Critiquing the Philosophic Ideas Shaping Biden’s Agenda

Last week, New Ideal Live hosted a special three-episode series analyzing the philosophical ideas shaping the Biden administration’s agenda.

Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo kicked off the series by analyzing the upcoming administration’s overall policy plan with an emphasis on the economy. Ghate and Journo explain how Biden’s numerous plans embrace and entrench the mixed economy, underscoring Ayn Rand’s warning that this encourages pressure group warfare. They also discuss how some of Biden’s proposals echo Trump’s, and how they’ll end up hurting some of the people they are alleged to help.

In the second installment, Ben Bayer joins Ghate to talk about Biden’s proposed health care policies. They emphasize that a thriving health care industry must be left free of government controls, the opposite of what Biden’s plans would do. Ghate and Bayer argue that his plans stem from the misconception that health care is a right — which ultimately rests on a misunderstanding of what rights actually are.

Finally, for the third installment, Bayer is joined by Keith Lockitch. The two analyze the upcoming administration’s environmental and energy agenda. They begin by setting the context that while climate change is real, the idea that it poses an existential threat is a huge exaggeration. This exaggeration is empowered by anti-life, anti-progress philosophical ideas that have taken over the Democratic party and are motivating Biden’s agenda. Bayer and Lockitch also analyze Biden’s alternative energy plan, which they argue is impractical and will threaten progress because of the devastating impacts of a the dramatic reduction in carbon emissions it calls for.

These conversations are unlike any policy analysis you’ll find elsewhere. They are philosophical analyses of the underlying ideas behind Biden’s agenda, informed by Ayn Rand’s philosophy of reason.

For more philosophical analysis of current events, stay tuned to New Ideal Live. 

These podcasts were recorded on December 21, 22 and 23, 2020. Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.

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