Articles

Robert Pierce Forbes’s painstaking research into the writing and revision of Notes on the State of Virginia is impressive and valuable. But his conjectures about Thomas Jefferson’s goals in writing those portions of the book that still stain the great man’s reputation only perpetuate the mysteries.

Brazen, the story of how Julia Haart became an independent-minded, life-loving woman, is a welcome reminder of how rich and beautiful the world is—and why everyone should be free to enjoy it.

Racism is premised on the false and immoral idea that people’s minds are functions of their ancestry and, consequently, that a person’s accomplishments are less morally relevant than the color of his skin. But George Mason University law professor David E. Bernstein shows in Classified that racism contains still another layer of incoherence.

Despite some faults, Straight Line Crazy does an excellent job of bringing to modern audiences the harsh reality of how governments, even in wealthy, developed countries, can ride roughshod over people’s rights, rich and poor alike.

By giving us doorways into a wider world of art and ideas—and doing so without the backing of any major publishing houses—Luc Travers and Sandra Shaw have not only done us all a great service but have testified to the enormous value of art in all our lives.

Welcome to the Summer 2022 issue of The Objective Standard. Articles in this issue address economics, war, abortion, space travel, literature, film, music, and more.

Organizations supported by Prometheus Foundation are advancing Ayn Rand’s ideas in Europe and around the world. I am delighted to be part of these efforts.

Ayn Rand’s case for capitalism stands in marked contrast to what might be termed the classical defense of capitalism. “The classical economists attempted a tribal justification of capitalism on the ground that it provides the best ‘allocation’ of a community’s ‘resources,’” she wrote.

Because Dominique is The Fountainhead's heroine and second most important character, we will not fully understand the book (arguably one of the greatest novels in literature) if we do not comprehend her character.

Including works by Amy Lowell, Robert Herrick, Walter de la Mare, William Shakespeare, Thomas Moore, G. K. Chesterton, and John Dryden.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Duncan Scott is preparing a newly restored high-definition edition of the 1942 movie of Ayn Rand's novel, We the Living. Set during the Russian Revolution—a period that Rand witnessed firsthand—We the Living shows how a totalitarian state makes human life impossible.

People are asking the wrong questions about abortion. To determine whether a fetus has rights, the questions we must answer are not “When does life begin?” or “Is a fetus a human being?” Rather, the questions are: What are rights? Where do they come from? How do we know it? To whom do rights apply?

No single recording could exhaustively capture even just the highlights of Williams’s career, spanning six decades, but Deutsche Grammophon’s latest culls a varied set of gems, from the uplifting Olympic theme, to the sinister sounds of Close Encounters, to anthems from the beloved Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars franchises.

Russia has firmly and unquestionably established itself as a threat to Britain and the civilized world. Western governments should recognize the Russian regime for what it is: A despotic dictatorship bent on conquest with no regard for the lives or rights of individuals.

Onkar Ghate and Harry Binswanger of the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) have published a long article attacking Carl Barney and me in relation to the 2018 agreement between The Objective Standard (TOS) and ARI, which ARI unilaterally breached. I am sharing here a link to my response to Onkar and Harry’s attack.