In one week (on Oct. 20), I begin the live version of my new course on the second half of the phenomenal speech, “The Objectivist Ethics.” The first 60 paragraphs of this speech concerned “meta-ethics”: the derivation of one’s life as one’s ultimate value and man’s survival qua man as the standard of moral value. This course
“American found guilty of murder and multiple rapes” is a headline you’ll never see. But how often have you seen: “Illegal immigrant found guilty of . . .” People reading the latter are highly unlikely to realize that they are being manipulated. But they are: the headlines about illegal immigrants are cherry-picked by the anti-immigrationists.
A member wrote: Each of these great city states, and smaller ones, built up their own private navies to protect shipping—and were made incredibly rich as the dominators of Mediterranean trade. Several comments. First “anarcho-capitalism” (used before the quoted passage) is an invalid concept. There is no more validity to “anarcho-capitalism” than to “state capitalism”
Re: the thread on the limits of open immigration It’s time for Ayn Rand’s Power Question: What facts of reality give rise to the need for such a concept as X? Here, X is “citizenship.” Why do we need this concept? Mainly, to determine who can vote. You can probably think of a few perquisites
On this forum there has been a spirited, but civil and polite, debate over whether Harvard deserves support in its stand against Trump’s attack on it. It’s a pretzel of an issue, and I appreciate the arguments of both sides, I really do (and can be momentarily swayed to one side or the other). But
The Randsday Conference, which was a great success, featured my Objectivist trivia contest. Having used the questions before an audience of about 70, I know I can’t use them again, so I post them here for your edification and amusement.Answers are at the bottom. ==================================================Trivia answers
This is addressed to all those repulsed by the political alternatives offered today, those who are seeking a rational social-political position. 1. Content Rational—reached by a process of reason. A political position should be based on a process of logical reasoning, not on running with a herd or substituting feelings for thinking. Harry’s Substack is a
Thread: Bilateral Economics Re: Member’s post of 11/30/24 I think Rockefeller was on balance a hero, but not an Ayn Rand Hero. Of course. Except, from my limited knowledge, you don’t have to say “on balance.” At several points he led the formation of cartels and other such actions to establish prices and volumes he deemed
Unfortunately, my prediction of a Trump victory was correct. I can’t predict what a Trump administration will do. Neither can Donald Trump. But I can say there will be a price to pay. The form it will take is not predictable. Maybe, as in the first years of his first administration, the economy will improve.
[This essay was written in 2014, and should have been included in “Value for Value” from the outset.] This is a defense of a policy of absolutely open immigration, without border patrols, border police, border checks, or passports. After a phase-in period, entry into the U.S. would be unrestricted, unregulated, and unscreened, exactly as is entry into
