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212 WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
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of some for distribution to others. In its basic outline Rand’s discussion
of rights was similar to her “Textbook of Americanism,” which she had
shared with FEE decades earlier. Now her discussion was much more
sophisticated, grounded in both a developed Objectivist philosophy and
concrete examples taken from history and politics.
Similarly “The Nature of Government” expanded on the noninitiation
principle that Rand had included in “Textbook of Americanism.”
She repeated the idea in Atlas Shrugged and For the New Intellectual,
making it a basic tenet of her ethics: “No man has the right to initiate the
use of physical force against others.” 56 Physical force was a core concern
of Rand’s political philosophy, for she held that rights could only be violated
by physical force. The role of government was to protect individual
rights by establishing a monopoly on the use of physical force. Citizens
would forgo the use of force knowing they would be protected by the
government, itself constrained by objectively defi ned laws. To protect
men from criminals and outside aggressors, the government would
exercise its monopoly through police and armed forces.
Although it sounded straightforward, Rand’s defi nition of force was
nuanced. She defi ned fraud, extortion, and breach of contract as force,
thus enabling government to establish a legal regime that would create
a framework for commerce. Critically, Rand also considered taxation
to be an “initiation of physical force” since it was obtained, ultimately,
“at the point of a gun.” This led her to a radical conclusion: that taxation
itself was immoral. 57 In a separate essay, “Government Financing in
a Free Society,” Rand considered the implications of taxation as force.
In a truly free society, one without taxes, how would the government
have any money to perform its proper functions? She suggested a few
examples, such as a fee tied to each contractual transaction, including
credit transfers, or a government lottery. Such schemes “would not
work today,” Rand emphasized, delegating the details to “the fi eld of the
philosophy of the law.” 58 Though the proper arrangements had yet to
be developed, the basic principles behind voluntary fi nancing were the
only ones compatible with true freedom, she maintained.
Like most of Rand’s books, The Virtue of Selfi shness sold briskly, going
through four editions that totaled more than four hundred thousand
copies in its fi rst four months. It also had an important impact on her
public profi le. At the suggestion of Robert Hessen, a Collective member
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