Happy holidays! And welcome to the Winter 2015–2016 issue of The Objective Standard.
This, the fortieth issue of TOS, marks the end of our first ten years of publication and the beginning of our next decade of crystal-clear commentary from an Objectivist perspective.
First up in this issue is my essay “Israel: To Be, Or Not To Be,” which surveys the history of the Arab and Muslim assault on Israel; presents the secular, observation-based case for Israel’s right to exist; and advocates a one-state solution to this decades-long clash between a civilized, rights-respecting society and a barbaric, rights-violating movement that seeks to crush it.
Next up is a broader look at what is fundamentally the same issue. In “Ten Steps to End Jihad Against the West,” I lay out the essential steps that Westerners and Western nations can and must take if we want to end this god-awful nightmare and return to normal, jihad-free living.
In “Black Slaves Who Could Have Been American Founders,” Andrew Bernstein examines three major slave rebellions in early America, showing that the men who led them—Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner—did so explicitly on the same principles that the Founding Fathers revolted against Great Britain. This is a vital and underappreciated aspect of U.S. history, demonstrating the importance of principles and the consequences of compromising them. Dr. Bernstein’s article, which places these freedom fighters in proper moral and historic perspective, is at once a fascinating read and a profound act of justice.
In “Central Banks Move Beyond the Fascist Frontier,” Jim Brown examines the traditional roles of central banks and shows how their policies have evolved in recent years such that they are no longer content merely to manipulate aspects of the economy but now aim to own portions of the economy in the form of equities in major corporations. This, Brown shows, “is an ominous and seismic shift toward government ownership of the means of production. And, if we want to advocate and defend liberty and capitalism, we need to understand the nature of the problem, how it came to be, and what must be done to reverse the trend before it’s too late.”
Next is Daniel Wahl’s interview with Doug Peltz, cofounder of Mystery Science, an education start-up dedicated to “inspiring kids to love science,” helping them “to investigate their questions,” and “providing them with the context and exciting backstories they need in order to make sense of the world.” If you have children or care about science education, you don’t want to miss this illuminating discussion.
The book and app reviews in this issue, all by Daniel Wahl, are: Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman, “Three Gems by Children’s Author Cynthia Rylant,” and “A Dozen Great Apps for Learning Math.”
Finally, our section From TOS Blog includes four of my recent articles spanning the cultural spectrum: “America’s Declining Economic Liberty, and Its Cause”; “Pope Francis, Religion, Capitalism, and Ayn Rand”; “Islamic Jihad, Political Treason, and Epistemological Treason”; and “Objectivism and Parenting.”
In addition to reading The Objective Standard and TOS Blog, be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter for a steady stream of interesting links and engaging conversation.
From all of us at TOS, have a wonderful holiday season! —Craig Biddle
