It’s the pragmatists—those who reject principled morality—who are naïve.
Philosophy
Allan Gotthelf: A Shining Example of a Life of Reason Well Lived
“Allan saw his love of Aristotle and of Ayn Rand as of a piece. He was right, because Aristotle and Rand do advocate the same fundamentals: the commitment to reason and to living life fully, realizing one’s highest potential as man.”
Is Egoism Obvious?
My book, How to Be Profitable and Moral: A Rational Egoist Approach to Business, has been translated into Finnish and was recently published in Finland. At the book launch in Helsinki, an appreciative reader (of the English-language original) and a business owner...
It’s Good—But Hard—to Be Selfish
Most people think that it is unethical to be selfish. They have been taught that we should always put others’ interests ahead of our own and that pursuing self-interest is immoral. That is why they also think that business—which by definition pursues self-interest:...
Income Inequality is Moral
I was listening to the radio on the weekend and heard a leading Canadian socialist, Stephen Lewis, lament about the big income gap between the rich and the poor as one of the worst ills in society today. Reflecting on that and on the exodus of millionaires from France...
Envy is Bad For Us
I am writing this post in Finland where I am working for a month. Last week the Finns marked their annual unofficial “National Envy Day” when the Finnish Revenue Service publicized the income taxes and income of every tax-paying citizen. That in itself is a shocking...
Stealing Food To Feed The Poor
Two weeks ago, the mayor of a Spanish town in Andalusia was orchestrating raids to local supermarkets for the purpose of stealing food to feed the poor. He was quoted as saying: “Someone has to do something so families can eat.” Mr. Sanchez Gordillo, an avowed...
Sam Harris is Wrong On Free Will
Harris’ erroneous assertions are easy to refute.
Self-interest versus Selfishness
[On his show] Rush Limbaugh was speaking about the “invisible hand” described by Adam Smith. It is not out of benevolence, Rush said, that your grocer sells you food. It is the grocer’s self-interest–his desire to feed his family–that motivates him. But, Rush quickly...
Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right by Jennifer Burns
Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography. . . . Formerly we used to canonise our heroes. The modern method is to vulgarise them. —Oscar Wilde, “The Critic as Artist” (1891) Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was a great novelist...
The Inescapable Importance of Philosophy
Have you ever wondered why seemingly intelligent, articulate people cannot seem to come to a consensus on the important issues facing our nation today? Or even on what the issues should be? Whether it’s the economy, foreign policy, immigration, gay marriage or any...
Objectivism, the Journal, and the Future: An Interview with Craig Biddle
Capitalism Magazine: Who is Craig Biddle? Craig Biddle: I'm a guy who is fortunate to have discovered "Who is John Galt?" I'm a writer and editor specializing in books and articles from an Objectivist perspective, and I'm a husband and father who can best be described...
The Influence of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged
So while Atlas Shrugged has provided millions with inspiration and with some level of appreciation for the virtues of capitalism and the evils of statism, it has not had nearly the influence it could have had, had its underlying ideas gained wider understanding.
Altruism: The Morality of Logical Fallacies
Sacrifice–Sacrifice–Sacrifice. Everyone believes it is the moral thing to do. And no philosopher has been willing to challenge this idea. Except Ayn Rand.
Villainy: An Analysis of the Nature of Evil (Part 5 of 5)
The morality of sacrifice lives on borrowed time.
Villainy: An Analysis of the Nature of Evil (Part 4 of 5)
Religion is evil – but is not the worst evil that men must confront.
Greek Honor: A Monumental Achievement
I’ve been reading some of the Greek historians, and am struck by how different the general attitude of the Greeks was compared to that of the modern world’s. What stands out most is the pride they show in living morally. I suppose the contrast is so stark because,...
Villainy: An Analysis of the Nature of Evil (Part 3 of 5)
In analyzing the means by which evil men gain the power to destroy, the question can be raised: Is there some deeper theory that underlies the ethics of sacrifice and gives rise to it?
Villainy: An Analysis of the Nature of Evil (Part 2 of 5)
How does Adolf Hitler – a dropout, a ne’er-do-well, an unemployed and unemployable itinerant – acquire life-and-death power over the great scientists, industrialists and thinkers of Western Europe?
Villainy: An Analysis of the Nature of Evil (Part 1 of 5)
In the face of evil run rampant, it is crucially important to protect the benevolent universe premise.
Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It (Part 7 of 7)
There is only one way to combat a morality that is against human life, and that is by embracing a morality that is for human life–a non-sacrificial morality–the morality of self-interest.
Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It (Part 6 of 7)
Altruism, in both its religious and its secular forms, is crippling the lives of real men, women, and children every day.
Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It (Part 3 of 7)
or morality to be objective, it has to be based on a standard of value derived not from feelings, but from facts.
Ayn Rand: A Legacy of Reason and Freedom
Ayn Rand left a legacy in defense of reason and freedom that serves as a guidepost for the American spirit–especially pertinent today when America and what it stands for are under assault.