Volume 15, Number 12, December 2009 What a Year! 2009 at a Glance A message from ARI executive High School and College Students fifty professors attended the annual conference for director . • Close to 350,000 books were shipped BB&T professors cosponsored by ARI and the to teachers (an all-time high) during the 2008– Clemson Institute for the Study of . ast December Impact’s 2009 school year, bringing the program total, so • Fourteen scholars visited the Ayn Rand Archives, L yearly review opened with far, to 1.5 million. more than ever before. the following: “While the poli- • More than 16,000 students • Ayn Rand Archives completed phase one of a tical and economic landscape entered the Anthem essay three-phase reformatting project of the Ayn Rand looks bleak, the prospects for contest (an all-time high). Papers. When completed, scholars will be able to have never looked • More than 7,000 students access many of the 100,000 items in this special better. ARI has continued to grow at an unprec- entered collection via the Internet. edented rate, reaching milestones that would have essay contest (another seemed impossible a decade ago. And despite the all-time high). Research and Scholarship hardships ahead, ARI plans to achieve even more • More than 4,000 students • Winning the Unwinnable in 2009.” entered the War: America’s Self- What an understatement. As the economy essay contest (double the Crippled Response to plummeted and government expanded, interest in previous all-time high). Islamic Totalitarianism, a Ayn Rand exploded. In 2008 Atlas Shrugged sold • ARI provided speakers for 44 campus collection of ARI essays a record 200,000 copies. In 2009 it sold that many club events during the 2008–2009 school year. on America’s response to within the first six months of the year, and final • Summer internship applications were up 9/11, was published by sales figures are expected to surpass 400,000. 12 percent. Lexington books. ARI Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged have been part fellow is the of the conversation, whether in the news, on the Objectivist Academic Center book’s editor and main contributor, and ARI Internet or at Tea Party protests across the country. • In its eighth year, the OAC executive director Yaron Brook and ARI fellow has 140 students enrolled in Alex Epstein are contributing authors. its undergraduate and graduate • ARI senior fellow contributed to programs. the forthcoming Blackwell collection Ayn Rand: • OAC applications increased 53 percent. A Companion to Her Works and Thought, edited • Fifteen students graduated from the undergradu- by Drs. and Greg Salmieri. ate program, the largest class to date. • Essays ’s • The OAC mentoring program expanded, match- “Atlas Shrugged,” edited ing more promising students with more Objectiv- by Robert Mayhew, was Protesters at a Tea Party in Chicago ist professors and professionals. published by Lexington Books. Contributors And ARI has been right in the thick of it. This • OAC migrated to the new online platform include ARI’s , year we gave more than 150 interviews, distributed Moodle, with good response from students. Debi Ghate, Onkar Ghate nearly 350,000 free books to teachers, saw record- and Richard E. Ralston. breaking numbers of entrants in our essay contests, Objectivism in Academia • ARI publications attracted spoke at Tea Parties, appeared on major news • We are in contact with close to a hundred Objec- the attention of academ- programs and in major newspapers, launched a blog tivists in or working toward academic careers. ics and professionals: an article by ARI fellow and new Web sites, published a book and contrib- • There are now more than fifty Objectivists with Keith Lockitch on how capitalism is man’s best uted to other books, and saw our scholarly articles Ph.D.’s (including law professors) and more than protection against natural disasters was published referred to in legal and academic circles. twenty Ph.D. candidates. in the scholarly journal Energy and Environment; The highlights were so many, in fact, that in • Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship and an article by ARI analyst Tom Bowden on lieu of Impact’s traditional December year-in- made new multiyear gifts to support fellowships a popular but flawed interpretation of the U.S. review article—which would have occupied most at and the University of North Constitution was discussed in non-Objectivist of the space available—in this issue you’ll find a Carolina at Chapel Hill. legal and academic circles. series of year-end wrap-ups from some of our vice • Anthem Foundation supported an important presidents. We hope you feel the same pride that workshop at the University of Warwick and we do in our accomplishments, for it is your dona- renewed its support for the University of Pitts- Public Outreach and the Ayn Rand Center for tions that made them possible. burgh Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism. Individual Rights Thank you and happy holidays from the • ARI is now working with sixty BB&T university • ARC launched the blog Voices for Reason and . programs for the study of capitalism. A record saw its content linked to by major Web sites such as Instapundit and Forbes.com. Public Outreach: Spreading the Message A message from Lin Zinser, spreading our message. I’m happy to report that we vice president of the Public took full advantage of the situation. Outreach Division for the Yaron Brook and ARC intellectuals were in Ayn Rand Institute. Media