Chapter 10, "Collectivized Ethics," Ayn Rand (1963) Summary and Analysis

This chapter's focus is on the negative aspects of a "collectivized ethics". The notion of collectivism presupposes that one is required to live for the benefit of a collective whole, such as a society. Under this system, certain policies are decreed as beneficial for the majority and are to be carried out at the expense of other individuals. It is by this principle that public projects are instituted within a society, such as public health-care systems, welfare programs, and public parks. The ends of these projects are the benefits they provide to the majority; the means by which these projects are carried out are those produced by individuals through money, labor, and other means. Rand opposes the idea of collectivized ethics because it devalues individuals in a given society. She believes...