'The New Fascism - Rule by Consensus' (1965) by Ayn Rand

This is a talk about Ayn Rand’s 1965 essay, 'The New Fascism: Rule by Consensus' is a scathing critique of the political culture of mid-20th-century America, particularly as it related to the erosion of individual rights under the guise of democratic cooperation. First delivered as a lecture and later published in her collection Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, the essay attacks what Rand saw as a growing trend toward collectivism and statism, camouflaged behind seemingly benign calls for “consensus” in politics.

At the heart of Rand’s argument is the contention that modern America, despite its outward appearance of freedom and capitalism, was drifting toward a system she provocatively labels as “fascism”—not in the form of marching boots or dictatorial regimes, but as a corporate-state hybrid where the government increasingly controls the economy without formally taking ownership of it. Rand defines fascism in economic terms as the system wherein private property exists in name only, while the state directs business activity through regulation, taxation, and coercion. In her view, this represents the worst of both worlds: the inefficiency of statism combined with the illusion of free enterprise.

Rand argues that the term “consensus” has become a euphemism for moral compromise, and worse, for the sacrifice of principle. Rather than serving as a respectful meeting of minds, consensus politics, she claims, functions as a mechanism to suppress dissent and elevate the arbitrary preferences of the majority (or ruling elites) above the rights of the individual. By idolizing consensus, society fosters a climate in which objective truth and moral clarity are sacrificed in favor of non-confrontation and pragmatism. Rand warns that such a mindset paves the way for authoritarianism, not through violent revolution but through gradual institutional decay.

She criticizes liberals and conservatives alike, charging both camps with enabling this trend. Liberals, she contends, push collectivist policies openly, while conservatives fail to defend capitalism intellectually and morally, often conceding key principles in order to appear “moderate.” This leads to a steady convergence toward statism. In Rand’s eyes, every regulation or bureaucratic decree—no matter how small—represents a moral and political surrender. Even if individual freedoms still appear intact on the surface, the government’s increasing control over production, trade, and personal choice amounts to what she terms, "the new fascism.”

Throughout the essay, Rand underscores the philosophical battle beneath the political one. The deeper crisis, she argues, lies in epistemology and ethics—in the abandonment of reason and objective reality as the basis for moral judgment. Consensus, in this light, becomes a code word for subjectivism: the belief that truth is not discovered but negotiated. This, she believes, is fundamentally incompatible with a free society, which can only survive on the recognition of individual rights and objective law.

Rand concludes her essay with a call to reject the false ideal of consensus and to defend individualism with unapologetic conviction. In typical Randian fashion, she argues that only a philosophy based on reason, egoism, and laissez-faire capitalism can safeguard freedom. The remedy to the creeping fascism she sees is not moderation or compromise but moral certainty and philosophical clarity.

Conclusion: 'The New Fascism: Rule by Consensus' is one of Ayn Rand’s most impassioned political essays, notable for its provocative framing and unyielding defense of individual liberty. While its tone is combative and its terminology controversial—particularly the use of “fascism” to describe American politics—it reflects Rand’s consistent concern with the subtle erosion of freedom under the banner of cooperation and compromise. More than a polemic against statism, the essay is a philosophical indictment of collectivist morality and a call to recognize that liberty dies not only with a bang, but with a handshake.