Video: 9/11–A Decade Later–Lessons for the Future
In this panel discussion, titled "Upheavals in the Middle East: Assessing the Political Landscape," Yaron Brook, President and Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, Walid Phares, Author and Advisor to the Anti-Terrorism Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, Efraim Karsh, Director at Middle East Forum, and Daniel Pipes, President of Middle East Forum, discuss the political situation of the Middle East in light of the lessons learned since 9/11.Definitely worth a listen.Part 1 Part 2 Part 3Cross: Occupy Wall Street Protestors Want to Take The Capitalism Out of ‘Crony Capitalism’
Comments Don Watkins at Voices of Reason:[...] the real motive of the protesters is not to end ‘crony capitalism’–it’s to attack real capitalism and end whatever is left of it in America.
For years, Washington has favored certain bankers by intervening in the market. But that has nothing to do with genuine capitalism. Capitalism means that the government does one thing–protects us from force and fraud–leaving us free to conduct our economic affairs as we see fit. [...]
What the protesters object to is not government stacking the deck to determine winners and losers. They just want the government to pick different winners and losers. They want to take the ‘capitalism’ out of ‘crony capitalism’–not the other way around.
Bringing The Arts To Life
From Lisa VanDamme:Two of the greatest pleasures, greatest revelations, of my teaching career have had to do with the arts.The first - that reading classic literature need not be an academic, didactic, spiritless chore. Given my own education in literature (and most of yours, I wager) how could I have believed otherwise? If literary analysis is no more than a discussion of the profound symbolic value of the green light at the end of the dock, or the finger-counting composition of a sonnet or haiku, or the unearthing of incipient feminist themes in Shakespeare (yes, really) - what's the point?I learned the point. The point of literature is to captivate you with enthralling, carefully crafted, tension-building conflicts, distinctly drawn and timelessly memorable characters, unique and penetrating insights about life and man - so that when you open the cover you enter a universe that is brightly-lit, and when you close it you find your own life illuminated.The students at VanDamme Academy have learned the point. Had you seen them the day I walked in to class to read the conclusion of Victor Hugo's Ninety-Three and found them sitting at attention, watching eagerly over their shoulders, having placed a box of tissues next to my desk (and many of their own) you would know just how well.Now you can too. How? http://www.bringingtheartstolife.com/The second - that visiting a museum can be more that just a stroll through a gallery, looking cursorily at work after work, forming some superficial, unexamined response ("that's pretty"), and after hours of surveying the collection, coming away drained. Yet that is how most people recall the experience.I learned from Luc Travers, VDA Literature Teacher and author of Touching the Art (www.luctravers.com), how to be immersed in, enraptured by, and moved to tears admiring a work of visual art. He has taught me, and years of lucky VDA students, what it truly means to appreciate art: how to stand before it giving it due attention, noticing every little detail, integrating all the elements, arriving at an understanding of the "moment" depicted in the work, and connecting that moment to my own life.There was a time that that Millais' Hugeunot Lovers on St. Bartholomew's Day (http://tinyurl.com/millais) adorned the school's walls as decoration, and I admired the lovely couple, their rich attire, and the creeping green vine. Thanks to Mr. Travers's method, now when I pass by it I am moved by a portrait of momentous decision, the aching fear of losing a loved one, and the calm reassurance of a man of profound integrity. What a change.Now you can undergo the same transformation. How?www.bringingtheartstolife.comFor years, Luc Travers and I have worked hard to turn our students into passionate art devourers. Now we want to count you among our converts.The conference will include:
- A 2 ½ hour poetry course with Miss VanDamme
- A 2 ½ hour art course with Mr. Travers
- A guided tour at the beautiful Getty Center
- A banquet at the Getty restaurant, with breathtaking views of the LA basin
- A rare opportunity to observe a VanDamme Academy art and literature class
- And more!
Steve Jobs and The Death of Capitalism
Scott Holleran has some poignant commentary on those who hate Steve Jobs:The response to the death of Steve Jobs is overwhelming; as I indicated in yesterday’s post, there’s an outpouring of admiration, affection, and love for the all-American capitalist. But there’s also what Ayn Rand called the hatred of the good for being good and the contrast echoes today’s stark cultural schism. As if we needed more evidence that America is dying and desperately in need of resuscitation, the Christians known for anti-gay protests of American soldiers’ funerals announced on Twitter that its members plan to picket Steve Jobs’s funeral...
