Ayn Rand, in "Racism" in The Obectivist (1962), also in The Ayn Rand Lexicon : Objectivism from A to Z (1988)

Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism. It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man's genetic lineage — the notion that a man's intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry. Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors.

— Ayn Rand on Collectivism

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism. It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man's genetic lineage — the notion that a man's intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry. Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors." in the context of "Ayn Rand, in "Racism" in The Obectivist (1962), also in The Ayn Rand Lexicon : Objectivism from A to Z (1988)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Collectivism" (Quotes: Alphabetized by author ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Ayn Rand

About Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand (2 February 1905 – 6 March 1982) was a Russian-born American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her bestselling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system called Objectivism.