high demand throughout the year. Our op-eds were figures are for the fiscal year. published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Christian Monitor and on the popular he purpose of ARI’s Public business Web site Investor’s Business Daily, among • ARC launched ARC-TV.com to better dissemi- TOutreach Division is to others. We gave nearly 160 interviews on televi- nate video and audio content to the public. advance Ayn Rand’s ideas by sion, radio and the Internet. These included multiple • ARC hosted six Ayn Rand Center Lecture engaging the media, think tanks and other intellec- appearances on Fox News and CNBC and a weekly Series events. Topics included the financial tuals, the public and, by extension, legislators. The slot on PJTV, an Internet television Web site. crisis, the history of oil, and climate change economic crisis, a statist government and a surge in We participated throughout the year in Tea alarmism. interest in Ayn Rand created the perfect storm for Continued on page 4 Continued on page 2 Ayn Rand Exhibit at Chapman University

new exhibit featuring items from the collection A of the Ayn Rand Archives and the Ayn Rand Institute Publishing Department opened Novem- ber 2, 2009, at Chapman University’s Leatherby Library. The university invited the Archives to develop an exhibit on the occasion of the unveil- ing of a bronze bust of Ayn Rand by the artist anxiety, which all of their current irrationalities are Juan Rosillo. The bust was commissioned in Why Altruism Leads intended to stave off and to disguise, is the unstated celebration of the endowment of a new chair in knowledge that Soviet Russia is the full, actual, free-market economics. to Statism literal, consistent embodiment of the morality of As a gift to the donors underwriting the altruism, that Stalin did not corrupt a noble ideal, new chair, the university commissioned a bust Each month Impact suggests readings and other that this is the only way altruism has to be or can of a historic figure of the donor’s choosing. The resources for fans of Ayn Rand’s fiction who wish ever be practiced. If service and self-sacrifice are a donor selected Ayn Rand. In keeping with the to learn more about her , Objectivism. moral ideal, and if the ‘selfishness’ of human nature university’s tradition, affixed to the pedestal is a prevents men from leaping into sacrificial furnaces, quote selected by the donor. (The source of the he Holocaust. Gulags. Secret Police. Mass there is no reason—no reason that a mystic moralist quote was a list of selections from Atlas Shrugged Toppression. Mass squalor. Mass starvation. could name—why a dictator should not push them assembled by the Ayn Rand Archives.) It reads: Mass death. In every country in which they’ve been in at the point of bayonets—for their own good, or “Every man is free to rise as far as he’s able or erected, statist political systems such as commu- the good of humanity, or the good of posterity, or willing, but it’s only the degree to which he thinks nism, fascism, Nazism and socialism are respon- the good of the latest bureaucrat’s latest five-year that determines the degree to which he’ll rise.” sible for the most horrific destruction in mankind’s plan. There is no reason that they can name to (Galt’s speech, Atlas Shrugged) history. So how do such systems ever come into oppose any atrocity. The value of a man’s life? His being? right to exist? His right to pursue his own happi- All political systems, explained Rand, are based ness? These are concepts that belong to individual- on one’s views of morality: “The answers given by ism and capitalism—to the antithesis of the altruist ethics determine how man should treat other men, morality.” (“Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the and this determines the fourth branch of philosophy: Modern World”) politics, which defines the principles of a proper so- For more on this topic, see, in addition to cial system.” (Title essay, Philosophy: Who Needs It) the works already cited, the title essay of For the The basic principle underlying all variations New Intellectual, Ayn Rand’s nonfiction books of statism is the idea that “man’s life and work Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal and The of belong to the state—to the society, to the group, the Selfishness, and her novels We the Living and Atlas gang, the race, the nation—and that the state may Shrugged. All of these items can be purchased dispose of him in any way it pleases for the sake from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. To order, visit www of whatever it deems to be its own tribal, collective .aynrandbookstore.com or call 1-800-729-6149. good.” (“Introducing Objectivism,” The Objectivist Newsletter, Aug. 1962) The ethical doctrine that defines that principle, Additional Resources from the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights Rand said, is altruism: “The political expression of altruism is collectivism or statism.” (“Introducing Read Objectivism”) • “America’s Unfree Market” by Yaron Brook Altruism, she writes, holds “that man has no and As an additional honor, a special exhibit right to exist for his own sake, that service to others • “Atlas Shrugged and the Housing Crisis that curated by the Archives features artifacts related is the only justification of his existence, and that self- Government Built” by Yaron Brook • “Is Rand Relevant?” by Yaron Brook to Atlas Shrugged. On display in the main lobby sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value. of the Leatherby Library through the end of “Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good Watch the year are more than a dozen foreign editions will or respect for the rights of others. These are not • “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral Case for Freedom” of Atlas Shrugged, including opening pages primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altru- by Yaron Brook (ARC Lecture Series) of editions in English, Chinese, Marathi and ism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of • “Atlas Shrugged—America’s Second Declaration of Russian. The display of diverse languages (and altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice—which Independence” by Onkar Ghate (ARC Lecture Series) typescripts) underscores the growing worldwide means: self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, • “Ayn Rand’s Ideas—an Introduction” by Onkar Ghate awareness of the novel. self-destruction—which means: the self as a stan- (ARC Lecture Series) • “The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Meaning of dard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.” Communism”; interview with Yaron Brook (Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern and Onkar Ghate (ARC-TV.com) World,” Philosophy: Who Needs It) The ethical principle of self-sacrifice leads, Visit inexorably, to statism in politics. “The secret dread • www.aynrand.org/objectivism_fiction_we_the_living of modern intellectuals, liberals and conservatives • aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/statism.html alike, the unadmitted terror at the root of their • aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/altruism.html

2009 at a Glance, continued from page 1 • ARC launched specialized Web pages focus- ing on the financial crisis, Tea Parties, the 150th • ARC gave more than forty talks to business anniversary of oil and health care. and community groups. • ARI launched the Atlas Shrugged Initiative, a major promotional and educational campaign, A second exhibit case on the second floor and raised substantial funds for it and ARC of the library was on display through November at a September benefit dinner titled “Atlas 20. It featured the quote from Galt’s speech that Shrugged Revolution.” The dinner included a was incorporated in the Rand bust pedestal. The silent auction of Ayn Rand materials owned by display presented the donor Tedd Potts, who donated half the pro- facsimile edition of ceeds to the Institute. the original 1957 pub- • ARC spoke against big government at Tea lication as well as a Parties throughout the year, including the July facsimile of the earli- 4th rallies in Boston and San Diego, and the est extant handwritten September 12 rally in Washington, D.C., where version. The case also Yaron Brook spoke before tens of thousands. included images from • Yaron Brook was a keynote speaker at the 2009 the Ayn Rand photo- Principles of a Free Society Web site Virginia Republican State Convention. graph collection and • There were 460 attendees at Objectivist publishing ephemera • ARC launched the Principles of a Free Society Summer Conference 2009 in Boston, the largest consisting of ads for Web site, www.principlesofafreesociety.com, attendance to date for an East Coast venue. the 1957 Random which provides an integrated overview of House advertising Ayn Rand’s political theory. Continued on page 3 campaign. 2 Academic Division in Action

A message from Debi Ghate, ARI’s vice president of Elan Journo Academic programs My writing aims to apply Objectivist ideas to current affairs, easons’ greetings from the Academic Division staff in specifically foreign policy, and thus disseminate rational ideas in S Irvine, California, and Washington, D.C.! We’ve had a the culture. In January I typed the last words in the final chapter productive year developing new content in various media; of my book, Winning the Unwinnable War, and by late summer representing ARI and ARC on stage, at conferences and in of 2009 the book started shipping out to readers interested in interviews; offering courses and mentoring tomorow’s New ARI’s perspective on pressing questions of foreign policy. I’m Intellectuals through the Objectivist Academic Center; work- presently working on another book project that explores and ing on educational outreach programs for students, professors evaluates U.S. policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and I look and other intellectuals; sharing weekday commentary through our blog, Voices for forward to completing it in 2010. Reason; writing and publishing books, and more. All of us would like to thank our donors for their support throughout the year, which made all of this possible. Keith Lockitch To capture our achievements over the past year, I asked each member of the I spread Ayn Rand’s ideas in the culture through my writing team to describe how his work supports ARI’s mission, share a personal highlight and speaking on science and environmentalism, and by teach- from 2009, and tell what he is most looking forward to working on next year. ing the next generation of Objectivist intellectuals in the OAC. Getting an article on climate change published in the journal Energy and Environment, which reaches an audience of intel- Thomas A. Bowden lectuals interested in climate and energy policy, was a high point My work reaches out to serious non-Objectivists with expla- this year. I’m excited to work on the development