"My name is Ayn Rand. I was born in Russia on the fifth of February, 1905." In this delightful short video, you'll get an introduction to...
Social Security is a socialist program. But being forced to use a socialist program doesn’t make one a socialist. A socialist, after all...
That’s the one thing the New York literary world can agree on, it seems.In the New York Times Book Review on Sunday, November 2, two...
Atlas Summit 2014 -- The Objectivist ethics is based in a recognition that, for each organism, its life is its ultimate value. This is the
Atlas Summit 2012 -- The heroes of Atlas Shrugged are rational, productive businesspeople. In Ayn Rand's thought, a career represents the
Ayn Rand supported a laissez-faire capitalist economic system and defended the morality of making a profit through private business.
On August 2nd, 2009, The New York Times profiled BB&T’s John Allison , who put Ayn Rand’s principles to work at that bank when he was CEO...
Many people still think Ayn Rand advocated a take-what-you-want-and-damn-everyone-else kind of selfishness.
Ayn Rand rejected the dichotomy between mind and body and correlate dichotomies such as theory vs. practice, the moral vs. the practical, reason vs. emotion, and love versus lust.
This audio program addresses Rand's conception of happiness as an end in itself, including differences in her formulations of that end...
Objectivism holds that there is one reality, the one in which we live. It is self-evident that reality exists and is what it is; our job is
Objectivists absolutely hold that we have a right to freedom of speech. It is an aspect of our broader right to liberty: the right to take..
Every initial property rights claim involves seizure of property, in a sense. As no property rights exist before property rights are founded
If only Progressivism could be a genus of Objectivism! But, alas, no.The Progressive movement was originally an intellectual and political
There is not to my knowledge a well-established position on pornography in Objectivism . However, here is my attempt to give an Objectivist
The Objectivist answer to poverty and other social problems is: 1) create a society in which people have clear reasons to be responsible...
Pre-emptive use of force may be proper when one is faced with a clear and present danger. This might be a credible threat from someone, or
Subjective criteria like "I like it" of course can't be proven as you say. And that is, in fact, why they are wrong. I can't add any more..
Objectivists hold that parents are obliged to care for and raise their children. While Objectivism does not accept any unchosen obligations
Please see our Q&A " What is the Objectivist View of Law and Government ?" which describes the general Objectivist approach to politics. Thi
"The needy" come in two classes: those who are unable to care for themselves, and those who are able. Objectivism holds that it is not...
Objectivism does not have a fixed position on consensual polygamy. Note that I mean this answer to apply to polyandry (a committed relations
First, let me remark that you are right that Objectivism doesn't share Singer's idea of interest. We can see this by looking at the real...
Objectivism does not recognize "parapsychological phenomena." As far as I know, there is no reliable evidence for any of them. Some forms...
Ayn Rand is not a revered figure in academic philosophy at this time. But there is a growing body of scholarship on her ideas by academic
What Objectivism opposes is the idea that nature has inherent value, apart from any human needs, values, or purposes. In general, Objectivis
Rights are fundamental political principles. As such, they are based in morality. They summarize how human beings ought to be treated in a
"Individualism" is a term for classifying theories, such as ethical or social theories. Any theory that places the individual foremost or
March 2002 -- The sudden bankruptcy of Enron Corporation is a scandal that has rocked support for the free market. Living in a division-of..
BOOK REVIEW: Edward W. Younkins, Editor, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged: A Philosophical and Literary Companion (Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot
In reacting to the Enron scandal, many cultural commentators have been quick to recur to a favorite theme: the corrupting power of commerce
Consider two horrific acts. Number one: a depressed father enters his living room, shoots his wife and children, and then himself. Number
The Objectivist ethics holds the human good does not require human sacrifices and cannot be achieved by the sacrifices of anyone to anyone.
Transhumanism (e.g. H+ ) or Extropianism is an ideological coalition centered on the idea that, in the near future, substantial....
Libertarianism is the political position that all human relationships should be voluntary, i.e. not subject to the initiation of force by...
Objectivism reads "I am my brother's keeper" as a short-hand for an ideal of self-sacrifice and service to the group. In other words, it...
If socialism were a respectable affiliation, Progressives would probably call themselves “democratic socialists.”But socialism died as a....
When economic crises hit, politicians of both parties are demanding more regulation of the economy. Failures in banking and finance...
A person of "principle" is commonly thought to be one who cleaves to his moral ideals and shuns "expediency" and compromise. Objectivism....
My morality, the morality of reason, is contained in a single axiom: existence exists—and in a single choice: to live. The rest proceeds ...
Reason is the faculty which… identifies and integrates the material provided by man's senses. Reason integrates man's perceptions by means
Nationalism is the doctrine that a unitary cultural and political entity, the nation, should be the organizing principle of society....
The Atlas Society (formerly known as The Objectivist Center) works with students to spread the revolutionary ideas of......
Arizona has enacted a law that makes illegal immigration to the U.S. a state crime. As the top state for border-crossings from Mexico...
In life, we take risks to achieve and maintain values. Objectivism holds that you should choose a course in life that will be conducive to
Objectivism has no position on most of the questions you ask, and in many cases the same general answer applies: We'll see when we get there
Objectivism holds that the sole purpose of government is to secure our right to live free from force. This implies property rights and
Marxism and Objectivism are similar in very few respects: —They are systems of thought. But Marxism is primarily a political and economic
Ayn Rand and Mises knew each other, and they were on good personal terms, though never close friends. There is reason to think Rand read....
Objectivism's social ethic (which underlies its theory of rights) is based on the recognition of a complex fact about rational beings: that
April 5, 2003 -- I am trained as an economist, and so it especially irks me when ignorant journalists attempt to comment on the economy...
Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist's metaphysical value judgments. Man's profound need of art lies in the fact
October 21, 2003 -- Osama bin Laden's latest screed threatens further attacks "inside and outside the United States" and goes on to name
July 25, 2001 -- This week, people will travel inexpensively from all over the globe to Genoa, Italy—to protest the policies that made their
I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason. If one recognize
Republican Scott Brown has been elected to fill the U.S. Senate seat for Massachusetts that arch-Liberal Ted Kennedy had filled...
When Objectivists speak of capitalism, we mean laissez-faire capitalism, a political system based on the individual rights to life...
The Declaration of Independence states that the purpose of government is to secure the rights of man. Most Americans know and assent to the
Ayn Rand called Atlas Shrugged a “stunt novel.” She meant that it is a rollicking entertainment: a mystery novel with dramatic twists and
The terrorist attacks of September 11 showed us good and evil, heroism and villainy. There were people who stared death in the face and, set
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