Andrew Lewis

Andrew Lewis is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, Calif. The Institute promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

The Mystery of Alan Greenspan

Many people wonder about Alan Greenspan. As a student and associate of Ayn Rand in the 1960s, he wrote many articles on the virtue of capitalism, some appearing in her seminal work, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. An eloquent and ardent advocate of the free market, he...

Abortion: When Do Rights Begin?

Abortion: When Do Rights Begin?

Individual rights begin at birth, with the creation of a new, separMorality is an issue of rationality, and a woman who becomes pregnant on a whim, then capriciously chooses an abortion, is as immoral and irrational as someone who buys an American flag and then burns it.ate human being. Rights are a concept applicable only to individual, actual human beings, not a merely potential one.

Pragmatism, Altruism, and Businessmen

Question. In a recent program, you claimed the actions of several businessmen were driven to do business with the government by the morality of altruism. Isn't pragmatism a more accurate description? Given the extent to which property rights have been eroded, long...

Is it immoral to join a political party?

Q. Is it immoral for an Objectivist to join a political party? Why doesn't the Ayn Rand Institute have its own political party? A. It is not immoral to join a political party, although given the state of the major parties today, it may well be. The reason for this is...

Clinton’s Place: Taxation and Home Ownership

Last week, the New York Times covered two recent "purchases" that demonstrate new lows in the realm of political real estate. One year ago, former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Pavlo Lazarenko, paid $6.75 million in cash for Eddie Murphy's 41-room mansion in Marin County,...

Bill Gates and Altruism

Altruism survives, in part, on its undeserved reputation as a "kind, benevolent" morality. Those who believe this would be surprised at the critical response to Bill Gates' latest charitable offering, a $1 billion scholarship fund. It is a model of politically-correct...

The Immorality of the “War on Drugs”

Much fuss has been made recently about George W. Bush's alleged drug usage. Apparently fearful of a scandal, Governor Bush has dodged the issue -- with disturbingly Presidential style -- creating a bigger scandal. Whether he has used drugs or not, he would have done...

Racism and The Jewish Day-Care Center Shooting

Many people have tried to explain the confessed killer's actions after last week's shooting in Los Angeles. Most of these explanations are glaringly inadequate, but even the best of them fail to identify the deeper philosophy behind this vicious crime, largely because...

Kosovo: Tribalist Quagmire

President Clinton is invoking morality to justify military action to stop Serbia from attacking Kosovo. But the only appropriate moral principle is the one that says Clinton has no right to send American troops on a mission that cannot succeed -- and that will result...

The Americanization of Servitude

Volunteerism is touted as a celebration of the American spirit of community involvement. "Citizen service belongs to no party, no ideology," said President Clinton. "It is an American idea, which every American should embrace." His sentiment is shared by Presidents...

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