It is therefore the nature of a living entity that determines what it ought to do. Galt identifies man's life as the proper standard of man's value and morality as the principles defining the actions necessary to maintain life as a man. If life as a man is one's purpose, he has the right to live as a rational being. To live, man must think, act, and create the values his life requires. He asserts that since men are creatures who think and act according to principle, a doctrine of rights ensures that an individual's choice to live by those principles is not violated by other human beings.
All individuals possess the same rights to freely pursue their own goals.
These rights are innate and can be logically derived from man's nature and needs-the state is not involved in the creation of rights and merely exists to protect an individual's natural rights. Since force is the means by which one's rights are violated, it follows that freedom is a fundamental social good. The Melodramatic Climax Galt follows Dagny back to the world and is captured by the looters. In an attempt to save the crumbling economy, they offer him the position of Economic Dictator, which he promptly refuses. They torture him, but the torture machine breaks down.