Volume 16, Number 6, June 2010 ’s Public Talks ARC Intellectuals in the Media and ARI executive director Yaron Brook is in high demand these days, speaking about and on the Stage at college campuses and other venues across the United States. Here is a sampling of rom op-eds in major newspapers to interviews contributor to Winning the Unwinnable War: Dr. Brook’s recent appearances. Between talks, Fon national news stations to speaking engage- America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Dr. Brook continues to make regular appearances ments across the country—ARC intellectuals are Totalitarianism, was invited on the program to on PJTV and to give numerous radio, television and speaking out in defense of individual rights, laissez- discuss U.S. foreign policy with respect to ’s online interviews. Recordings of Dr. Brook’s talks faire , and the morality of self-interest. steadfast pursuit of nuclear weapons. and interviews can be found on ARC-TV.com. Here’s a roundup of some recent activities. Senior fellow took a unique In early March, an op-ed by analyst angle in a debate on BusinessWeek.com’s Debate • March 4, “The Morality of War,” San Diego and executive director Yaron Brook was published Room. The assertion posed by BusinessWeek.com Rotary Club, San Diego, CA in the Christian Science Monitor. “Apple vs GM: was that public university students should not be Ayn Rand Knew the Difference. Do You?” points protesting state tuition hikes because state schools out real-life examples of the two different kinds are cheaper than private schools. Dr. Ghate presents of businessmen identified by Ayn Rand in Atlas the pro side—only he does so on the grounds that Shrugged: the producer and the looter. the students have no right to state-funded educa- Mr. Watkins and Dr. Brook followed up their Christian Science Monitor piece with an op-ed in the Washington Examiner a few weeks later. The March 26 op-ed, “What’s Really Driving the Toyota Controversy?” shows how political pull—not safety concerns—was the driving force behind congressio- nal hearings into charges of a manufacturing defect in Toyota vehicles. The authors then argue that the Dr. Brook speaking at the University of Washington only way to end such pressure group warfare is to • March 16, “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral disentangle the state from economic affairs. Case for Freedom,” University of Washington, Another March success saw fellow and Seattle, WA Policy division manager on Fox • March 17, “The Contemporary Relevance of News Channel’s America’s News HQ on Satur- Ayn Rand’s Ideas and How They Matter,” day, March 27. Mr. Journo, editor of and main GenNext Seattle conference, Seattle, WA • March 25, “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral Senior fellow Onkar Ghate’s article on BusinessWeek.com Case for Freedom,” Arizona State University, tion in the first place. Dr. Ghate argues the state Tempe, AZ has no business being involved in higher education • March 27, “The Morality of Capitalism,” Wealth and points out that the fight over tuition hikes is an Conference, Tempe, AZ example of the pressure group politics that is symp- • March 29, “Free Markets Didn’t Fail: Its Defend- tomatic of the mixed economy. ers Did,” meeting of the New York Young Repub- In the weeks surrounding the House of licans, New York, NY Representatives’ vote on the health care over- • March 30, “You Are Not Your Brother’s Health haul in early April, ARC intellectuals published Care Provider,” , New York, Fellow Elan Journo on Channel Continued on page 2 NY • March 31, “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral Case for Freedom,” Colloquium for the Albert Yaron Brook in Plenary Debate at Academic Conference Dorman Honors College, New Jersey Institute of n April 13 Yaron Brook participated in a Technology, Newark, NJ in Las Vegas.” plenary session debate titled “Ayn Rand vs. • April 1, “The Practical and Moral Aspects of O The debate underscored the presence of in Defense of Capitalism” at the Capitalism,” with Fred Smith of the Competitive Ayn Rand at the three-day conference, which annual conference of the Association for Private Enterprise Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, brought together educators and scholars Enterprise Education held in Las Vegas this year. NY from colleges and universities, public policy insti- A packed room of well over one hundred academ- • April 8, “Health Care: You Are Not Your Broth- tutes and industry. In addition to the plenary session, ics, students and public policy experts w itnessed er’s Keeper,” University of Southern , ARI sponsored three panel discussions—two on the the lively exchange between Dr. Brook and Dr. Los Angeles, CA history of thought and one on — James Otteson, a distinguished Adam Smith expert • April 9, “Raise the Bar and Twist It by Unleash- and manned a prominent display booth. The speak- from Yeshiva University. Dr. Peter Boettke, an ing Capitalism: Why Unbridled Capitalism Is the ers at ARI’s panel discussions included Clemson economist from George Mason University, served Solution,” Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Dana university professor Eric Daniels, ARI senior fellow as moderator, taking questions from the floor as Point, CA Onkar Ghate, and Duke University professor John well as posing some of his own. • Apr. 13, “Ayn Rand vs. Adam Smith in Defense David Lewis. A number of other panels