Carswell 1

Thomas Carswell
Mr. Shappard
AP English
29 March 2013
A Secular Analysis of Alyn Rands Money Theory
Alyn Rands Atlas Shrugged came to fame by introducing a new philosophical concept to
eager scholars. Rand lived from 1905 to 1982 through multiple economic fluctuations (Rand,
Biography). Atlas Shrugged closely embodies the progressive era, and it warns against
progressive economic measures for the general health of the public. One part of her theory,
Objectivism, is profoundly interesting. It states, Reality exists as an objective absolutefacts
are facts, independent of mans feelings, wishes, hopes or fears (Rand, Objectivism) Rand
believes reality exists as an absolute certainty regardless of mans perception; therefore,
contradictions do not exist by nature. She sometimes expresses her thoughts through the
character Francisco d Aconia who happens to represent her philosophy and loves parties. At one
party, Francisco attacks the statement Money is the root of all evil by redefining his premises
in order to eliminate any contradictions. Rand handles most of her arguments well with the
exception of a few fallacies, but in the end she gets her main point across quite well.
The first premise Rand redefines is the definition of money. She does an extremely good
job explaining how money is merely an item of trade. She says, Money is the material shape of
the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for
value (Rand, Atlas Shrugged 410). Money could not exist without the cooperation of two men,
because it is men who give the value to any type of currency. Two partners must agree on the
estimated unit value of the money, and on a moral level they must agree on the value of the effort

Carswell 2
used to attain money. Rand uses a fair argument which stresses how money is merely a tool at the
disposal of its owner. Trade would also shrink back to primitive means in the absence of money.
Money achieves some good by being a civilized way to exchange a good or service for
something of similar value in return. Unfortunately, humans have unlimited wants when
resources are scarce.
The strongest argument Rand supports is a hypothesis in which money is an effect, not a
cause. Humans participating in their societies must realize that money will not grant man
anything he does not already have. She says in a powerful string of sentences, Money will not
purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants; money will not give him a
code of values, if hes evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a
purpose, if hes evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool,
or admiration for the coward, or reward for the incompetent. (Rand, Atlas Shrugged 411). If
man wants to improve himself or his society, then he must start within himself by changing his
moral code. Money does not have an inherent value because it is merely something for exchange
that represents the principle of fairness. If the holder of money has a skewed moral code, then his
money may produce more evil than good. After sufficiently proving money alone does not
inherently cause evil, Atlas Shrugged acknowledges a fluctuating money supply can cause man
to become greedy and selfish for material objects. Rand makes it her goal to then abolish the
argument, Love of money is the root of evil.
She describes the producers of the world as virtuous and writes in a way suggesting a
virtuous man adheres to morals. Rand states, Money is the product of virtue, but it will not give
you virtue and it will not redeem your vices (Rand, Atlas Shrugged 412). Rand never mentions
a higher power providing an absolute moral authority. Defining the absolutes of good and evil is

Carswell 3
difficult without a standard of comparison, but Rand believes money is a tangible result of
virtuous behavior; therefore, wealth is the sign of a virtuous person. Rand emphasizes wealth is
produced by business men, and then it is used as a tool for satisfaction. Her argument protects the
businessmen with the most wealth from the accusations of greed, but also from complaints of the
selfish indifference often involved in business.
Rand creates two faulty premises concerning the love of money and its connection to
evil. She states To love a thing is to know and love its nature. (Rand, Atlas Shrugged 412)
without adding any additional information. Love is more diverse than just two concepts. First,
love can include knowing when to surrender and when to sacrifice, but it also can induce a nearly
insatiable thirst for its target. The greed of money is very often the root of evil, but Rand doesnt
seem to be aware what causes the greed. The thirst for money can be a crucial component in
loving money, yet the so- called moochers in Atlas Shrugged seem to be disqualified for their
love of money on the following premise: Moochers dont earn their money; therefore, they do
not know the nature of how money is earned; therefore, moochers dont love money. However,
moochers can still love money. For instance: If a moocher loves money and craves it, then the
moocher may like to get the money as fast as possible. Man can be aware of the moral virtue of
earning money, but he may ignore his moral values and abandon his pride to attain wealth in a
quicker, more evil way. He can quickly become a leach on the skin of the publics back, sucking
the crucial life blood of money out of its economy. Unfortunately, Ayn Rands theory about the
love of money being the roots of all good will crumble as the second faulty premise concerning
the moochers inability to love money is discovered.
Rand deserves an honorable mention with a moving statement such as: Until and unless
you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money

Carswell 4
ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the fools of men.
Blood, whips, and guns or dollars. Take your choice- there is no other- and your time is
running out. (Rand, Atlas Shrugged 415). She makes an excellent point by offering society an
ultimatum. While man may believe money is the root of all evil, it is important to consider what
money actually does. Similar statements appear and make the producers persona sound
benevolent, but an inherent moral problem still exists. Rand misses the simple point of a roots
purpose. A root provides sustenance anything it is connected to. A root is not the direct means of
making an apple fall from an apple tree, but it allows for the apple tree to exist, to grow, and to
flourish. Evil is dangerous because it feeds off of the same money a civilized society is
dependent upon. While Ayn Rand elegantly defends the businessman, she never fully assesses
the metaphorical meaning of the word root in her moral arguments. However, Rand very
clearly explains the necessity of having a modern method of exchange in a modern economy.
The sum result of all her arguments is not only proof to the reader that business is crucial to the
survival of a society, but also provides supports a successful defense for the businessman and his
tactics.

Carswell 5

Works Cited
Anderson, William L. "The Progressive Era." By William L. Anderson. Copyright 2006 Future
of Freedom Foundation, 14 June 2006. Web. 28 March 2013.
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. Plume Publishing: New York, 1985. Print.
Rand, Ayn. "Introducing Objectivism." INTRODUCING OBJECTIVISM (1962): The Ayn Rand
Institute. Times-Mirror Co. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.
Rand, Ayn. "- The Ayn Rand Institute." A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF AYN RAND . The Ayn Rand
Institute. Ayn Rand Institute. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.