Read the rest at Scott Holleran's Blog.
Objective Economics Book Excerpt
Here is a link to an excerpt from Dr. Northrup Buechner's c0ntroversial book Objective Economics: The Implications of Ayn Rand's Philosophy on the Science of Economics which is now on sale at Amazon.Video: Andrew Bernstein on The Objectivist Lolapalooza
Dr. Bernstein talks about the an Objectivist Lalapalozza in New York City.Capitalist Solutions
Damn.We’ve just been reading Dr. Andrew Bernstein’s latest book and it is a barn-stormer. Entirely relevant to today’s political and economic problems this short volume is the perfect antidote to the problems the Occupy Wall Street children's choir are crying about.Go grab yourself a copy (and a few for your liberal– and conservative — friends) as it is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.Here is the table of contents:Introduction: Resolving the Country’s ProblemsPart 1: The Relevant Principles of ObjectivismPart 2: Rational Solutions to Current Moral/Political Problems
1 Repudiating Environmentalism in Theory and Practice
2 Defeating Islamic Totalitarianism
3 A Free Market Solution to Problems of Health Care
4 The Right to Abortion as an Application of Individual Rights
5 The Superiority of Free Market Education to Government Schooling
6 Individual Rights Applied to Representative IssuesEpilogue: Re-Stating the Theme
NYOS Offering Students 50% Discount on NYC Conference
The NYOS conference November 4-6, is offering a group discount: four people may register for the price of three. NYOS is also offering a 50% discount to students, at the low price of $300 for the entire conference.This is going to be a great event celebrating the ideas of Ayn Rand through the presentation of some of the most prominent intellectuals in the Objectivist movement. Read more at: www.NewYorkObjectivistSociety.orgIn Praise of the Businessman
Writes Yaron Brook on What We Owe Steve Jobs:If dedicating your life to creating the values that advance it is a moral achievement, then there is nothing greater or nobler than the creative geniuses whose productive ability has created our modern world: a world where we live more than three times as long as our ancestors; where our homes are heated in the winter, cooled in the summer, and lit at night; where we can travel across a continent in a matter of hours; where we can say goodnight to our children from the other side of the globe.
But far from holding up the great producers as moral exemplars, we lump them in with the Al Capones and the Bernie Madoffs as people who must be stopped or at least shackled until they learn to selflessly serve others. Even Jobs was criticized because he devoted his life to Apple rather than philanthropy.
Insight Into America’s Largest Ponzi Scheme
Writes Richard M. Salsman on Social Security is Much Worse Than a Ponzi Scheme – and Here’s How to End It:
In recent debates GOP presidential rivals have been sparring on Social Security, with some (Rick Perry) insisting it’s a “Ponzi scheme” that should be decentralized (run by fifty states), and others (Mitt Romney) conceding that it’s shaky and needs “reform” but isn’t fraudulent because “millions of people depend on it.” (Mitt Romney). Another (Herman Cain) says privatize it, as Chile did. They’re all wrong, because they don’t name the real problem with the system – and they forego an easy fix that might boost their election chances.That we’ve only seen GOP rivals “spar” on this key issue is an apt description, for there’s no real fight going on. It’s mere shadow-boxing. Worse, the GOP contenders are mostly on the same side of the issue (the wrong one) and aren’t sufficiently distinct from the rival party. Yet Democrats don’t even try to be candid about Social Security, or try to present a real fix; they’re content to run ads with GOP suits tossing granny off a cliff, which means they’re content to be infantile – which means they’re unfit to lead this great nation.The facts about Social Security are these. Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme, thus criminally fraudulent (as I’ll explain), but even worse, because it coerces us to be a part of it. Since the scheme began in 1935 the full force of the U.S. government has compelled a growing portion of citizens to suffer by it, such that we all do so by now. A scheme of such widespread, compulsory fraud is unprecedented in U.S. history, and one of the most shameful (and popular) of FDR’s schemes.Rationality and justice require that this atrocity be terminated – now. Yet neither virtue can be found in Perry’s proposal to pawn it off to fifty states and thus to decentralize the fraud – or in Romney’s plan to “reform” and “save” the scheme and thus to perpetuate the fraud – or in Cain’s notion that it be operated by quasi-profit-seeking (loss-imposing) “firms” like Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC, and thus to privatize the fraud. A fraud remains a fraud regardless of its size, scope, or duration, and it is simply evil to evade this plain fact and deliberately enact policies to decentralize the fraud, perpetuate it, or profit by it.Read the rest.
