Based on the Writings of Thomas Jefferson Objectivism and Thomas Jefferson 5.
Capitalism replaces government of the people as the security for their rights.
The Virtue of Selfishness Equal rights become the adjunct, not of republican government, but of the economic system. Those who advocate laissez-faire capitalism are the only advocates of man's rights. The Virtue of Selfishness This, however, is putting the cart before the horse in a free society, because capitalism flourishes best under the protections and guarantees of a republic founded on self-government. And it is a people themselves who are the safest depository of rights. Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816.