More Than $370,000 Raised at Chicago Fundraising Dinner, Continued from Page 1

aynrand.org/impact Volume 18, Number 6, June 2012 Yaron Brook Speaks to a More Than $370,000 Raised at Chicago Wide Array of Audiences Fundraising Dinner RI executive director A Yaron Brook has traveled n May 3 ARI held its first fundraising dinner in frequently this spring all O Chicago, titled Atlas Shrugged Revolution, at Auctioned items at the Chicago over the world. He partici- the Waldorf Astoria Chicago. The event raised more fundraising dinner included: pated in debates, lectured on than $370,000 for ARI and was attended by more college campuses, sat on than a hundred people. • A first edition copy of The Fountainhead panels and much more, dis- “We are overwhelmed by the response we • A limited-edition tenth anniversary copy of cussing topics ranging from received in Chicago,” commented Yaron Brook, Atlas Shrugged capitalism and economic his- ARI’s executive director. “For the first dinner • An original clipping from the New York tory to war and taxes. we’ve held in the Chicago area, the amount raised Times of the paperback best-seller list from Throughout his travels, Dr. Brook commu- and the enthusiasm of everyone in attendance was April 7, 1963, showing Atlas Shrugged in nicated Ayn Rand’s ideas and their application more than expected and deeply appreciated.” ninth place, annotated by Ayn Rand to current issues to thousands of people, ranging The evening’s speakers included businessmen, • A set of four difficult-to-find foreign from college students and academic scholars members of the media, educators and students. editions of Atlas Shrugged to business leaders and congressional staffers. • A six-night, double-occupancy stay at a Below is a sampling of Dr. Brook’s speaking luxury boutique hotel in the Florida Keys events this spring, arranged by audience type. • A six-night stay at a Four Seasons luxury vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming Students and Faculty • A Heitz Winery selection of four California • “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral Case Cabernet Sauvignons for Freedom,” New York University, New York City, April 26; Northwestern University, In addition to the items above, naming Evanston, IL, May 2; West Liberty University, rights for awards to ARI’s essay contest West Liberty, WV, May 8 winners in the Chicago area were auctioned. • “Ayn Rand’s Moral Defense of Capitalism,” Bids for each of ARI’s four essay contests Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture, Naval started at $2,500. Naming rights for the Atlas Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal speaking at ARI’s Atlas Shrugged Shrugged essay contest drew more than Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, Febru- Revolution fundraising dinner ary 28 $10,000. • “ The Objectivist and Libertarian Critique Stephen Moore, member of the editorial Impact is pleased to announce, with of Conservatism,” Conservative Intellectual board of and senior economics writer for the Wall permission, the names of the individuals Tradition in America course at The Citadel, Street Journal, delivered an impassioned talk who won naming rights to the Chicago-area Charleston, SC, February 22 about the need to reduce the size of government. awards starting this year. Anthem—Dmitry • “Is Government the Problem or the Solution?,” John Allison, retired chairman and CEO of Balyasny, Balyasny Asset Management; We debate with David Callahan of Demos, BB&T Corporation and ARI board member, the Living—Capitalistpig Asset Management George Mason University, Alexandria, VA, described how Ayn Rand’s philosophy offers a LLC; The Fountainhead—anonymous; Atlas February 8 competitive advantage in business. Shrugged—anonymous. An English teacher from the Chicago area Business Leaders shared with attendees how ARI’s Free Books to Revolution dinners previously held in New York • “Capitalism Without Guilt,” Tiger 21, San Teachers program, through which we provide City, featured an auction, with proceeds benefiting Francisco, CA, March 14; New York City, free classroom sets of Anthem, We the Living, The ARI. For the first time, the auction was conducted April 22 Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to teachers, has live [see sidebar for auctioned items]. benefited her students. One of those students was Contributors took advantage of three sponsor Scholars in attendance and described how reading Anthem levels to attend the dinner. In exchange for $25,000, • “War and Money in the Original Constitution,” offered him clarity in his thinking. attendees sponsored a table. If they contributed Liberty Fund colloquium, San Antonio, TX, The Chicago dinner, as the Atlas Shrugged continued on page 2 May 31–June 3 • “Ayn Rand’s Unique Defense of Capitalism,” BB&T Foundation Programs Conference, Clemson, SC, May 30 Internship Program Receives Applicants from Top Schools • “Why Bad Economics Won’t Go Away,” Association of Private Enterprise Education, RI’s summer internship program received ley and Queen Mary, University of London. Las Vegas, NV, April 2 A a