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22. Interview with Boaz Arad on the Israeli Freedom Movement
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Boaz Arad, a founder of and spokesman for the Israeli Freedom Movement, discusses the inception, activities, allies, and successes of the Israeli equivalent of the Tea Party movement.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Israel
23. From the Editor
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Welcome to the Spring 2012 issue of The Objective Standard, which begins our seventh year of publication. Let me begin by thanking you, our readers, for your continued business and support, for enabling us to produce this vital journal, and for helping spread the word about its existence and articles. With your help, we have expanded dramatically in our first six years—and our seventh is off to a remarkable start: Our website traffic is up 160 percent from February 2011 to February 2012, and up 40 percent from January 2012 to February 2012. This explosive growth is due in large part to our proliferation of posts on TOS Blog—which has become the source for daily commentary from an Objectivist perspective. (Special thanks go to Joshua Lipana, Ari Armstrong, and Daniel Wahl for helping to make it so.)
24. How Would Government Be Funded in a Free Society?
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Advocates of a fully free, laissez-faire society are likely familiar with the following scenario. You provide a clear, well-concretized explanation of what capitalism is and why it is moral, only to be met with a question that seemingly wipes out everything you just said: “But if physical force were legally forbidden, taxation would be out; so how would a rights-protecting government be financed?” The implication being: A truly free society might sound great in theory, but it's impossible in practice.
- Topic:
- Government
25. Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand's Morality of Egoism
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Because of its seemingly prophetic nature with respect to current events, Ayn Rand's 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged is receiving more attention today and selling at greater volume today than it did when it was first published fifty-five years ago. That's a good thing, because the ideas set forth in Atlas are crucial to personal happiness, social harmony, and political freedom.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- America
26. Painter Bryan Larsen on His Artwork and Ideas
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- I recently had the great pleasure of speaking with Bryan Larsen about his work, how he became a painter, who and what inspires him, and why his subjects always look so beautifully purposeful. Mr. Larsen's work can be seen and purchased through the Quent Cordair Fine Art gallery in Napa, California. His painting, Liberty, adorns the cover of this issue of The Objective Standard.
- Political Geography:
- California
27. From the Editor
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of The Objective Standard. Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of The Objective Standard. In the lead article, "Why Marxism? Evil Laid Bare," C. Bradley Thompson examines key ideas that have driven Marxists and socialists—from Asian and European dictators to American college professors—to enact or advocate an ideology that is historically and philosophically pure evil. In my article "How Would Government Be Funded in a Free Society?" I lay out evidence in support of the fact that, in a free society, people would voluntarily pay to support a properly limited, rights-protecting government; and I discuss the essential means by which they would do so. In "Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand's Morality of Egoism," which is a version of a speech I've given on college campuses over the years, I provide a myth-busting introduction to the Objectivist ethics. (Although it discusses Atlas Shrugged, the article does not contain spoilers.) In his extensive interview with Ari Armstrong, Steve Simpson, of the Institute for Justice, surveys the continuing threats to corporate freedom of speech and discusses the essential elements in the battle to defend it. Mr. Simpson sheds much light on the fundamentals of an otherwise nightmarishly complex political mess. I had the honor of interviewing one of my favorite artists, painter Bryan Larsen. If you love Larsen's work (one sample of which graces the cover of this issue ofTOS), you don't want to miss this interview. In addition to getting to know the fascinating man behind the masterful brush, you'll get to enjoy high-resolution images of ten of his breathtaking paintings. In the film reviews section, C.A. Wolski appraises The Avengers (directed by Joss Whedon), finding it a near-perfect superhero movie; and Andrew Bernstein reviews Act of Valor (directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh), explaining "why I have seen this movie eight times" and "why I will see it again." Under book reviews, Daniel Wahl's discussion of Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric, by Ward Farnsworth, will whet your appetite for more principles and examples of classical English rhetoric—an appetite you may not have known you have. (I now have my copy and will be enjoying it by the pool this summer.) Our newest contributor, Hannah Krening (welcome Hannah!) reviews The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State, by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, finding it highly valuable for the history it provides, even if suboptimal philosophically speaking. In case you haven't yet noticed, TOS has become much more than a quarterly journal. Our daily blog (TOS Blog) is the source for daily commentary from an Objectivist perspective. Topics include economics and politics, science and technology, philosophy and ethics, education and the arts, human achievement and personal productivity. Keep up with our blogging by subscribing to our RSS feed or by visiting the site daily. We also have highly active Facebook and Twitter pages, where we link to notable news, opinion, and general-interest pieces around the Web. Join our conversation on Facebook by "Liking" our page, and join us on Twitter by "Following" us there. I hope to see you around the Web, and, in any event, I wish you a productive and enjoyable summer. —Craig Biddle
28. From the Editor
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- It's here. Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged finally has come to the silver screen, and in this special, Atlas-themed issue of TOS—which begins our sixth year of publication—we have details on the movie and a whole lot more. As you may have noticed, we have lost our tombstone-like academic look and gained a full-color graphic cover to match the verve you have come to expect from the journal. The artwork on the present cover depicts a scene in the movie from the first run of the John Galt Line. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Harmon Kaslow, coproducer (with John Aglialoro) of Atlas Shrugged: Part I, to discuss the film, how it came together, choice of screenwriter and director, casting, score, and distribution. Dovetailing with this interview are Chris Wolski's concise history of the efforts to adapt Atlas for the screen and his review of the film (he attended a prescreening in February).