not spon- The debate, which was one of only three ple- of Capitalism,” with James Otteson (Yeshiva sored by ARI also focused on Ayn Rand. nary sessions, generated a lot of discussion among University) and moderator Peter Boettke (George “APEE has welcomed ARI’s scholars and attendees. Some considered it the highlight of the Mason University), annual meeting of the their papers for the past four years and over time three-day conference. Wrote one professor on the Association of Private Enterprise Education, Las our participation in their annual conference has economics blog Division of Labour, “[the] plenary Vegas, NV (See “Yaron Brook in Plenary Debate increased,” said VP of Academic programs, Debi debate between Jim Otteson and Yaron Brook over at Academic Conference,” on this page.) Ghate. “Objectivist scholars now present their work the defenses of capitalism offered by Ayn Rand and • April 22, “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral with non-Objectivist scholars interested in similar Adam Smith was one of the best conference ses- Case for Freedom,” 4th Annual Free Enterprise questions around the morality of capitalism and sions I’ve ever been to. I (and others) suggested that Foundation Awards Luncheon, Charleston, SC free enterprise. Jim and Yaron should take the show on the road or, “The leadership of APEE, some of whom are Continued on page 4 in the spirit of the meeting’s location, get a theater Continued on page 4 Objectivist Summer Conference 2010 Updates

mpact would like to call Iyour attention to a number of events taking place at this sum- mer’s Objectivist conference, which will be held at the Red TM Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, July 2–10. medical care, education, etc., do not grow in nature. Reception for First-Time Freedom and Individual These are values—goods and services produced by Conference Attendees (July 2, 6–6:30 PM): First-time men. Who is to provide them? summer conference attendees who register for the Rights “If some men are entitled by right to the opening cocktail reception and dinner are invited products of the work of others, it means that those to attend the reception thirty minutes before other Each month Impact suggests readings and other others are deprived of rights and condemned to guests are admitted. The reception will afford new resources for fans of Ayn Rand’s fiction who wish slave labor. . . . attendees the opportunity to meet other first-time to learn more about her , Objectivism. “No man can have a right to impose an uncho- attendees and socialize with OCON staff and con- sen obligation, an unrewarded duty or an invol- ference speakers. untary servitude on another man. There can be no Virtual Ayn Rand Bookstore and Exhibit Room merica is hailed as the land of the free, and such thing as ‘the right to enslave.’ for Objectivist Organizations (July 3–10, all day): A yet it seems there are as many different ideas “A right does not include the material imple- The virtual Ayn Rand Bookstore will once again be of what that means as there are politicians who mentation of that right by other men; it includes offering steep discounts for conference attendees. claim to stand for freedom. What is “freedom”? only the freedom to earn that implementation by Browse display copies of the bookstores’ wares For Ayn Rand, the meaning of freedom, in a one’s own effort.” (“Man’s Rights,” The of and order books and recordings to be delivered political context, is inextricably tied to the concept Selfishness) to your home or office. The bookstore space will of individual rights. “If one upholds freedom,” she For further reading on this topic, see (in addition also serve as an exhibit hall for ARI displays and writes, “one must uphold man’s individual rights; to the works already cited) “The Nature of Govern- external organizations. Non-ARI exhibitors include if one upholds man’s individual rights, one must ment” and “collectivized ‘Rights’” in The Virtue of Americans for Free Choice in Medicine, uphold his right to his own life, to his own liberty, to Selfishness, “What Is Capitalism?” and “America’s Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship, Falling the pursuit of his own happiness.” (“Conservatism: Persecuted Minority: Big Business” in Capitalism: Apple Science Institute, List, An Obituary,” Capitalism: The Unknown ) A The Unknown Ideal; and “” Hsieh Enterprises, LePort Schools, The Objective man is free, she holds, when his rights are secure. and “This Is Speaking” in For the New Standard and The Undercurrent. A failure to grasp the connection between rights Intellectual. All these items can be purchased from Academic Panel (July 8, 10:15–11:45 AM): Join and freedom leads to misconceptions, such as the the Ayn Rand Bookstore. To order, please visit www Wake Forest University professor and retired idea that absolute freedom is undesirable or impos- .aynrandbookstore.com or call 1-800-729-6149. BB&T chairman John Allison, University sible in society. “Do not be misled . . . ,” writes of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Rand, “by an old collectivist trick which goes like Greg Salmieri, Clemson University professor this: there is no absolute freedom anyway, since you C. Bradley Thompson, and Debi Ghate (repre- are not free to murder; society limits your free- Free Additional Resources from the senting both ARI and the Anthem Foundation for dom when it does not permit you to