The Tribal Mentality Behind Hit Pieces on Ayn Rand

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo and Keith Lockitch discuss Journo’s recent article “When Tribal Journalists Try to ‘Cancel’ Ayn Rand.” Journo analyzes two articles (one from Salon, one from the New Republic) that not only misrepresent Rand and her philosophy, but display a tribal mentality that seeks merely to affirm and reinforce a set of prejudices for those who share them.

Topics discussed include:

Ways in which these journalists display a disregard of facts and rational persuasion
How they take as evidence things that don’t qualify as such
What it takes to sincerely engage with Rand’s ideas, even if it leads to disagreement with her philosophy
What it takes to avoid this kind of tribal mindset

Mentioned in the discussion is another of Journo’s articles, “The Virulent Pull of Tribalism.”

This podcast was recorded on July 1, 2020. Watch or listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived web episodes here.