The death of Marilyn Monroe, space exploration, the Vietnam War, the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, the position of women in politics, and harsh criticism of the Catholic Church for its attempts to regulate the intimate side of society. Ayn Rand comprehends these and other significant events and processes of the second half of the 20th century through the prism of an objectivist worldview, while remaining a fierce defender of individual freedoms and private capital. The book contains lectures and articles from 1961 to 1981—the “golden fund” of the writer’s intellectual legacy. They are supplemented by five essays by philosopher Leonard Peikoff, who remained a close friend and ally of Rand until the last days of her life.