20 MARCH 1971, Page 26

Sir: We were interested to read Enoch Powell's discussion of

'The Morality of Profit' (6 March). Ex- ponents of capitalism usually defend the market on utilitarian grounds but seldom upon ethical bases. Readers might like to know of the work of AO Rand, the American philosopher-novelist who has extensively analysed the topic of morality and capitalism, both in her best-selling novels, The Foun- tainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and in her non-fiction works, For the New Intellectual, The Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. More specifically, unlike so many 'champions' of free enterprise, Miss Rand does not defend capitalism against the charge of selfishness but argues for precisely an ethic of rational egoism as the only basis for a free, capitalist and humane society.