kill; therefore, Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights Objectivist Scholarship) for a discussion of the society holds the right to limit your freedom in any (www.aynrandcenter.org) growing presence of Objectivist scholarship in manner it sees fit; therefore, drop the delusion of Read academia. The panel is especially recommended freedom—freedom is whatever society decides it is. • Principles of a Free Society Web site for students and for those who are interested in “It is not society, nor any social right, that • “Freedom Is Not Slavery” by Don Watkins the long-term battle of changing the intellectual forbids you to kill—but the inalienable individual (at Voices for Reason) climate in America. No registration is required right of another man to live. This is not a ‘compro- • “A Call for the Separation of State and Economics” for this free event. pamphlet at aynrandcenter.org mise’ between two rights—but a line of division Q & A Celebrating ARI’s 25th Anniversary ­ that preserves both rights untouched. The division Watch (July 8, 6:15–7:15 PM): This year marks the 25th is not derived from an edict of society—but from • “Yaron Brook’s Keynote Address at the July 4th anniversary of the , which your own inalienable individual right. The defini- Boston Tea Party” (ARC-TV) opened its doors in February 1985. In this tion of this limit is not set arbitrarily by society— • “Republican Party of Virginia 2009 State Conven- General Session Q & A, Yaron Brook and but is implicit in the definition of your own right. tion—Keynote Address” by Yaron Brook (ARC-TV) Michael S. Berliner, the current and first “Within the sphere of your own rights, your • “Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral Case for executive directors of ARI, respectively, will Freedom” by Yaron Brook (ARC-TV) freedom is absolute.” (“Textbook of Americanism,” field questions about the Institute’s past, • “Ayn Rand and the Tea Party Movement,” PJTV interview The Ayn Rand Column) with Alex Epstein (ARC-TV) present and future. Registration required. A similar error befalls those who call for • “The Berlin Wall,” interview with Yaron Brook and Lunch with ARC: Lin Zinser and Elan Journo government social programs on the grounds that Onkar Ghate (ARC-TV) (July 9, 12:00–1:15 PM): The Ayn Rand Center “freedom” means freedom from “want,” and that for Individual Rights is a program of ARI’s that someone’s need of a good or service gives him a Listen focuses on advancing the moral ideas necessary “right” to it. • “Renewed Interest in ,” interview with for a laissez-faire capitalist future. At this “The concept of a ‘right’ pertains only to Yaron Brook (ARC-TV) lunch, Elan Journo, manager of ARI’s Policy action—specifically, to freedom of action. It means • “The Teachings of Ayn Rand” by Onkar Ghate (ARC-TV) • “Defending Capitalism,” interview with Alex Epstein division, and Lin Zinser, vice president of ARI’s freedom from physical compulsion, coercion or (ARC-TV) Public Outreach division, will talk about ARC’s interference by other men. . . . “Jobs, food, clothing, recreation (!), homes, Continued on page 6

ARC Intellectuals in the Media and the field of medicine as a whole, and analyst on Voices for Reason and on YouTube. Mr. Epstein Tom Bowden published an op-ed, “What About and Dr. Lockitch were guests on a PJTV program on the Stage, continued from page 1 Private Health Emergencies,” illustrating the devoted to Earth Day. Dr. Lockitch was quoted as destructive nature of the Federal Drug Admin- a dissenting voice in a positive article about Earth istration. Interviews included Mr. Bowden on Day on nationalgeographicnews.com. Numerous the radio programs The Schilling Show and radio interviews with ARC’s intellectuals also The Mike Slater Show, and separate individual took place. appearances by Dr. Brook and Mr. Watkins on In addition to being in the media, ARC intel- the Internet television Web site PJTV. lectuals have been touring college campuses and April 22 was the fortieth anniversary of Earth participating in panel discussions. Tom Bowden Day, and in recognition of that fact ARC undertook delivered a new talk, “Welcome to the Civil a mini-campaign to expose environmentalism as an War: Your Stake in the Endless Battle over Land ideology that stands in opposition to man. Op-eds Rights,” at the University of Maryland (College Fellow Alex Epstein on a Fox News New Jersey affiliate by fellow Alex Epstein on the false promise of Park, April 21) and the University of Minnesota a number of written pieces commenting on green energy and the benefits of fossil fuels were (Minneapolis, April 29). He also moderated a the issue and were interviewed on the radio published on foxnews.com and pajamasmedia.com, panel discussion on campaign finance and free and online. A series of Voices for Reason blog and Mr. Epstein was interviewed on a Fox News speech in Washington, D.C., on March 16. The posts pointed out different negative aspects New Jersey affiliate. A five-part ARC interview discussion was cosponsored by ARC and the of the bill, from the way it violates individual with Dr. Ghate and fellow Keith Lockitch on the Continued on page 4 rights to the pernicious impact it will have on history and meaning of Earth Day was published 2 Interview with Professor Adam Mossoff

