's Articles
Reviews
Brazen: From Long Sleeves to Lingerie by Julia Haart
Angelica Walker-Werth August 10, 2022
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.
Arts & Culture, Politics & Rights, Reviews
Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America by David E. Bernstein
Timothy Sandefur July 15, 2022
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.
Arts & Culture, History, Reviews
Straight Line Crazy by David Hare
Thomas Walker-Werth June 7, 2022
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.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Stories in Paint by Luc Travers and Windows on Humanity: A History of How Art Reflects Our Ideas about Our Lives and World by Sandra Shaw
Timothy Sandefur June 4, 2022
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.
Announcements
From the Editor - Summer 2022
Craig Biddle May 21, 2022
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.
Ayn Rand & Objectivism
Advancing Ayn Rand’s Ideas in Europe and Beyond
Craig Biddle May 21, 2022
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 & Objectivism, Economics, Philosophy
Ayn Rand vs. Classical Economists
Martin Hooss May 21, 2022
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.
Arts & Culture, Ayn Rand & Objectivism
Dominique Francon: Ayn Rand’s Profoundly Misunderstood Heroine
Andrew Bernstein May 21, 2022
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.
Arts & Culture
Seven Poems on the Power of Music
Various Authors May 21, 2022
Including works by Amy Lowell, Robert Herrick, Walter de la Mare, William Shakespeare, Thomas Moore, G. K. Chesterton, and John Dryden.
Arts & Culture, Ayn Rand & Objectivism
Ayn Rand’s We the Living: Back on the Silver Screen—and Better Than Ever
Robert Begley May 13, 2022
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.
Politics & Rights
Abortion and the Questions We Must Answer
Craig Biddle May 11, 2022
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?
Arts & Culture
John Williams’s ‘Love Affair with Orchestra’ Continues
Jon Hersey May 10, 2022
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.
Politics & Rights
Russia Shows Why Britain Was Right to Send Weapons to Ukraine
Thomas Walker-Werth May 6, 2022
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.
Ayn Rand & Objectivism
Regarding Onkar Ghate and Harry Binswanger’s “Of Schisms”
Craig Biddle April 27, 2022
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.
Science & Technology
How Going to Space Can Enhance Human Flourishing, with Dr. Robert Zubrin
Thomas Walker-Werth April 16, 2022
"We have a revolution in spaceflight right now," says Dr. Robert Zubrin, "and it's being caused by freedom." In this interview he discusses how becoming a spacefaring species has the potential to greatly enhance human flourishing and revolutionize our society.