Subject: Ayn Rand / "Atlas Shrugged" / Page 413 / Profound ... Still

"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion

" -- when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing

" -- when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors

" -- when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you

" -- when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice

" -- you may know that your society is doomed."

Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged, page 413
(Hat tip: Stella Guenther/via email)