and launch of nations of Ayn Rand’s ideas and their application, especially Ayn Rand Campus, which will offer a new way of educating the to issues of law and individual rights. My personal highlight general public about Ayn Rand’s ideas at a deeper level. was seeing my scholarly article, “Justice Holmes and the Empty Constitution,” attract attention from academia and Jeff Scialabba the legal community. In 2010 I’m looking forward in par- I help spread Objectivism through my writing, and by assisting ticular to writing two articles—on the principle of property others in the Academic Division to produce more content more rights and on the multiculturalist controversy surrounding quickly. My personal highlight was advancing as a writer: from Columbus Day—and attempting to place them in general taking over as primary editor of Impact to blogging for Voices interest magazines. for Reason to publishing my first op-ed. I’m looking forward to tackling more op-eds in new content areas, assisting with student Chris Elsee outreach, and completing the final year of the OAC’s under- The programs I’m involved in support a key portion of graduate program. ARI’s mission—the finding, training and supporting of New Intellectuals. My 2009 highlight was identifying and devel- Don Watkins oping the OAC’s new online platform so that we can deliver As an analyst for the Institute, I help to promote Ayn Rand’s a high-quality, effective educational program to students ideas by applying them to issues in the culture—in particular, around the world. With OAC applications up 52 percent this issues related to freedom of speech. The highlight of 2009 for year, that work was vital. This next year I look forward to me was speaking in front of 3,000 attendees at the Orange being part of the team that plans and launches ARI’s online County tax day Tea Party. In this coming year, I’m most looking educational program, Ayn Rand Campus. forward to making public some of the work I’ve been doing on Alex Epstein James Madison and his views on free speech. I contribute to ARI’s mission by educating the public about Ayn Rand’s ideas via using them to clarify important busi- As for me, being a contributing author of Robert Mayhew’s Essays on Ayn Rand’s ness and economic issues. My personal highlight in 2009 “Atlas Shrugged,” in which I wrote about why businessmen were crucial to the was vastly increasing my public speaking presence, by novel’s plot theme, stood out in 2009. Overall though, the progress and successes speaking at universities and doing multiple TV appearances. of the entire Academic Division’s staff constitute my personal highlights. This helped generate numerous other opportunities, includ- In 2010, in addition to producing new books, articles, lectures, etc., the Divi- ing two guest op-eds in Investor’s Business Daily. In 2010 sion will formally launch four Research and Scholarship Groups, with activities I am most looking forward to writing extensively about the focused on subjects of cultural significance. At the same time, we’ll be substan- oil industry and why we need to defend it. tially expanding our educational programs by offering new resources for profes- Onkar Ghate sors, launching Ayn Rand Campus, offering an expanded internship program and creating new resources for students. And we will continue to strive to offer the This past year I was very pleased to write two pieces for best training available for new intellectuals through our OAC program. Dr. Mayhew’s book of essays on Atlas Shrugged and two Ultimately, the division’s activities are designed to tackle today’s pressing pieces for Dr. Gotthelf and Dr. Salmieri’s forthcoming book questions in an effort to preserve the positive elements of our culture in the short- Ayn Rand: A Companion to Her Works and Thought. In the term, while simultaneously advocating, educating people about, and producing coming year I look forward to implementing new course new scholarship that advances the long-term philosophical solutions necessary to delivery software for the OAC, which among other things have a lasting impact on this country’s intellectual direction. should free up some of my time to embark on more writing Your moral and financial support has been crucial in making these activities pos- projects. My work at the Institute is enjoyable and reward- sible. We wish you and yours a festive holiday season, and all the best for 2010! ing because I get to participate in directly spreading Ayn Rand’s ideas to the public and to train a new generation of advocates for her philosophy.

2009 at a Glance, continued from page 2 • ARI put out 79 press releases and published 35 op-eds and other medium-length pieces, nine Media long articles and book chapters, and 214 blog Figures are for the fiscal year (October–September) posts on Voices for Reason. • Amid the financial crisis and a surge of interest • ARI op-eds were published 251 times, in major in Ayn Rand, ARI intellectuals were interviewed media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal on radio and television, on average, thirteen (Yaron Brook), USA Today (Tom Bowden), times a month, and appeared frequently on Fox Investor’s Business Daily (two op-eds by Alex News, CNBC and the Internet television Web Epstein) and the Christian Science Monitor site PJTV. (Debi Ghate). Total print circulation of these op- eds is more than six million. • An op-ed by Yaron Brook was quoted exten- sively in Steve Forbes’s new book, How Capital- ism Will Save Us.

