The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast

Chapter contributor Jason Rheins discusses A Companion to Ayn Rand, part of the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series.

Chapter contributor Adam Mossoff discusses A Companion to Ayn Rand, part of the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series.

Chapter contributor Harry Binswanger discusses A Companion to Ayn Rand, part of the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series.

Chapter contributor Tara Smith discusses A Companion to Ayn Rand, part of the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series.

Coeditor Gregory Salmieri discusses A Companion to Ayn Rand, part of the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series.

One virtue of Foundations of a Free Society is that it offers an in-depth look at Rand’s political thought. And the book helps us understand how her distinctive moral case for a free society relates to (and contrasts with) the views of other philosophers who are seen as advocates for liberty. Elan Journo talked with one of the book’s coeditors, Gregory Salmieri, and, among many topics, they discussed the issue of how to situate Rand’s ideas on the intellectual landscape. Some of the topics touched on: What was Rand’s case for capitalism, and how does it compare with the conservative argument that a “rising tide lifts all boats”? How does Rand’s approach relate to the views of the libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick? What was Rand’s view of anarchism? Rand held as a matter of principle that the initiation of physical force was morally wrong, while libertarians speak of a non-aggression principle; what sets these views apart? Rand held that “Intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom; political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom; a free mind and a free market are corollaries.” Why did she hold this view?

Ayn Rand’s nonfiction book Capitalism has a subtitle that is truly startling. Rand held that capitalism is “The Unknown Ideal.” Capitalism is a social system so widely misunderstood and distorted and maligned that few understand its nature and history — let alone view it as morally good. Rand observed: “No politico-economic system in history has ever proved its value so eloquently or has benefited mankind so greatly as capitalism — and none has ever been attacked so savagely, viciously, and blindly.” Rand’s philosophic case for laissez-faire capitalism is the focus of a superb new collection of scholarly essays, Foundations of a Free Society, which explores her arguments in detail and relates them to the views of other ostensibly pro-freedom thinkers. Elan Journo sat down to talk with one of the book’s contributors, Rob Tarr, about Rand’s view of capitalism, its deep foundations in philosophy, and the interplay of philosophy and economic theory. Since capitalism is not only a social but also an economic system, there’s a profound question about how we should understand the nature of the economic value of goods and services produced in that system. In the interview, they explored why Rand held that “Capitalism is the only system based implicitly on an objective theory of values.” Tarr summarized Rand’s groundbreaking objective theory of value, and he contrasted it to prevailing conceptions of value that underlie major schools of thought in economics.

What is the principle of freedom of speech? How does it relate to the separation of church and state? What is the justification for such a separation? What was Ayn Rand’s view on these issues and on the connections between them? To answer these and related questions, Elan Journo sat down to talk with philosopher Onkar Ghate, senior fellow and chief philosophy officer at Ayn Rand Institute. More on the interview is available here. A few of the topics explored in the conversation: Why freedom of speech is an aspect of the principle of intellectual freedom. How the philosopher John Locke argued for disentangling religion from political power. Why Thomas Jefferson, influenced by Locke, called for a “wall of separation” between church and state. What Ayn Rand’s view of intellectual freedom has in common with Locke and Jefferson — and how she differs from both. Why Rand thought that intellectual freedom and economic freedom share the same root, or as she sometimes put it, “a free mind and a free market are corollaries.”

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo and Agustina Vergara Cid discuss Russia’s possible imminent invasion of Ukraine, America’s stake in this crisis and U.S. foreign policy toward Russia. Among the topics covered: An overview of the current state of the crisis; How to conceptualize America’s interests in foreign policy; Russian president Vladimir Putin’s demands; The nature of Putin’s regime and his attempts to expand Russian power; Applying the Objectivist moral framework to the Russia-Ukraine crisis; What actions the U.S. should take in response to Russia’s actions; How and why Putin lends support to other hostile dictatorships around the world; The history of America’s amoral approach to Putin’s Russia; The amoralism of the dominant views on U.S. policy in the Russia-Ukraine crisis; How European countries should respond to the crisis; Whether NATO is a valuable organization today. Mentioned in the discussion are Leonard Peikoff’s lecture “Some Notes About Tomorrow,” Peter Schwartz’s book The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo’s book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism (2nd edition), and Journo’s book What Justice Demands. The podcast was recorded on February 16, 2022. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/H1a3e7P1Ziw Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer, Mike Mazza and Agustina Vergara Cid address questions about Objectivism submitted by the podcast’s audience. Among the topics covered: How did Rand handle the problem of long- versus short-term happiness in her own life? Did she enjoy leisure activities?The recreational activities that gave Rand joy;Why Rand lived up to her ideal of using philosophy to pursue happiness as the purpose of life;The value of relaxation versus escapism in leisure activities;How work as a central purpose integrates with other values;Is objectivity possible?The possibility of objectivity understood as the use of a logical method;Why denying objectivity amounts to denying free will;Why one can be objective and still reach a wrong conclusion;The importance of using methods that guard against error;In what form does a potential exist, and how does it relate to an actuality?Why every potentiality is a type of actuality;How understanding this distinction can help us solve real-life issues, like the abortion debate;What does the “folly of altruism” achieve?Understanding Ayn Rand’s use of “don’t bother to examine a folly — ask yourself only what it accomplishes”;How altruism is used to rationalize forms of evil;Understanding Ayn Rand’s fictional characters in context;Whether Howard Roark is an example of total objectivity. Mentioned in the discussion are the Ayn Rand Lexicon entries on “Happiness” and “Objectivity,” the books 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand and Facets of Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff’s book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, and Rand’s own Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. This episode was recorded on February 9, 2022. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch previous episodes here. If you’d like to ask a question to be answered on a future episode, please send an email to newideal@aynrand.org with “Podcast question” in the subject header. https://youtu.be/mk9XvcOHSUQ Podcast audio: