Harry Binswanger

Dr. Binswanger, a longtime associate of Ayn Rand, is an professor of philosophy at the Objectivist Academic Center of the Ayn Rand Institute. He is the author of How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation and is the creator of The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z.

Dr. Binswanger blogs at HBLetter.com (HBL)--an email list for Objectivists for discussing philosophic and cultural issues. A free trial is available at: HBLetter.com.

Altruism: Why The Republicans Will Lose The Budget Cut Battle

Altruism: Why The Republicans Will Lose The Budget Cut Battle

Late-breaking: contrary to the spin I fell for, the Paul Ryan budget plan is a fraud. Karl Rove reports that the proposed budget does not cut a single dime. It’s the oldest trick in the book: pass off a slowed increase as a cut. Ryan’s “Path to...

A Philosopher Reflects on the Giffords Shooting

The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, though a terrible tragedy, is not of historic significance. More significant is the efforts of the Left to blame this on the Right, particularly the Tea Party movement. The absurdity of these attempts is obvious, and...

Stupid and Stingy: How the Left and Right See Each Other

The Left “explains” the Right’s attachment to its ideas as being due to stupidity. The Right “explains” the Left’s attachment to its ideas as being due to personal evil. Example of Leftist “explanations” of the Right: at...

Economic Fallacies Concerning Tax Cuts and Government Spending

I copied down what some clown on TV said about our debt to China: “Someone in Beijing is laughing as the U.S. goes deeper into debt to pay for the tax cut.” Where to begin? Well, the following is basically the order in which I hurriedly wrote down my...

The Tea Party Movement

Take a step back and look what’s going on. Last year, Rick Santelli, a Chicago trader who does reports for CNBC did “The Rant Heard Round the World,” in which he said, among many good things: “I’m thinking of having a...

A Free Press: Run By The Government

Our only hope for saving America from accelerating tyranny is freedom of speech. In the light of that, it was frightening to read an opinion piece in the July 14th edition of the Wall St. Journal. Its author is Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, home...

Justice for Goldman Sachs

Yet another injustice towards Goldman Sachs is circulating on the web. It’s the publication of the fact that Goldman Sachs has financially supported Democrats over Republicans. The implicit or explicit conclusion is that Goldman is buying pull. Some bloggers...

The Left's Double Standard Against The Tea Party Movement

The Left is now attacking the Tea Party movement as being violent. The only thing violent in that movement is my anger at this charge. How dare the Left, steeped in a long bloody record of violence, make this claim? The public’s memory may be short, but mine...

Will Religious Conservatives Hijack the Tea Party Movement?

Both the L.A. Times (March 11) and the NY Times (March 12) ran articles on the secularism of the Tea Party movement. Both said that the leaders and the grass roots base of the movement are concerned with economic issues much more than the “social” issues...

Obama’s Big Speech for Socialized Medicine

The Great Prevaricator spoke again on Wednesday, attempting to return us to tribal morality and tribal medicine. The speech was smoothly delivered, but extremely evasive and dishonest. For instance, just as one small thing, I came away from the speech thinking he was...

Ayn Rand Answers

Rather belatedly, I’ve just finished reading Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of her Q & A, edited by Robert Mayhew. It’s a superb collection, and I want to re-read it soon. In reading it, I was wondering how impressed a non-Objectivist reader might...

David Brooks — A Modern Day Peter Keating

To plumb the depths at the NY Times: I think David Brooks is worse than Paul Krugman. Krugman is a cynical deceiver, who distorts every fact to fit his lust for dictatorship. Brooks, who represents the worst strain of conservatism, actually believes his views, and...

The “Economic Stimulus” Myth

There’s no such thing as a “stimulus” to the economy. The closest you could get to that in reality would be a retrenchment of government controls and looting: de-regulation and spending cuts. But even those are not “stimuli” but a...

Alan Greenspan vs. Ayn Rand and Freedom

The connection of Alan Greenspan to Ayn Rand, decades ago, is being used to blacken her name and her ideas.   This from the Leftist “Mother Jones” publication is one of the milder expressions: “In a historic moment, former Fed chair Alan...

Fresh Start Conservatism

David Brooks is the columnist who passes for a pro-capitalist on the New York Times. A column by Mr. Brooks on February 15th is so utterly wrong, in so many different directions that I’d like to–but can’t–believe it was written while he was...

William F. Buckley, Jr.: The Witch-Doctor is Dead

William F. Buckley, Jr.: The Witch-Doctor is Dead

Buckley, more than anyone else, is responsible for subverting the “conservative movement,” turning it into its current, depraved status as the anti-reason, anti-man, welfare-statist “religious right.”

On “Staying the Course” in Iraq

On “Staying the Course” in Iraq

The solution is actual victory in the wider war against Islamofascism. The solution is to bomb Iran–and not just its nuclear facilities–and to crush all the states that sponsor terrorism.

Re-Importing Cheap Pharmaceuticals

The Ayn Rand Institute recently issued a very good press release attacking a bill passed by the House of Representatives that seeks to give Americans the “right” to re-import prescription drugs from countries, such as Canada, where they are sold more...

The Battle of Our Era

We are engaged in a vast battle to defend scientific, industrial civilization against irrationalism. Whether the enemy bombs the World Trade Center, abortion clinics, logging equipment, or medical research labs, the target is the same: reason–the use of reason...

Guantanamo and the Geneva Convention

I oppose any pretense at such a thing as “international law.” The concept of “law” implies governmental enforcement. Where there is no government, such as between nations, there can be no law. This is all the more true when nations are at war....

The Pope vs. Islam

The Pope vs. Islam

The Muslim world is storming in violent outrage against the Pope’s recent quoting of a 14th Century emperor of the Byzantine Empire. A NY Times editorial says: “The pope quoted the emperor saying, ‘Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and...

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