Don Watkins at a Tea Party in Santa Ana, California Yaron Brook during one of his weekly appearances on PJTV Yaron Brook’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal 3 Happy Holidays from the Staff at the Ayn Rand Institute

Front row, left to right: Richard E. Ralston, Anu Seppala, Onkar Ghate, Yaron Brook, Debi Ghate, Julie Ferguson, Mark Chapman Back rows, left to right: Jeff Britting, Don Watkins, Donna Montrezza, Chris Elsee, Alex Epstein, Marilee Dahl, Matthew Morgen, Keith Lockitch, Rachel Knapp, Matt Ludin, Elan Journo, Arthur Lechtholtz-Zey, Kate Sherwood, Bryan Olive, Jeff Scialabba, Meg Sullivan, David Gulbraa, Stacy Smith, ® Steven Dougherty, David Antonacci, Simon Federman Impact is published monthly by the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) and is complimentary to current donors who contribute $35 or more per year. Absent: David Arceneaux, Eric Brunner, Angela Dietrich, Kathy Cross, Duane Knight For information on how you can support ARI and to learn about our projects, please visit our Web site: www.aynrand.org. Atlantis Legacy®, the Institute’s planned giving program, and related indicia are registered trademarks. The Ayn Rand Archives is a special collection of the Ayn Rand Institute. Objectivist Conferences (OCON) and the Ayn Rand Bookstore are operations of the Ayn Rand Institute. All photos of Ayn Rand are used by permission of the Estate of Ayn Rand. Purchases from the Ayn Rand Bookstore do not qualify Staff at the Ayn Rand Center as tax-deductible contributions to the Ayn Rand Institute. for Individual Rights Editors: Don Watkins, Jeff Scialabba Left to right: Editorial Advisers: Yaron Brook, Mark Chapman, Debi Ghate, Kurt Kramer, Anu Seppala, Lin Zinser Designer: Simon Federman Lin Zinser, Printing: David Antonacci Copy Editor: Donna Montrezza Daniel Richards, Headquarters: 2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250 Tom Bowden Irvine, CA 92606-4926 Phone: 949-222-6550 Fax: 949-222-6558 © The Ayn Rand Institute 2009. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without permission. ARI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to ARI in the are tax-exempt to the extent provided by law..

Public Outreach: Spreading the Message, continued from page 1 Party protests against the expansion of govern- Rights Institute and the Institute for Justice, which ment. The biggest of these was the 9/12 March we view as important to spreading our message on Washington, D.C. We were cosponsors of among those who influence the culture. Among the the event, where Dr. Brook spoke before tens of results: ARC and CEI are planning a national tour thousands, and we hosted an “intellectual ammu- of perhaps ten events with Dr. Brook and Mr. Smith nition” workshop for Tea Party organizers. Two on the moral and practical arguments for capitalism. hundred fifty attended the workshop, which we We also sponsored a conference on the morality of cohosted with the Competitive Enterprise Institute war organized by Drs. and John David (CEI) the day before the march. Dr. Brook and Lewis, and intend to do a similar conference next Dr. spoke at that event, along year. We have several other events and joint projects with Fred L. Smith, Jr., and Iain Murray of CEI. in the works, which we will make known publicly We gave talks at universities and conferences as plans solidify. and before professional trade organizations, includ- Finally, we expanded our support of grassroots ing the Heartland Institute’s second annual confer- Objectivist activism around the country. I will con- ence on climate change, the Young Presidents’ tinue to discuss and promote Objectivist activism Organization, the Oxford Union and the Leadership in my Impact column, Prime Movers in Activism, Program of the Rockies. Perhaps our most surpris- in 2010. ing speaking engagement was Dr. Brook’s keynote Even with all of these accomplishments, address at the Virginia Republican State Convention I think that the coming year holds even more in May. Dr. Brook urged Republicans to right their promise. Thank you for your support. I look failings by returning to the founding principles of the forward to recounting even greater achievements United States and fighting for the separation of state a year from now. and economics. Their response? A standing ovation. We continued to build relationships with other intellectuals and with think tanks such as the Bill of Year-End Tax Alert ight bad government programs—don’t Ffinance them! If you itemize deductions on Impact by E-mail your tax return, you can “contribute” less to In place of the print edition, ARI donors may opt to the government at tax time by donating cash or receive Impact by e-mail each month. The e-mail other assets to ARI now. edition regularly contains additional articles, and Contributions of appreciated securities held switching to an e-mail subscription saves ARI more than one year offer double tax savings: $30 annually per donor on printing and mailing they are fully deductible at current market value, costs. To start receiving Impact by e-mail, please see instructions in the lower-right-hand corner of and capital gain tax is also avoided; for details, the enclosed envelope, or e-mail your request to visit www.aynrand.org/stock. As always, consult [email protected]. your tax advisor before arranging a transfer of noncash property to the Institute. Gifts must be completed by December 31 to qualify for a deduction on your 2009 tax return. For assistance with your year-end gifts to ARI, contact Kathy Cross at 732-242-9408 or [email protected].

