Debi Ghate — VOICES for REASON

The publication of “Essays on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged,” edited by Dr. Robert Mayhew, couldn’t come at a better time. With all the attention the book and its author are getting in the media lately, those interested in learning more about the novel, its development and the revolutionary message it contains will find a wealth of information and analysis from experts in this new volume.

As a contributing author, I received my advance copy of the book today and am looking forward to reading it cover to cover. My own essay, titled “The Businessmen’s Crucial Role: Material Men of the Mind,” argues that Atlas Shrugged had to have businessmen such as Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart as its heroes by necessity because of Rand’s chosen plot-theme: “The men of the mind going on strike against an altruist-collectivist society.” Given that the leader of this strike says that the strikers will return to the world only when the lights of New York City are extinguished, what will it take to extinguish those lights? Who is it that keeps those lights on? My full answer is in Chapter 16.

As I look over the table of contents, I see titles of chapters such as “Who Was John Galt? The Creation of Ayn Rand’s Ultimate Ideal Man” by Shoshana Milgram, “No Tributes to Caesar: Good or Evil in Atlas Shrugged” by Tara Smith, and “Discovering Atlantis: Atlas Shrugged‘s Demonstration of a New Moral Philosophy” by Greg Salmieri. Each of the twenty-two essays brings out the virtues of the novel and its underlying philosophy, Objectivism. Holding this volume in my hands, I am reminded once again of the sheer genius behind Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I’m honored to have had participated in this project.

After Atlas Shrugged hit #1 in its category on Amazon.com, Thomas Bowden was invited to Radio America’s G. Gordon Liddy Show to discuss what accounts for the surge in sales. The show includes recorded excerpts from Ayn Rand herself and from The Fountainhead movie.

Here’s U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, on March 26th, 2009 before the House Financial Services Committee on “regulating risk”, when he outlined his plan for a “comprehensive framework for regulatory reform”:

Supervision and regulation failed to prevent these problems…U.S. law left regulators without good options for managing failures of systematically important non-bank financial institutions…We must end the practice of allowing banks and other financial companies to choose their regulator simply by changing their charters; regulators must choose who to regulate. Moreover, our regulatory system must be comprehensive and eliminate gaps in coverage. Our regulatory structure must assign clear regulatory authority, resources, and accountability for each of the key regulatory functions….

What’s Geithner really saying here? Consider the following as a translation: Read the rest of this entry »

ARC’s Keith Lockitch was on the Schilling Show this morning discussing the real meaning of tomorrow’s Earth Hour events. Check it out here.

I was reminded today that this year marks the 60^th anniversary of the publication of Ludwig von Mises’ “Human Action.” 

Why read a 60-year old economics textbook today? Because insights from economists such as von Mises are relevant for evaluating the claim that capitalism is at fault for today’s economic crisis, and for understanding its real cause. Ayn Rand put it best in a letter she wrote in 1960: Read the rest of this entry »

Newport Beach, California, is the latest city considering extending its ban on smoking. ARC’s Don Watkins comments on the anti-smoking movement’s real agenda in an op-ed released today. According to Don, the government’s paternalistic war on smoking is depriving us of the freedom to judge what’s in our own self-interest–a freedom that’s essential for the rational pursuit of values.

Elan Journo has just released an op-ed expanding on the analysis in his post from last week. The article explains how President Obama’s “appeasing diplomacy re-enacts the disastrous policy of the past.”

And as if to prove Elan’s point, news emerged today that Obama may be willing to forego plans for an American missile defense system in Northern Europe if the Russians agree to exert their influence over Iran and encourage the latter to forego its pursuit of nuclear power. (!)

We’re pleased to be back online after some technical difficulties earlier today. We have a fair bit of new content to post and will start getting that up tonight. Thanks to our visitors for the thoughtful comments you’ve been sending to our writers about their posts.

The other night, I attended a performance by actor Derek Van Leer, writer and producer of a one-man show on Frederick Douglass called “My Life in Bondage.” The show was advertised as a “heart-warming, heart-wrenching performance of the amazing life of Frederick Douglass. Douglass was an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman, and reformer and is one of the most prominent figures in United States history.” Naturally, I had therefore hoped to see a dramatization of Douglass’ heroic contributions to the abolitionist movement.

But disappointingly, the performance chose to focus on Douglass’s struggles and suffering in “chattelhood” rather than what was required to relentlessly pursue freedom and “manhood.” For example, the play included a scene where Douglass suffers a severe beating at the hands of a “slave breaker” named Covey. This brutal scene is described in Douglass’s autobiographies. But what the performance leaves out is Douglass’s response. He chose to fight back and defend himself regardless of the consequences. He successfully beat Covey back after a drawn-out fight. Douglass wrote that this was a turning point in his life as he had resolved that “however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact…I was a man now.” Covey thereafter let him be; the slave had broken the “slave breaker.”

Read the rest of this entry »

By his own best estimate, February marks the anniversary of Frederick Douglass’s birth. As is commonly known, Douglass was born a slave, into a system where he could at best hope for physical survival. Yet, by the end of his life, he had traveled from starvation to relative prosperity, from ignorance to intellectual achievement, and from chattelhood to manhood. He set a goal of seeing the centuries-old institution of slavery abolished. This was a goal that would require massive political, legal and social upheaval–and he worked relentlessly to contribute to its realization.

What is less commonly known and appreciated is Douglass’s intellectual contributions to the cause of abolition, and his role as a voice for reason in the years leading up to, during and after the Civil War. His thoughts on the meaning and nature of slavery, the role of government, the evils of racism and the appropriateness of political action are clear and refreshing, indicating a strong respect for the individual and his rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. His story is a source of inspiration for anyone who believes, as he did, that each individual is a sovereign being, and that the proper role of government is to protect individual rights.

A couple of years ago, I had an opportunity to give a lecture on Frederick Douglass in a series titled “Inspiring Heroes.” For a limited time, the audio of that lecture is available for free to registered users on the ARI website. If you’d like to read more, I recommend the most comprehensive of his autobiographies, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, written in 1881 after the Civil War.

Happy birthday, Mr. Douglass.