It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.

In 1941 Paramount Pictures produced a movie version of the play. The novel centers on an uncompromising young architect named Howard Roark and his struggle against what Rand described as "second-handers"—those who attempt to live through others placing others above self. Afterward Ayn Rand turned to nonfiction to promote her philosophy publishing her own magazines and releasing several collections of essays until her death in 1982.

Ayn Rand (pron. In politics Ayn Rand condemned the initiation of force as immoral and opposed collectivism and statism as well as anarchism instead supporting a minarchist limited government and laissez-faire capitalism which Ayn Rand believed was the only social system that protected individual rights.