Welcome to the Winter 2023 issue of The Objective Standard, which caps the journal’s eighteenth year in print, providing clarity on all manner of important issues.
You’ll no doubt recognize the architectural gem adorning the cover as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. But do you know the incredible story of Wright’s life—the struggles, the scandals, the triumph? Timothy Sandefur’s “Frank Lloyd Wright: Rebel Architect,” illustrated with more than thirty images, presents the man and his context in vivid color. It will deepen your appreciation not only for the buildings but for the innovator whose soul and creative ethos they symbolize.
Next up is Craig Biddle’s “Defend Israel and Civilization or Keep the Faith—You Can’t Do Both” in which he addresses three questions surrounding the October 7 jihad against Israel: (1) Why did Hamas do this—what is its motive? (2) What, most fundamentally, underlies and gives rise to this motive? (3) Who is willing to fight Hamas and its supporters at the most fundamental level and who is not? You’ll gain greater clarity about the cause of the savage attack and about what we can do to stop such nightmares from happening again.
Few fiction genres offer such starkly opposed philosophic views on the future of humanity as does sci-fi. Those works that look askance at man’s power to reshape the world have envisioned all manner of man-made disaster. Those that are pro-reason, by contrast, offer such optimistic outlooks that they’ve inspired people to create world-changing technologies, from cellphones to submarines. In “Ten Great Sci-Fi TV Shows That Promote Reason and Individualism,” Thomas Walker-Werth counts down the best of the latter. Get ready to fill your streaming queue!
In “Ayn Rand on ‘Moral Sanction’: What Bryan Caplan Gets Wrong,” I discuss the economist’s article “‘Sanction’: The Triumph of Ayn Rand’s Worst Idea” and how it badly misconstrues Rand’s view of what justice demands. Is it morally necessary, in Rand’s view, to launch into the sort of denunciations of one’s enemies that are common on the internet today? Is Rand really “responsible for modernity’s moral intolerance,” as Caplan posits? Read the article for my thoughts on this thorny issue and what Rand’s ideas truly call for.
Rounding out our features are two interviews, both with founders of groundbreaking new companies. In “Hannah Frankman: Rebel Educator,” I talk to Frankman about her lifelong journey in the alternative education sphere and how her latest venture is helping more parents exit America’s broken education system. Then, in “Who Is John Galt Mortgage Company,” I sit down with Tim Chermak and Mitchell Broderick to discuss how their new company is working to upend an industry while simultaneously improving American culture by promoting Rand’s reason-centered philosophy of Objectivism. I hope you take as much inspiration from these exciting ventures and the people leading them as I do!
The reviews in this issue are:
- Against the New Politics of Identity by Ronald A. Lindsay, reviewed by Timothy Sandefur;
- Barbie, Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig, reviewed by Lorence Olivo;
- Ahsoka, Created by Dave Filoni, and Killers of the Flower Moon, Directed by Martin Scorsese, both reviewed by Thomas Walker-Werth;
- The Creator, Written and Directed by Gareth Edwards, and The Great Escaper, Directed by Oliver Parker, both reviewed by Angelica Walker-Werth.
Finally, we wrap up with several installments of my new music review column, “Noteworthy”:
- New Music from Joe Bonamassa, Vikingur Ólafsson, and More
- The Dueling Philosophies of Two New Guitar Albums
- New Music From The Rolling Stones, Robbie Robertson, Glen Hansard, and More
- A Parting Message from The Beatles, and More
- The Musical Time Machine of Julian Lage
I hope you enjoy the issue. From all of us at The Objective Standard, have a wonderful holiday season!
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