November 2001 -- The Assault on Civilization , posted October 12, 2001. Published in the November 2001 Navigator . The position of The
January 2002 -- In recent decades, friends of liberty have celebrated the new economy not only for the tangible benefits it brings but also for its promise of liberation. Technology has dramatically increased the mobility of people, capital, and information, and thus provided them with escape routes from the heavy hand of government. In a global capital market, for example, where a mouse-click can send money across borders in a microsecond, central bankers in Washington, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere can no longer impose onerous controls with impunity. E-commerce with strong encryption, some have argued, will prove impossible for governments to tax, and the Internet will undermine governments' power to censor information. Some theorists have confidently predicted that the nation-state will become obsolete. How can you rule people and things that won't stay put?
December 2001 -- Ayn Rand 's Atlas Shrugged portrays a corrupt American government populated by "looters" with suggestive names like "Cuffy Meigs" and "Wesley Mouch." The "looters" are blindly rapacious power-seekers who see the entire world as a candy shop. The challenge of life, for them, is to seize as much of the goodies as they can as fast as they can: devil take the hindmost and never a thought for tomorrow. The looters do not consider how goodies come into existence (or, if they do consider it, their answer is "somehow"). They give no thought for the human mind nor the rights of the individual. In the novel, the looters stumble blindly from crisis to crisis, digging the country ever deeper into a morass of economic and social breakdown.
January 2002 -- The fastest way to undermine a precious value is to dilute it with lesser materials. Gold coins are cheapened by the addition of brass. High art is corrupted by pop infusions. And the strenuous ideal of public service is adulterated by the inclusion of mere volunteerism. That is not to say brass, popular art, and volunteer work are bad things. On the contrary, considered in themselves, they are good things. But just as the best may sometimes be the enemy of the good, so the good may be the enemy of the best. And that is just what is happening today in America's public discussions about public service.
January 2002 -- Reprinted by permission of the publisher. From The Role of Religion in History, by George Walsh (New Brunswick, New Jersey:
January 2002 -- When Victor Hugo was writing his last novel, Ninety-Three, during the years 1872 and 1873, the Naturalist school of fiction
January 2002 -- The assault on civilization did not begin with the terrorist attacks of September 11. As Objectivists know, such an assault
December 2001 -- Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization . By Bruce Thornton. (San Francisco, California: Encounter Books..
Professor Bainbridge explains the current law on insider trading here , and argues that the staffers could be found in violation of insider
was an evening to remember. On December 7, 2010, at the historic Hudson Theatre in New York City, The Atlas Society sponsored a celebration
About this audio program: In this talk, from The Atlas Society’s 1998 Summer Seminar, Dr. Nathaniel Branden presents an uplifting interpretation of what it means to love one’s life. And in the process he explores the preconditions, the obstacles, and the psychological issues involved in achieving this way of thinking.
Political reformers have long dreamed of driving money from the temple of democracy. They argue that campaign contributions from wealthy individuals and interest groups buy influence--government subsidies, relief from burdensome regulations, and special-interest amendments to legislation--in violation of the principle of "one-man, one-vote." Money also pays for abrasive "issue ads" during election season, poisoning the town-meeting atmosphere of rational discussion that democratic idealists dream of.
The oral arguments in the prosecutorial misconduct case Connick v. Thompson , which I referred to here , apparently went well. Louisiana
The September 11 terrorist attacks awakened a remarkable amount of anti-immigration furor in America, which has persisted for many years....
Question: What is in this Objectivism for me? Answer: Objectivism has offered different things to different people, usually based on what they were looking for at the time. It has provided spiritual inspiration, philosophic wisdom, intellectual stimulation, political advice, and more. Frequently it even has provided a blend of these values. However, there are two values that Objectivism offers that are of particular significance, not only because they are infrequently found elsewhere, but also because they involve fundamental issues that shape people's entire lives.
