When asked to present the essence of her philosophy while standing on one foot, Ayn Rand did so as follows:

                      1. Metaphysics: Objective Reality
                      2. Epistemology: Reason
                      3. Ethics: Self-interest
                      4. Politics: Capitalism

She went on to say that in simple language, it would read:

                      1. "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed."
                      or "Wishing won't make it so."
                      2. "You can't eat your cake and have it, too."
                      3. "Man is an end in himself."
                      4. "Give me liberty, or give me death."