Ayn Rand & Objectivism

Practicing what Rand advocated requires not only having (and, when appropriate, providing) valid reasons for one’s views and values, but also raising one’s standards of evaluation and refraining from “unprovoked moral denunciations or debates.”

Adam Smith and Ayn Rand are widely considered to offer merely different flavors of pro-capitalist thought. But their differences are greater—and far more consequential—than their similarities.

My debate with Stephen Hicks about whether Objectivism is a closed system or an open system has been posted on YouTube. Check it out—and if you find it clarifying, share it with people you think might appreciate it.

Welcome to the Spring 2023 issue of The Objective Standard. This begins the journal’s eighteenth year in publication, and I’d like to extend a tremendous thanks to everyone who subscribes and supports our work.

Welcome to the Winter 2022 issue of The Objective Standard, which rounds out the journal’s seventeenth year providing conceptual clarity on the basis of rational philosophy.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leading a reading group on one of my favorite books: Ayn Rand’s Philosophy: Who Needs It. 

Both Mike Rowe and Ayn Rand understand the necessity—and virtue—of personal responsibility. Their work offers powerful guidance for individuals to effect positive change in their own lives and beyond.

Should you live for others, or for yourself? Is morality a set of rules that hold you back, or a system of principles to help you thrive? Ayn Rand offered radical answers to these and related questions in The Virtue of Selfishness. Join Angelica Walker-Werth and other active-minded readers for a deep dive into this powerful book.

I’m excited to announce Objective Standard Institute’s new Internship program for people aged 18 to 29 who are interested in a career advancing the ideas on which freedom and flourishing depend.

“Who sets the tone of a culture?,” asked Ayn Rand. “A small handful of men: the philosophers.” According to Robert Tracinski, many of Rand’s followers have taken this to mean that efforts toward a better future should focus on university humanities departments. But, in his latest book, Tracinski argues that this is only part of the story.