Question: Objectivism defends capitalism, and capitalism is associated with wealth and affluence. However, I read instances, mostly published in the religious press, that go something like this: "Mr. X had enormous wealth. He had two vacation homes, a yacht, a gorgeous wife, and two kids attending the finest colleges in the nation. However, he looked back on his life and sadly lamented, ‘Is that all there is?’ He discovered that material possessions do not relieve the emptiness in life. Religion gives a supernatural answer to Mr. X's dilemma." How does Objectivism deal with the "Is that all there is?" question? Answer: In the Objectivist view, pure, laissez-faire capitalism is the "unknown ideal" because it is a social system in which everyone is free to live the life he chooses, respecting the freedom of others. And in the Objectivist view, making money is presumably good, because if it follows from a career of productive achievement, it represents the finest in man and that which is his best mode of living: creation, production, achievement, trade.
Question: What is Objectivism's take on the value of people who are not as brilliant or talented as the main characters in Rand's novels? I am disheartened by the thought that these people are considered "useless" (as not everyone can be a Howard Roark, Dagny Taggart, or John Galt when it comes to brain power). Yet that is the impression I get from her books. Answer: Objectivism holds that each person has moral worth and that each person can be proud and happy. It is not an elitist philosophy in that sense, and certainly does not consider less able people "useless."
Question: Ayn Rand said that a "value" is "that which we act to gain and/or keep." Does this mean that something is a value only if one attempts to own or possess it? For example, suppose that there is a painting in a museum that I like very much. Seeing this painting gives me inspiration and "emotional fuel." However, I make no attempt to purchase and own the painting. Since I am not attempting to own the painting, is it therefore not a value to me according to Objectivist philosophy? Answer: First, be clear that Ayn Rand characterizes but does not define "value" by "that which one acts to gain and/or keep." Her point is that one of the conditions for considering something as a value to you is how you act towards it. A mere idle wish does not a value make.
Question: What do Objectivists think of the validity of Objectivism? In analyzing its own construct, is it merely being subjective? Answer: Objectivists hold that the philosophy is fundamentally inductive and empirical: It is objective, based in the facts of reality and human nature. Its essential principles have such a sound basis that we can be certain of them.
Objectivism holds that the basis of all law should be individual rights to life, liberty, and property. These rights are commonly called...
November 2001 -- The Assault on Civilization , posted October 12, 2001. Published in the November 2001 Navigator . The position of The
January 2002 -- In recent decades, friends of liberty have celebrated the new economy not only for the tangible benefits it brings but also for its promise of liberation. Technology has dramatically increased the mobility of people, capital, and information, and thus provided them with escape routes from the heavy hand of government. In a global capital market, for example, where a mouse-click can send money across borders in a microsecond, central bankers in Washington, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere can no longer impose onerous controls with impunity. E-commerce with strong encryption, some have argued, will prove impossible for governments to tax, and the Internet will undermine governments' power to censor information. Some theorists have confidently predicted that the nation-state will become obsolete. How can you rule people and things that won't stay put?
December 2001 -- Ayn Rand 's Atlas Shrugged portrays a corrupt American government populated by "looters" with suggestive names like "Cuffy Meigs" and "Wesley Mouch." The "looters" are blindly rapacious power-seekers who see the entire world as a candy shop. The challenge of life, for them, is to seize as much of the goodies as they can as fast as they can: devil take the hindmost and never a thought for tomorrow. The looters do not consider how goodies come into existence (or, if they do consider it, their answer is "somehow"). They give no thought for the human mind nor the rights of the individual. In the novel, the looters stumble blindly from crisis to crisis, digging the country ever deeper into a morass of economic and social breakdown.
January 2002 -- The fastest way to undermine a precious value is to dilute it with lesser materials. Gold coins are cheapened by the addition of brass. High art is corrupted by pop infusions. And the strenuous ideal of public service is adulterated by the inclusion of mere volunteerism. That is not to say brass, popular art, and volunteer work are bad things. On the contrary, considered in themselves, they are good things. But just as the best may sometimes be the enemy of the good, so the good may be the enemy of the best. And that is just what is happening today in America's public discussions about public service.
