Today I read an article that Ayn Rand's books (Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead in particular) are showing a resurgence of interest-- I wasn't surprised given today's political and economic climate. 

Ayn Rand was an author, philosopher, and screenwriter.  Her philosophy was Objectivism-- she favored individualism, laissez-faire capitalism, and constitutional protection of the right to life, liberty, and property. She opposed all forms of collectivism and statism, including fascism, communism, and the welfare state.  Here are some of her thoughts on government:

• We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force
• The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals.  Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.  One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws
• Government "help" to business is just as disastrous as government persecution... the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off
• A government is the most dangerous threat to man's rights: it holds a legal monopoly on the use of physical force against legally disarmed victims

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