This is Ayn Rand's challenge to the prevalent philosophical doctrines of our time, and the "atmosphere of guilt, of panic, of despair, of boredom, and of all-pervasive evasion" that they create.

One of the most controversial figures on the intellectual scene, Ayn Rand was a proponent of a moral philosophy called Objectivism-and ethic of rational self-interest-that stands in sharp opposition to the ethics of altruism and self-sacrifice. The fundamentals of this morality-"a philosophy for living on earth-are here vibrantly set forth by the spokeswoman for a new kind of intellectual.