- Topic:
- Economics and History
29. The Iranian and Saudi Regimes Must Go
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- As political uprisings and civil wars rage in the Middle East, and as America's self-crippled efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda and the Taliban limp on, the need to identify and eliminate the primary threats to American security becomes more urgent by the day. As you read these words, the Islamist regime in Iran is sponsoring the slaughter of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan,1 funding Hamas and Hezbollah in their efforts to destroy our vital ally Israel,2 building nuclear bombs to further “Allah's” ends,3 chanting “Death to America! Death to Israel!” in Friday prayers and political parades,4 and declaring: “With the destruction of these two evil countries, the world will become free of oppression.”5 The U.S. government knows all of this (and much more), which is why the State Department has identified the Islamist regime in Iran as “the most active state sponsor of terrorism” in the world.6 Meanwhile, the Islamist regime in Saudi Arabia is funding American-slaughtering terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban,7 building mosques and “cultural centers” across America, and flooding these Islamist outposts not only with hundreds of millions of dollars for “operating expenses” but also with a steady stream of materials calling for all Muslims “to be dissociated from the infidels . . . to hate them for their religion . . . to always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law” and, ultimately, “to abolish all traces of such primitive life (jahiliyya) and to reinforce the understanding and application of the eternal and universal Islamic deen [religion] until it becomes the ruling power throughout the world.” The Saudi-sponsored materials further specify that those who “accept any religion other than Islam, like Judaism or Christianity, which are not acceptable,” have “denied the Koran” and thus “should be killed.”8 None of this is news, at least not to the U.S. government. The Saudis' anti-infidel efforts have been tracked, documented, and reported for years. As the Rand Corporation concluded in a briefing to a top Pentagon advisory board in 2002, “The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader.”9 What is the U.S. government doing about these clear and present dangers? Nothing. Following the atrocities of 9/11, America has gone to war with Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya, but it has done nothing of substance to end the threats posed by the primary enemies of America: the regimes in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Instead, the Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, continues the policy of seeking “negotiations” with the Iranian regime and calling the Saudi regime our “friend and ally.” This is insanity. And it is time for American citizens to demand that our politicians put an end to it. The Iranian and Saudi regimes must go. And in order to persuade American politicians to get rid of them, American citizens must make clear that we won't settle for anything less. Of course, the Obama administration is not going to take any pro-American actions against either of these regimes. But Americans can and should demand that any politician—especially any presidential candidate—seeking our support in the 2012 elections provide an explicit statement of his general policy with respect to Iran and Saudi Arabia. And we should demand that the policy be along the following lines . . .
- Topic:
- Islam and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, America, Libya, and Saudi Arabia
30. Interview with Reza Kahlili, an Ex-CIA Spy Embedded in Iran's Revolutionary Guards
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Craig Biddle: I'm honored to be joined today by Reza Kahlili, author of A Time to Betray, a book about his double life as a CIA agent in Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The book is the winner of both best new nonfiction and autobiography/memoirs in the 2011 International Book Awards sponsored by JPX Media Group. Reza Kahlili is a pseudonym used for security reasons. Thank you for joining me, Reza. Reza Kahlili: Thank you so much for having me.
- Political Geography:
- America and Iran