4 Quarterly Update from the Anthem Foundation

The following is an edited excerpt from the quar- Take, for example, the recent Workshop on Percep- terly update of the Anthem Foundation for Objec- tion, Consciousness and Reference at the Univer- tivist Scholarship by Anthem Foundation senior sity of Warwick [Coventry, England], cohosted director Debi Ghate. by Dr. Gotthelf and another professor, which Drs. Greg Salmieri and Tara Smith attended and which hanks to your support, the Anthem Founda- was supported by the Anthem Foundation. Both Ttion for Objectivist Scholarship is concur- Drs. Gotthelf and Salmieri report that introducing rently supporting multiyear gifts at the University Objectivist to experts in the field is Academic Panel at Objectivist Summer Conference 2009 of Austin at Texas (Tara Smith), the University no simple matter. But the progress they made, and their students are demanding it; at other times, they of Pittsburgh (Allan Gotthelf), the University of will continue to make, in finding points of common hear that so many other professors are using her North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Greg Salmieri), understanding serves the goal of creating acceptance works that they feel as though they are missing an Duke University (John David Lewis) and Chap- that their perspective is worth discussing and con- important piece of scholarship. Either way, hun- man University (Amy Peikoff). In each case, sidering. This not only gives their own scholarship dreds of professors fall into these categories—they Objectivism is an explicit part of the program a hearing, but makes it easier for others to consider as individuals may not develop a serious interest in being supported, and a recognized Objectivist Objectivist epistemology in their own work. Objectivism qua philosophy, but they conclude that professor has earned a place in that university’s they’d better teach it lest they deprive their students scholarly ranks and is actively producing research 2. Reaching Students. Through new professors, of a complete education. More often than not, once and writing involving Objectivism—openly, effec- we are reaching thousands of students across they’ve read Rand for themselves, they tend to tively and collaboratively. . . . the country, some of whom will be tomorrow’s have a positive rather than negative response. And As we continue to succeed in pursuing our graduate students and professors. The more often they tell their students and colleagues about their core mission of supporting serious scholarship Rand’s name is heard in the classroom, whether in experience, the response of their students and the based on Objectivism, the Anthem Foundation’s a negative or positive light, the more acceptable it help the Foundation gave them. . . . new outreach programs, aimed at providing will be for future academics to write dissertations resources to new professors, take on increasing on Objectivism, or to contrast their thesis with While our supported scholars and targeted efforts importance. The way I see it, there’s a symbiotic what Objectivist scholars are writing, or to include advance the understanding of Objectivism with relationship between these two undertakings. In the Objectivist perspective when teaching the next expert and important specialists in various fields, what ways? generation of students. The more students are our broad-reaching resource programs introduce exposed to Ayn Rand’s writings, and the writings key academic audiences to Rand in larger and 1. Achieving Academic Acceptance. Through our of scholars creating derivative works, the more larger numbers. supported scholars and our own outreach efforts, students will use their own judgment in evaluating While the serious scholarship we support we are helping to equate Ayn Rand’s name with her work. Some of them will choose Objectivism advances the technical and influential academic rigorous, academia-worthy scholarship. This cre- as their personal philosophy. But if Objectivism discussions—the source of cultural direction, the ates new places at the discussion table for Objec- were not deemed important enough to study at broad-reaching efforts we engage in make it more tivists and others wanting to study or apply Rand’s college, it is far less likely that students would be acceptable for those activities to occur. ideas. This also creates acceptance (not to be con- influenced by it. Thank you for supporting both of these crucial fused with agreement) among academics. Accep- We get calls and e-mails from professors goals. With your help, the Foundation will con- tance that Objectivism offers a unique perspective regularly asking for advice on how to introduce tinue pursuing them. Please visit www.anthem is a key step in advancing it in academia. Rand into a wide range of courses. Sometimes, foundation.org for more information.

Teachers Respond to Free Books Program lmost all of Amy Honors Each year, the Ayn Rand Institute sends out ne of my students, upon completing Atlas students loved [The hundreds of thousands of Ayn Rand books to OShrugged, told me it was the greatest book Fountainhead]. They teachers who wish to use them in their classroom. she had ever read and that it challenged her said it was unlike any At the end of the year, a questionnaire is mailed whole view of the role of government as well as book they had ever read. asking teachers for feedback on the program. the power of the individual. She has encouraged Many of them borrowed The following is a sampling of responses ARI has many other kids to take up the book, and I my copy of Anthem received. More responses may be found in the couldn’t be more proud. to read, and several of e-mail edition of the October Impact. —Teacher, Auburn, Alabama them bought their own copy of Atlas Shrugged. The contagion spread to students outside my class. One student who ach day was like an epiphany for the y students have stated again and again was not in an Honors class but who was friends E students. My “at-risk” students couldn’t Mthat reading an Ayn Rand novel is a with some of my students began reading Atlas wait to see what each day’s reading [of life changing experience. You have helped to Shrugged and loved it. He would discuss it with Anthem] unveiled for them. Quite a few empower my students to think on their own and me in the hall between classes and at Starbucks, students borrowed the books over the weekend live life on their own terms. where he worked, when I would go in for some and read ahead . . . some just read ahead while —Teacher, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania coffee. This year’s students have heard last year’s we read and discussed the novel in class . . . student’s positive responses, and they’ve already they just couldn’t wait!!! It was GREAT. started reading it. Teaching this book has been one Written responses were quite analytical and hile most of our kids are devoted non- of my best educational experiences. produced phenomenal contributions from Wreaders, they all liked Anthem, and the ones —Teacher, Canton, Georgia students who otherwise had done little to who stayed with it enough to get into it really nothing during the semester. A number of loved The Fountainhead and wanted copies of students remarked that this was the first book Atlas Shrugged. Several even went out on their they had read and actually enjoyed. own to read We the Living. Projected Sales of —Teacher, Corona, California —Teacher, Los Fresnos, Texas Atlas Shrugged in 2009

tlas Shrugged sold as never before in ince teaching the Ihad one student’s life A 2009, with bookstore sales expected to Snovel five years ago, Ichange because of The surpass 400,000. ARI’s purchases of the book my students always rave Fountainhead. It add another 50,000 to the total. Official book- about Anthem. They was so exciting. We store numbers will be available in January 2010. always ask if they can talk about his “pre- keep it or if there are Fountainhead” life and other novels available. “post-Fountainhead” This year, since my existence. He is a much students raved about the happier person and reading, my colleagues believes in himself so have decided that they much more. On the other will also teach it and we hand I had one student made it a part of the novel study for the school. who everyone nicknamed “Toohey” by the end —Teacher, Jamaica, of the unit . . . and he was very proud. Scary! —Teacher, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

5 ARI’s Cultural Division: Who We Are and What We Do In support of these and other ARI programs, copy editor Donna Montrezza reviews ARI documents and publications for grammatical precision. As A message from Anu Seppala, and abroad. We furnish clubs with meeting for myself, I supervise the division and manage vice president of ARI’s materials and provide vital guidance, helping various other projects, including activities related Cultural Division. them to start up and to overcome obstacles such to the Atlas Shrugged Initiative; handling speaker as a leader’s graduation. Last year we helped relations for the Objectivist summer conferences; RI’s Cultural Division campus clubs put on forty-four talks, panels and overseeing and coordinating community talks; and A comprises three ARI debates involving Objectivist intellectuals. working with select free-market think tanks out- departments: Education, side the United States. It’s quite rewarding to help Publishing and the Ayn Rand Objectivism sprout in such far off places! Archives. As 2009 draws to I look forward to the new year and the chal- a close, I’d like to elaborate on what we do and lenges that will come with it. Thank you for your highlight our accomplishments over the past year. continuing support and happy holidays to you all!

