In this 1974 lecture, Ayn Rand undertakes a multilayered analysis of inflation, explaining what inflation is and how it devastates savings and production. At a deeper level, Rand exposes thinking errors that have allowed inflation to destroy economies throughout history. Finally, she places inflation in a larger cultural context, as the inevitable price paid for coercive egalitarian measures that curtail economic production.

An edited version of this talk is available in Philosophy: Who Needs It, a book of essays by Rand. This lecture is 53 minutes long, followed by a 28-minute Q&A period.