What’s in your self-interest? Many will tell you it’s obvious: it means following your desires. But, in Ayn Rand’s view, this perspective is wrong. To see why, the place to start is Rand’s distinctive concept of “self. . .
Can Selfishness Be a Moral Ideal?
Ayn Rand is undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon, and one of the most provocative philosophical voices in modern times. Her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged continue to be deeply admired and vociferously. . .
On Thanksgiving, Celebrate Production
Ayn Rand offers a unique perspective on Thanksgiving. Its “essential, secular meaning,” she writes, is “a celebration of successful production. It is a producers’ holiday.” Yet, society’s most productive members. . .
Our Moral Code Is Out of Date
Human progress requires good ideas. Consider how just two fundamental ideas have ushered in the modern world. Rewind a scant six hundred years, and modern science doesn’t yet exist. Men and women live and die in squalor. . .
A New Ideal for Latin America
I was born and raised in Argentina. Something that always stood out to me as a child was the constant talk of my country’s “economic and social crisis.” Massive unemployment and high poverty levels, skyrocketing. . .
The Berlin Wall and the Evil of Socialism
Some came with sledgehammers, some just with their bare hands. On the night of November 9, 1989, jubilant crowds began tearing down the Berlin Wall, an infamous barrier dividing families, a city, a nation. Even as we. . .
An Interview with Free-Speech Advocate Jacob Mchangama
In 2005, editors at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten were concerned about a seeming climate of self-censorship on the subject of Islam. To assess the extent of that climate, they commissioned and published cartoons. . .