QuoteProject
The right to agree with others is not a problem in any society; it is the right to disagree that is crucial. It is the institution of private property that protects and implements the right to disagree - and thus keeps the road open to man's most valuable attribute: the creative mind.
Ayn Rand
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The ability to disagree is essential for creativity, and private property safeguards this right.

This quote emphasizes the importance of disagreement in fostering creativity and innovation within society. Ayn Rand argues that while agreeing with others is common and unobjectionable, the ability to express dissent is fundamental to human progress. Moreover, she suggests that private property is a vital institution that protects this right, allowing individuals to freely express their ideas and contribute to creative thought.

Themes

DisagreementCreativityPrivate PropertyFreedomInnovation

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about creativity, one might use this quote to highlight the significance of differing opinions.

More from Ayn Rand

To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
Ayn RandRead
The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
Ayn RandRead
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.
Ayn RandRead
What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion.
Ayn RandRead
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.
Ayn RandRead
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
Ayn RandRead

Similar quotes

Form as a goal always ends in formalism. For this striving is directed not towards an inside, but towards an outside. But only a living inside has a living outside.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
There is nothing absolute and final. If everything were ironclad, all the rules absolute and everything structured so no paradox or irony existed, you couldn't move. One could say that man sneaks through the crack where paradox exists.
Itzhak BentovRead
It is necessary for all of us to awaken in ourselves this spirit of cooperation, for then it will not be a mere plan or agreement which causes us to work together, but an extraordinary feeling of togetherness, the sense of joy in being and doing together without any thought of reward or punishment.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiRead
Anarchism aims to strip labor of its deadening, dulling aspect, of its gloom and compulsion. It aims to make work an instrument of joy, of strength, of color, of real harmony, so that the poorest sort of a man should find in work both recreation and hope.
Emma GoldmanRead
Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality.
Nelson MandelaRead
Rest enough for the individual man, too much and too soon, and we call it death. But for man, no rest and no ending. He must go on, conquest beyond conquest. First this little planet and all its winds and ways, and then all the laws of mind and matter that restrain him. Then the planets about him, and, at last, out across immensities to the stars. And when he has conquered all the deep space, and all the mysteries of time, still he will be beginning.
H. G. WellsRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.