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Problems with Subjective Arguments for Statism
Question: I'm a Libertarian who gets into arguments with a lot of people who are pro-big government, regulation, welfare, etc. I always reject their arguments because they are purely based on subjective criteria. I know that subjective criteria are not legitimate justifications for coercive government policies, but I have a hard time articulating why. One thing I can think of is that anything subjective can't be proven. What are some others?
Pornography
Question: What is Objectivism's position on the morality (NOT legality) of pornography?
Polygamy
Question: What is Objectivism’s position on consensual polygamy? Is it moral?
Philosophy—Does Everybody Have One?
Question: Can we say that every one has his own philosophy by nature?
Parental Obligations
Question: In general, nobody has an obligation to provide positive help to anyone else, no matter how great their need. There would seem to be one exception, in that parents have an obligation to provide for the needs of their children. Do they indeed have such an obligation? If so, why? And when does it expire?
Objectivism—Why Doesn't Everyone Agree with It?
Question: Having studied Objectivism for several years, I see tremendous potential in the ideas contained within the philosophy. It seems to be a system of ideas far more correct and plausible than today's major philosophies/religions/ideologies. Furthermore, it's an optimistic philosophy with a genuinely positive view of life, man, and the world.Is it a problem with the philosophy itself? Is the problem how it is presented and "marketed"?
Nature and Wilderness—To Heck with Them?
Question: Why are Ayn Rand followers so against nature and wilderness? They seem to feel everything on earth is for our pleasure and to heck with the natural world and its wildlife. This keeps me from really getting into the whole idea.
Objectivist View of Multiculturalism
Question: What is the Objectivist view of multiculturalism?
Enron's Lessons for Capitalism
March 2002 -- The sudden bankruptcy of Enron Corporation is a scandal that has rocked support for the free market. Living in a division-of-labor society as we do, we depend on distant strangers to provide reliable information, objective standards of assessment, and a legal and contractual structure that does more or less what we expect. The collapse of Enron betrayed all these expectations. Whether or not Enron executives literally engaged in fraud, it is plain that they exploited loose accounting standards to weave a tangled web of deceptive information.
Sidebar: A Harmony of Interests
Spring 2009 -- Individual, objective liberty rights make possible a society based on the principle of trade. One basic kind of interaction would be banned: initiating force against others. Force could only be permitted to be used defensively against others who had already initiated it. In other words, all your interactions with others would respect their freedom to choose. Interactions would also aim to be of benefit all the parties involved.
