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Determinism is the theory that everything that happens in the universe — including every thought, feeling, and action of man — is necessitated by previous factors, so that nothing could ever have happened differently from the way it did, and everything in the future is already pre-set and inevitable. Every aspect of man’s life and character, on this view, is merely a product of factors that are ultimately outside his control. Objectivism rejects this theory.

Dictatorship and determinism are reciprocally reinforcing corollaries: if one seeks to enslave men, one has to destroy their reliance on the validity of their own judgments and choices — if one believes that reason and volition are impotent, one has to accept the rule of force.

“Representation Without Authorization”
The Ayn Rand Letter, I, 21, 1
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