record-breaking number of applications this The internship program takes place this month year—close to 230. This is up from almost 160 last at ARI’s headquarters in Irvine, California. Interns Policy Activists and Leaders year. “Not only are application numbers increas- will receive an immersive three-week experience • “The Morality of Tax Reform,” congressional ing,” commented Jeff Scialabba, ARI academic that combines an educational curriculum explor- briefing, Washington, D.C., May 9 programs officer, “but ing Ayn Rand’s novels, • “Why They Don’t Learn—Why Bad Econo- we’re getting more and philosophy and the mics Won’t Go Away,” congressional briefing, more applicants from applications of Rand’s Washington, D.C., February 9; Global Finan- top schools each year.” ideas to the world today cial Summit 2012, Paradise Island, Bahamas, This year’s class with a traditional intern- February 1–4 includes students from ship in a professional Harvard University, workplace. Public Outreach Georgetown University, In a future issue, • “ The First Principles,” debate with David Cal- Boston College, Emory Impact will report on lahan, ARC Chicago Speaker Series, Chicago, University, University OAC instructor Keith Lockitch (at right) discussing environmentalism with last the interns’ experience IL, March 28 of California at Berke- year’s interns this year. More Than $370,000 Raised at Chicago Fundraising Dinner, continued from page 1 Production, Consumption in both capacities.” (“Egalitarianism and Inflation” in Philosophy: Who Needs It) and Savings The idea that consumer spending drives the economy gives rise to the bizarre idea that savings In this section, Impact highlights writings from can retard economic growth. Ayn Rand rejected Ayn Rand’s corpus for fans who wish to learn this view entirely. Savings, she wrote, “can be said more about her philosophy, Objectivism. The to represent the opposite of consumption: they following is a reprint of a column which origi- represent unconsumed goods. Consumption is the nally appeared in the January 2009 issue. end of production, and a dead end, as far as the productive process is concerned. The worker who yn Rand identified the idea that the consumer produces so little that he consumes everything A is the motor of the economy as one of the he earns, carries his own weight economically, most destructive and widespread errors in regard but contributes nothing to future production. The Auction items at ARI’s Atlas Shrugged Revolution fundraising dinner to the functioning of markets. This idea is behind worker who has a modest savings account, and the today’s claim that to revive the economy we only millionaire who invests a fortune (and all the men need coax consumers to start spending again. in between), are those who finance the future.” According to Ayn Rand, such a view evidences a (“Egalitarianism and Inflation”) myopic mentality. As she explains in The Voice of Reason, She writes: “Trained in college to believe that “Deferred consumption (i.e., savings) on a gigantic to look beyond the immediate moment—to look for scale is required to keep industrial production causes or to foresee consequences—is impossible, going. Savings pay for machines which enable modern men have developed context-dropping as men to produce in a day an amount of goods they their normal method of cognition. Observing a bad, would not be able to produce by hand in a year (if John Allison describes the advantages of using Objectivist principles in business small-town shopkeeper, the kind who is doomed at all). This enables the workers in turn to defer to fail, they believe—as he does—that lack of consumption and to save some of their income $50,000, they were recognized as “Atlas” level customers is his only problem; and that the question for their future needs or goals. The hallmark of an donors. Individual seats were purchased for $1,500. of the goods he sells, or where these goods come industrial society is its members’ distance from Contributors who took advantage of the “Atlas” from, has nothing to do with it. The goods, they a hand-to-mouth mode of living; the greater this level sponsorship include Dmitry Balyasny of believe, are here and will always be here. Therefore, distance, the greater men’s progress. Balyasny Asset Management LP, who sponsored they conclude, the consumer—not the producer—is “The major part of this country’s stock seed two tables; Tim Blum of HSA Commercial, Inc.; the motor of an economy. is not the fortunes of the rich (who are a small and one anonymous sponsor. “But, in fact, consumers qua consumers are minority), but the savings of the middle class—i.e., ARI also received contributions at the not part of anyone’s market; qua consumers, they of responsible men who have the ability to grasp $25,000 level from Dash Financial of New York are irrelevant to economics. Nature does not grant the concept ‘future’ and to deposit one dollar (or City; Jack Miller Family Foundation of Buffalo anyone an innate title of ‘consumer’; it is a title that more) into a bank account.

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