Archives Department The Ayn Rand Archives, overseen by manager Jeff Britting, collects, preserves and makes avail- able to scholars materials pertaining to Ayn Rand’s life, thought and cultural influence. As a research library, the Archives does not critique scholarly conclusions but simply offers researchers the Publishing Department opportunity to investigate the documents in its As Publishing Department manager, Richard E. possession. We welcome serious scholars interested Ralston works with the publishers of Ayn Rand’s in Ayn Rand to contact the Archives staff to learn books to track book sales, negotiate marketing about the wide range of material in our possession. campaigns and to produce audio books, foreign A record fourteen researchers visited the Archives translations and other products. He is our author- this past year, a reflection of growing interest in ity on sales of Ayn Rand’s books, which this year Ayn Rand among intellectuals and scholars. flew off the shelves as never before. Sales of Atlas The Archives also works to educate the Shrugged alone are poised to surpass 400,000 in public about Ayn Rand and her philosophy by 2009, more than double the record set just one curating exhibitions, the most recent taking place year ago. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of at Chapman University in Orange, California. Ayn Rand books are purchased by ARI and dis- (See “Ayn Rand Exhibit at Chapman University,” tributed to teachers and students. All-time sales of on page 2.) The Archives’ next exhibit is planned Ayn Rand’s books now exceed 26 million. for 2010 in Washington, D.C. More news about Some other highlights: that in future issues of Impact. publication of Objectively In the last few years, the main activity of the Speaking, a long-awaited Archives has been the reformatting of the Ayn Rand collection of Ayn Rand Papers, a special collection of manuscripts, docu- interviews edited by Marlene ments and other material in Ayn Rand’s possession Podritske and Peter Schwartz; at the time of her death in 1982. This very impor- publication of the first trade tant three-part conversion and access project will paperback edition of We the reproduce the entire collection, which houses close Living, with a new cover to 100,000 items, in media such as microfilm and and a new introduction by electronic files and on acid-free paper, and make ; the larg- much of it available to scholars over the Internet. est bookstore promotions of This year, we completed phase one: the digitization Atlas Shrugged, to date, and of the collection. In the future we will offer limited a related online advertising online access to the material, even though this is campaign on highly trafficked still a few years and many funding dollars away. Web sites such as Facebook and the Wall Street Journal. The bookstore and Internet promotions were part of the Atlas Shrugged Initiative, a wide-ranging cam- paign centered on Ayn Rand’s masterpiece and encompassing activities involving all of ARI’s Penguing Group (USA) promotional display of Atlas Shrugged divisions (see November Impact article). as featured at bookstores across the country

Education Department manager, Marilee Dahl at this year’s Advanced Spotlight on the Ayn Rand Bookstore: Placement Conference in San Antonio, Texas Nothing Less Than Victory Education Department TM The Education Department consumes the larg- ambitious and sweeping look at six major wars, est fraction of ARI’s budget, a reflection of the TM books/audio/videos . . . for the rational mind from antiquity to World War II, John David Lewis number of students we reach with our programs. shows how victorious military commanders have These include Free Books to Teachers, essay con- achieved long-term peace by identifying the core of tests and campus clubs, as well as general student he goal of a war the enemy’s ideological, political and social support and teacher outreach programs. The programs are Tis to defeat an for a war, fiercely striking at this objective, and run by Education Department manager Marilee enemy’s will to fight. demanding that the enemy acknowledge its defeat. Dahl and her team, Matt Ludin, Meg Sullivan But how this can Lewis shows that a war’s endurance rests and Matthew Morgen. be accomplished in each side’s reasoning, moral purpose and Last year we broke every major record is a thorny issue. commitment to fight, and why an effectively aimed, pertaining to our programs. We shipped close Nothing Less Than well-planned and quickly executed offense can to 350,000 books to middle and high school Victory provocatively end a conflict and create the conditions needed teachers (bringing our total to date to nearly submits that for long-term peace. Recognizing the human 1.5 million books). More than 27,000 students aggressive, strategic motivations behind military conflicts, Nothing Less took part in the Anthem, Fountainhead and military offenses Than Victory makes a powerful case for offensive Atlas Shrugged essay contests, and each contest can win wars and actions in pursuit of peace. attracted more entrants than ever before. Such a establish lasting Nothing Less Than Victory is now available for major increase bespeaks the continued, cumula- peace, while preorder from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. To preorder tive effect of our student programs, as well as defensive maneuvers have often led to prolonged for expected February delivery, call 1-800-729- Ayn Rand’s growing influence in the culture. carnage, indecision and stalemate. Taking an 6149 or visit www.aynrandbookstore.com. We currently work with sixty-five Objectivist campus clubs at universities in the United States 6