's Articles
History, Reviews
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
Timothy Sandefur October 9, 2024
None of the millions of people who witnessed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986 will ever forget the wave of shock and grief that swept over the United States, and the world, on that day. To read Adam Higginbotham’s new account of the Challenger heroes is to be overwhelmed by a powerful sense of awe and astonishment.
Arts & Culture, Politics & Rights
The Obscenity of Banning Books
Angelica Walker-Werth August 27, 2024
Granting governments the ability to violate intellectual freedom by banning books from schools doesn’t help or protect anyone. It is an obscene way of stunting developing minds at a crucial juncture of life and handing the state yet another tool for controlling us.
Announcements
From the Editor, Fall 2024
Thomas Walker-Werth August 20, 2024
Welcome to the Fall 2024 issue of The Objective Standard, featuring articles on defending Western civilization, the music of Antonin Dvořák, the achievements of John Quincy Adams, and the injustice of cryptocurrency regulation.
History, Politics & Rights
The Case for Western Civilization
Andrew Bernstein August 20, 2024
Western civilization is the most life-giving culture of history. All human beings who care about human life on Earth—regardless of their race or gender—morally must celebrate this life-advancing civilization.
Arts & Culture, History
The Song of the New World
Timothy Sandefur August 20, 2024
Antonin Dvořák managed to capture a beautifully American sense of life: the moment of dawning opportunity, the first glimpse of the potential for triumph, of the chance to prevail that has always been the New World’s greatest gift.
History, Politics & Rights
John Quincy Adams and the Sacred Fire of Liberty
Tom Malone August 20, 2024
John Quincy Adams was a fount of moral courage who helped his country establish a noninterventionist foreign policy, end the War of 1812, defeat the “slaveocracy’s” gag rule, secure freedom for the Amistad captives, and give national prominence to the abolitionist cause.
Economics, Politics & Rights
The War on Crypto
Michael Dahlen August 20, 2024
The government’s illegal de-bankings, unprecedented sanctions, unwarranted prosecutions, and endless, indiscriminate enforcement actions have sent a clear message to crypto innovators: You are not welcome here. Rather than allow a young, burgeoning industry to develop, the government aims to crush it.
Politics & Rights
My Conversion from Anti-Industrialist to Lover of Human Progress
Johan Norberg July 25, 2024
Sometimes when I talk and write about the importance of science, technology, and entrepreneurship to human opportunity and living standards, people ask me why I seem so obsessed with progress. There is a simple reason: I did not use to believe in it.
Politics & Rights, Reviews
On the Warpath: My Battles with Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors by Elizabeth Weiss
Timothy Sandefur July 25, 2024
In her new memoir, On the Warpath, Elizabeth Weiss reveals how anthropology is slowly being sacrificed for the sake of that toxically irrational sludge of ideologies collectively known as “wokeness.”
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Fly Me to the Moon, Directed by Greg Berlanti
Angelica Walker-Werth July 19, 2024
Some say that you should reach for the Moon, because if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. Unfortunately, despite its starpower, Fly Me to the Moon fails even to get off the ground.
History, Politics & Rights, Reviews
The United States Governed by Six Hundred Thousand Despots: A True Story of Slavery; A Rediscovered Narrative by John Swanson Jacobs, edited by Jonathan D. S. Shroeder
Timothy Sandefur July 12, 2024
Six Hundred Thousand Despots offers us a fresh view on slavery by one who not only experienced it, but evinced extraordinary heroism in escaping from bondage.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Star Trek: Discovery, Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman
Thomas Walker-Werth June 12, 2024
Star Trek: Discovery's great potential and interesting story concepts are hampered by poor character development and ham-fisted treatment of moral questions. Nonetheless, it provides some quality sci-fi stories and it deserves recognition for setting up the successful, more benevolent Strange New Worlds.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Pudd’nhead Wilson with Those Extraordinary Twins: The Authoritative Edition by Mark Twain, edited by Benjamin Griffin
Timothy Sandefur June 7, 2024
The Mark Twain Project’s authoritative edition of Pudd’nhead Wilson is an important scholarly resource, a delightful read for Twain devotees, and an opportunity for readers at large to gain more insight into the author’s sincere, if imperfect, efforts to attack the scourge of racial prejudice.
Announcements, LevelUp News
The Power and Community of LevelUp
Craig Biddle May 31, 2024
The theme of the first Objective Standard conference was “Philosophy for Freedom and Flourishing.” The tagline was: “Sharpen your mind. Fuel your soul. Excel in life. Fight for liberty.” These have been the theme and aim of our conferences ever since—and with good reason.
Announcements
From the Editor, Summer 2024
Jon Hersey May 22, 2024
Welcome to the Summer 2024 issue of The Objective Standard.