In Defense of Advertising: Arguments from Reason, Ethical Egoism, and Laissez-Faire Capitalism

203 Pages·2007·1.57 MB·English

by  Jerry Kirkpatrick

Comments on
In Defense of Advertising
“. . . a unique, well-crafted, and timely book defending the existence of
advertising to its many and varied critics. . . . If you buy Rand, you must
clearly buy Kirkpatrick’s dismantling of the critics. . . . well worth the
read for any academic, practitioner, or researcher interested in adver-
tising, the philosophy of science, marketing’s background in economic
exchange, or simply for its fine writing.”
—Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Spring 1995
“Congratulations on producing an interesting and passionate defense
of advertising. . . . Well done.
—Shelby D. Hunt, Jerry S. Rawls and P. W. Horn Professor of
Marketing, Texas Tech University, March 1995
“The author combines his knowledge of marketing with Randian
philosophy and Misesian economics to create a truly powerful and
compelling case for advertising. The general reader will benefit from the
author’s ability to distill the criticisms of advertising and his responses
to them to their most fundamental form while the specialist in mar-
keting, economics, and philosophy will gain a working knowledge of
the other disciplines as they relate to advertising.”
—The Freeman, June 1995
“Kirkpatrick presents a compelling defense of advertising as an
institution in this intellectually challenging book. . . . His analysis
combining reason, ethical egoism, and laissez-faire capitalism is
solid. . . . an important advancement in the theory of advertising and
its relationship to society.”
—Journal of Consumer Affairs, Summer 1995
“ . . . a highly sophisticated theoretical thesis . . . . [This defense]
stimulates the reader to reflect on many social, economic, and moral
issues.”
—Southern Business and Economic Journal, October 1995
“Every advertising professional is required, at some point, to come
out in defense of his or her activity—even within each one’s confines
of family or circle of friends—and this book In Defense of Advertising
provides us with all the thoughts we need. In fact, it is well worth read-
ing even for purposes other than mustering defensive arguments, for
this is a book which gives us a better understanding of what we do.”
—Roberto Duailibi, President, DPZ Propaganda, São Paulo,
Brazil. From the Foreword to Em Defesa da Propaganda,
Portuguese translation published in Brazil in 1997
“For those who study advertising and ponder its social and economic
effects, [this book] provides an intriguing and well-articulated challenge
to what has become the common wisdom in these matters. . . . Kirkpat-
rick charges all of us to rethink our assumptions and [he] provides the
historical and philosophical ammunition to do it.”
—The Journal of Media Economics, 11(2) 1998
in Defense of
Advertising

in Defense of
Advertising
Arguments from Reason,
Ethical Egoism, and
Laissez-Faire Capitalism
Jerry Kirkpatrick
eBook version
of the
Paperback edition, with new preface
T
LJ
TLJ Books
Claremont, California
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kirkpatrick, Jerry.
In defense of advertising : arguments from reason, ethical
egoism, and laissez-faire capitalism / Jerry Kirkpatrick.
p. cm.
Paperback edition, with new preface.
ISBN: 978-0-9787803-1-9
1. Advertising—Philosophy. 2. Advertising—Economic aspects.
I. Title
HF5821.K49 2007
659.1 20—dc22 2006906784
Copyright © 1994, 2007 by Jerry Kirkpatrick
Hardcover edition published in 1994 by Quorum Books, an imprint
of Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, CT
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced,
by any process or technique, without the express written consent
of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006906784
Paperback Edition ISBN: 978-0-9787803-0-2
eBook Edition ISBN: 978-0-9787803-1-9
TLJ Books, P. O. Box 1165, Claremont, CA 91711
http://www.tljbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright Acknowledgments
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reprint material
from the following copyrighted sources.
From “A Philosophic Defense of Advertising,” by Jerry Kirkpatrick, in Journal of
Advertising 15:2 (June 1986), 42–48, 64.
From “Platonic Competition,” by George Reisman, in The Objectivist (August-
September, 1968), Aug: 9–11, 16, Sept: 7, 8–9, 10.
From “Advertising,” by Israel Kirzner, in The Freeman (September 1972), 5–6.
From Human Action, by Ludwig von Mises, © 1949. Used with permission of
Contemporary Books, Inc.
From Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, by Ludwig von
Mises, translated by J. Kahane (London: Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1936; reprint,
Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1981).
From Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand. Copyright © 1962, 1963,
1964, 1965, 1966 by Ayn Rand. Used by permission of New American Library, a
division of Penguin Books USA Inc.
From Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, by Ayn Rand, edited by Harry
Binswanger and Leonard Peikoff. Copyright © 1966, 1967 by The Objectivist,
Inc. Used by permission of New American Library, a division of Penguin Books
USA Inc.
From The Virtue of Selfishness, by Ayn Rand. Copyright © 1961, 1964 by Ayn
Rand. Used by permission of New American Library, a division of Penguin
Books USA Inc.