Capitalist Solutions
Dr. Bernstein’s latest book, Capitalist Solutions: A Philosophy of American Moral Dilemmas, is available to pre-order on Amazon.com and will deliver sometime in October of 2011. He lectures around the country—and internationally—on Rand’s novels and philosophy.Learn more about this book by visiting his website.How to Be Profitable and Moral: A Rational Egoist Approach to Business
“How to Be Profitable and Moral: A Rational Egoist Approach to Business” by Jaana Woiceshyn
The book is intended for “thinking managers:” with a lot of concrete examples, it shows how rational egoist principles apply to business. John Allison, Doug Arends, Carl Barney, and Andrew Bernstein wrote nice endorsements.From the book’s conclusion: “Being both profitable and moral is possible for business. Egoism holds—and shows—that being moral is in fact a fundamental requirement of long-term profitability. To sustain maximum long-term profitability requires that businesspeople reject both altruism and cynical exploitation of others and adopt egoism as their moral code. This means seeking objectivity—consistency with the factual requirements of human survival and flourishing through the use of reason—in all our choices and actions, as demonstrated by the philosophy and conduct of the BB&T Corporation. To achieve long-term profitability requires that we adopt and apply rational principles consistently. The virtues of rationality, productiveness, honesty, justice integrity, independence and pride, as identified by Ayn Rand, specify the actions that achieving long-term profitability entails. The main substance of this book consists of examining these virtues and showing how they apply to business, with the hope you can put them in your tool kit and use them the next time you encounter a moral dilemma in business.”For those who wish to pre-order the book Jaana Woiceshyn writes:How to pre-order: Contact the customer service department of Rowman & Littlefield (the parent company of Hamilton Books, my publisher) *before November* by calling 1-800-462-6420 or by e-mailing custserv@rowman.com and give my name and the book title. I don’t think the ISBN number is necessary, but here it is for reference: 978-0-7618-5699-3. They will ask for your credit card number.The hardcover price is US$ 40 per copy. Your credit card will not be charged until the book is shipped to you in February.Full disclosure: as a part of the contract with Hamilton Books, I am obligated to pre-order 70 hardcover copies by November. If you think the book would be valuable to you, or as a gift to someone, please consider pre-ordering from Rowman & Littlefield to help me fill the quota. But please do this only if you think the book is worth it (it will be available through Amazon, probably for less). If you do pre-order from Rowman & Littlefield, please let me know (jwoiceshyn@gmail.com) so I can keep track of the numbers.
“Are You Saying That Society Should Just Let Him Die?”
In the Republican Presidential debate on Monday, September 12, this dialogue occurred:WOLF BLITZER, DEBATE MODERATOR AND CNN LEAD POLITICAL ANCHOR: ... Ron Paul, so you're a doctor. You know something about this subject. Let me ask you this hypothetical question.A healthy 30-year-old young man has a good job, makes a good living, but decides, you know what? I'm not going to spend $200 or $300 a month for health insurance because I'm healthy, I don't need it. But something terrible happens, all of a sudden he needs it.Who's going to pay if he goes into a coma, for example? Who pays for that?REP. RON PAUL, (R-TX.), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, in a society that you accept welfarism and socialism, he expects the government to take care of him.BLITZER: Well, what do you want?PAUL: But what he should do is whatever he wants to do, and assume responsibility for himself. My advice to him would have a major medical policy, but not be forced --BLITZER: But he doesn't have that. He doesn't have it, and he needs intensive care for six months. Who pays?PAUL: That's what freedom is all about, taking your own risks. This whole idea that you have to prepare and take care of everybody --(APPLAUSE)BLITZER: But Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?You can read Ron Paul’s unprincipled answer in the transcript. Here is my answer.