January 2002 -- Reprinted by permission of the publisher. From The Role of Religion in History, by George Walsh (New Brunswick, New Jersey:
January 2002 -- When Victor Hugo was writing his last novel, Ninety-Three, during the years 1872 and 1873, the Naturalist school of fiction
January 2002 -- The assault on civilization did not begin with the terrorist attacks of September 11. As Objectivists know, such an assault
December 2001 -- Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization . By Bruce Thornton. (San Francisco, California: Encounter Books..
Professor Bainbridge explains the current law on insider trading here , and argues that the staffers could be found in violation of insider
was an evening to remember. On December 7, 2010, at the historic Hudson Theatre in New York City, The Atlas Society sponsored a celebration
About this audio program: In this talk, from The Atlas Society’s 1998 Summer Seminar, Dr. Nathaniel Branden presents an uplifting interpretation of what it means to love one’s life. And in the process he explores the preconditions, the obstacles, and the psychological issues involved in achieving this way of thinking.
Political reformers have long dreamed of driving money from the temple of democracy. They argue that campaign contributions from wealthy individuals and interest groups buy influence--government subsidies, relief from burdensome regulations, and special-interest amendments to legislation--in violation of the principle of "one-man, one-vote." Money also pays for abrasive "issue ads" during election season, poisoning the town-meeting atmosphere of rational discussion that democratic idealists dream of.
The oral arguments in the prosecutorial misconduct case Connick v. Thompson , which I referred to here , apparently went well. Louisiana
The September 11 terrorist attacks awakened a remarkable amount of anti-immigration furor in America, which has persisted for many years....
Question: What is in this Objectivism for me? Answer: Objectivism has offered different things to different people, usually based on what they were looking for at the time. It has provided spiritual inspiration, philosophic wisdom, intellectual stimulation, political advice, and more. Frequently it even has provided a blend of these values. However, there are two values that Objectivism offers that are of particular significance, not only because they are infrequently found elsewhere, but also because they involve fundamental issues that shape people's entire lives.
Question: Objectivism defends capitalism, and capitalism is associated with wealth and affluence. However, I read instances, mostly published in the religious press, that go something like this: "Mr. X had enormous wealth. He had two vacation homes, a yacht, a gorgeous wife, and two kids attending the finest colleges in the nation. However, he looked back on his life and sadly lamented, ‘Is that all there is?’ He discovered that material possessions do not relieve the emptiness in life. Religion gives a supernatural answer to Mr. X's dilemma." How does Objectivism deal with the "Is that all there is?" question? Answer: In the Objectivist view, pure, laissez-faire capitalism is the "unknown ideal" because it is a social system in which everyone is free to live the life he chooses, respecting the freedom of others. And in the Objectivist view, making money is presumably good, because if it follows from a career of productive achievement, it represents the finest in man and that which is his best mode of living: creation, production, achievement, trade.
Question: What is Objectivism's take on the value of people who are not as brilliant or talented as the main characters in Rand's novels? I am disheartened by the thought that these people are considered "useless" (as not everyone can be a Howard Roark, Dagny Taggart, or John Galt when it comes to brain power). Yet that is the impression I get from her books. Answer: Objectivism holds that each person has moral worth and that each person can be proud and happy. It is not an elitist philosophy in that sense, and certainly does not consider less able people "useless."
Question: Ayn Rand said that a "value" is "that which we act to gain and/or keep." Does this mean that something is a value only if one attempts to own or possess it? For example, suppose that there is a painting in a museum that I like very much. Seeing this painting gives me inspiration and "emotional fuel." However, I make no attempt to purchase and own the painting. Since I am not attempting to own the painting, is it therefore not a value to me according to Objectivist philosophy? Answer: First, be clear that Ayn Rand characterizes but does not define "value" by "that which one acts to gain and/or keep." Her point is that one of the conditions for considering something as a value to you is how you act towards it. A mere idle wish does not a value make.
Question: What do Objectivists think of the validity of Objectivism? In analyzing its own construct, is it merely being subjective? Answer: Objectivists hold that the philosophy is fundamentally inductive and empirical: It is objective, based in the facts of reality and human nature. Its essential principles have such a sound basis that we can be certain of them.
Objectivism holds that the basis of all law should be individual rights to life, liberty, and property. These rights are commonly called...