote Ayn Rand.In the title essay of this collection, Leonard Peikoff applies this principle to the world of business. He shows that certain philosophic ideas, such as reason, egoism, and individualism, are needed to defend and protect the freedom of businessmen, while the opposite ideas, such as mysticism, altruism, and collectivism (which dominate our universities), destroy that freedom. Other essays in this volume will help businessmen understand the crucial role of philosophy in free trade, free markets, health care, and business ethics.
Why Businessmen Need Philosophy is important reading for any businessman who wants to defend his freedom—and anyone else who wants to understand and defend business.
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"Great book with relevant topics. Interesting to hear about the Antitrust rules and the impacts to business innovation."
— James (5 out of 5 stars)
“These essays, some of which are written by Rand herself, provide an excellent introduction to the best and most original aspects of Rand’s thought…One really thoughtful essay traces the origins of the idea of antitrust legislation, and tries to show how it went wrong. There is also a carefully documented history of how moneylending has suffered from moralists throughout the centuries…It is refreshing, after this long period in which bankers or capitalists have been blamed for the collapse of the financial system, and many of society’s ills, to take a dose of this unashamedly egotistical and self-glorifying rhetoric.”
— New York Journal of Books" [I bought it two years ago, but then, I started to write Reason Reigns.] <br/> <br/>Superb! "
— Ilyn, 7/12/2008Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was born in Russia, graduated from the University of Leningrad, and came to the United States in 1926. She published her first novel in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved a spectacular and enduring success, and her unique philosophy, Objectivism, gained a worldwide following.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Leonard Peikoff is universally recognized as the preeminent Rand scholar writing today. He worked closely with Ayn Rand for thirty years and was designated by her as heir to her estate. He has taught philosophy at Hunter College, Long Island University, and New York University. Peikoff for many years lectured on Rand’s philosophy throughout the country. He lives in Southern California.
Harry Binswanger is a philosopher and writer. He is an Objectivist and was a long-time associate of Ayn Rand, working with her on The Ayn Rand Lexicon. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Binswanger received his Bachelor of Science degree in humanities and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD in philosophy from Columbia University. He is the author of The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts and the editor of Introduction to Objectivist Epistimology. He is currently on the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute.
Edwin A. Locke is a widely-published scholar with fifteen years of clinical experience and more than three decades as a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland. Locke is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society; he is also a guest lecturer at the Ayn Rand Institute. He earned his doctorate at Cornell University and his BS from Harvard University.
Richard M. Salsman, CFA, is founder, president, and chief market strategist of InterMarket Forecasting, an investment research and forecasting firm based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Salsman, a noted authority on banking and capitalism, is the author of two books, Gold and Liberty and Breaking the Banks: Central Banking Problems and Free Banking Solutions. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, Forbes, and the National Post. Salsman lectures widely at investment gatherings and universities, including Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Jaana Woiceshyn holds a BBA and an MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught strategic management and business ethics to undergraduate, MBA, and executive MBA students at the Haskayne School of Business since 1987; she has also given seminars on these subjects to various business audiences, including the Directors’ Program at Haskayne. Her work has been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Long Range Planning, Organization Studies, R&D Management, and the Scandinavian Journal of Management, among others.
Susan O’Malley (a.k.a. Bernadette Dunne) is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.