No, society should let you let him die.That is, such a decision by right is for each individual in society to make. Your question reveals your socialist premise that decisions regarding whom to help live and to let die should be made collectively by society, overruling the rights of individuals. Your question also reveals how socialist schemes such as Obamacare require death panels, denials notwithstanding. Everyone dies eventually from current limits to health care. Resources are limited. If all the medical resources are controlled and dispatched by government instead of by private owners of those resources, then government decides who gets medicine and who does not. Maybe the 30-year-old who needs a half million dollars of care will get care initially, until socialized medicine collapses entirely, but there will be some cut-off of age and expense for which the government will just say no. Consequently, no matter how much wealth an individual produces and wants to spend to save his 75-year-old mother, or very sick brother or best friend or wife or even himself, the government will just say "No, society cannot afford it, the lives of younger or less sick strangers, or strangers with more political pull, are more important."As for my own individual decision on this 30-year-old in a free society, would I pay for his emergency and let him off the hook? No. But I would consider investing in a private fund that made loans to such individuals, if the return on investment were attractive. The 30-year-old would in effect have to take out a mortgage without getting a house; and he would have to pay high interest for his uncollateralized loan, or he might even have to pay a high percentage of his income—say, 30%—for the rest of his life. Such a burden would be great; indeed, it would be more than half the current tax burden under the welfare state. But the man would have his life, his investors would have their profit, and everyone would retain that precious asset possessed by Americans: freedom.For a far deeper and more original answer than mine above, see Ayn Rand’s essay, “Collectivized Ethics.”(The Objectivist Newsletter, January 1963, pp. 1, 3–4. Reprinted in The Virtue of Selfishness, New York: Signet, 1964, pp. 80–85.)This is a slight revision of a post that originally appeared on Ron Pisaturo's Blog.
The Morality of the Welfare State
Write the duo of Yaron Brook and Don Watkins in The Entitlement State Is Morally Bankrupt:Despite the fact that the big three entitlement programs–Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare–have the U.S. government facing upwards of $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities, they largely remain a third rail: touch not lest ye be voted out of office.Why are they sacrosanct? Because, whatever else you can say about the entitlement state, no one disputes that it’s a moral imperative. Inefficient? Maybe. Expensive? You bet. But morally questionable? Absolutely not.The problem with the entitlement state is not simply that it is bankrupting this country–the problem is that it is morally bankrupt.The basic principle behind the entitlement state is that a person’s need entitles him to other people’s wealth. It’s that you have a duty to spend some irreplaceable part of your life laboring, not for the sake of your own life and happiness, but for the sake of others. If you are productive and self-supporting, then according to the entitlement state, you are in hock to those who aren’t. In Marx’s memorable phrase: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”Read the rest of The Entitlement State Is Morally Bankrupt.
Post-9/11 World
Richard Salsman quotes Dr. John Lewis on Why Washington Resists Victory In A Post-9/11 World:“The central ‘evil’ we seek to avoid is to fight for our own self-interest – a motive which is not, in fact, an evil one. We’re ignorant of the morality of rational self-interest, and to maintain what we think is the moral “high ground,” we base every action on the good to be gained for someone, anyone, other than us. Until and unless we recognize that we’re truly fighting for good, and that we ourselves are good, well-worth defending for our own sakes, we’ll continue to hamstring our troops and undercut our own efforts with the apologetics of self-abnegation. Every passing day will bring our enemies closer to the moment when they’ll have the capacity to wreak even greater havoc on us. War is a terrible thing, but is it not far more terrible for an entire generation to grow up watching the slow bleed of a war that we selflessly refuse to win? And isn’t it worse that they see the bloodletting caused solely by the inability of their elders to recognize their own right to defend themselves – and their values – for their own sake?”Read the rest.
Help Support Capitalism Awareness Week on US College Campuses!
The Undercurrent is planning a number of programs designed to spark an Objectivist student movement on college campuses. To make these programs possible, they are asking for your support.Foremost among their 2011-2012 programs is an event called "Capitalism Awareness Week." This week-long event will consist of a series of lectures and discussions at different college campuses across the country. Each lecture will be broadcast live via the Internet so students elsewhere may participate. Learn more here.