Adam Mossoff is an associate systematic presentation on intellectual property understand the principle of incorporeal prop- professor of law at George rights at an Objectivist conference, and I am erty, in combination with my geeky nature, just Mason University School of very excited about it. This lecture is actually naturally drove me to the subject of intellectual Law. He specializes in intel- based on a paper I’m currently writing that I property law as my primary area of research lectual property and pro- will publish in an academic journal in the near and writing. I must confess that I could not be perty law, and has published future. (I presented an early draft of this paper at happier about my career choice! numerous articles and book the Ayn Rand Society meeting at the annual meet- Impact: What scholarly work have you reviews on topics in patent ing of the American Philosophical Association been engaged in? law, property law, legal his- back in December 2009.) AM: My academic work is primarily in tory and legal philosophy. Impact: You have spoken at Objectivist the areas of intellectual property and property Professor Mossoff will give a general conferences before, but never as a general law. Over the past eight years, my research has session lecture, “Intellectual Property Rights: session speaker, correct? What courses did you focused on the intellectual history of patents. Securing the Values of the Mind,” at this teach in the past? I’ve been challenging the conventional wis- summer’s Objectivist conference in Las Vegas AM: Yes, that’s right. I taught my previ- dom today that historically patents were state- on Wednesday, July 7, 1:20–2:50 p.m. The ous courses back in the 1990s, when I was still granted monopolies that were justified only by conference will take place at the Red Rock a graduate student in philosophy and then a utilitarianism. To put it briefly, my academic Casino, Resort and Spa, July 2–10. For law student. My first course, which I gave at work has established (1) that patents were conference information and registration, visit the Nashua conference in 1998, was on natu- first conceived of and protected as fundamen- www.objectivistconferences.com/ocon2010. ral rights philosophy. This course, which is tal property rights and (2) that the attacks on sold through the Ayn Rand Bookstore, traces patents today are rooted in a shift in thinking, Impact: Good afternoon, Professor the development of natural rights philosophy precipitated by the Progressives, toward the Mossoff. Thank you for meeting with Impact. through John Locke and his predecessors, idea that patents are only government-granted Could you tell us something about yourself to Hugo Grotius and Samuel Pufendorf. The goal monopolies whose sole justification is a collec- get started? of the course was to identify the historical tivist premise of social utility. Adam Mossoff: Sure. I’m a law profes- context that gave birth to the concept of natural Impact: Why is your scholarship focusing sor at George Mason University, where I teach rights, how it was developed and defended, and so much on the history of patents if they need to courses in property law, patent law and other why it later succumbed to subjectivism in the be defended today? legal subjects such as cyberlaw (the law relat- nineteenth century. My second course was on AM: That’s a great question, and my ing to the Internet and computer technology). the , which I offered at the answer is two-fold. First, in the law, history I have a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Lake Tahoe conference in 1999. In this course, matters. Given our common law legal system the University of Michigan, a Master of Arts I discussed how infected American and its doctrine of stare decisis (i.e., respect for in philosophy from Columbia University, and jurisprudence in the early twentieth century, precedent), lawyers, legislators and courts rely a juris doctor from the . and how this is a root cause of the problems in heavily on claims about historical doctrines and Since my graduation from law school I’ve the law today. I then took some time off from theories. In what may seem surprising to some, clerked for the Honorable Jacques L. Wiener, lecturing at Objectivist conferences to focus this is as true for intellectual property rights as Jr., on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth on getting my academic career off the ground, it is for contract, tort or other rights. Thus, cor- Circuit, and I’ve taught at law schools at Michi- as this required a lot of time and energy to recting the myth today that patents were never gan State University, the University of San produce the law journal articles necessary to justified as fundamental property rights—that Diego, and Washington and Lee University. earn me tenure. these legal rights were merely governmental I first read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead Impact: Do you think Ayn Rand’s ideas monopolies justified solely by utilitarianism— when I was fifteen—a thrilling experience that have made any inroads in the field of law gen- is important in changing the very foundation of I still vividly remember to this day. Since then erally and intellectual property specifically? legal arguments today. I’ve been studying Objectivism and applying AM: Unfortunately, no, or at least I have not Second, spending my first decade as an aca- its principles in my life. I was honored to be a seen any evidence of an influence within intellec- demic immersed in the historical development of member of the founding class of the Objectivist tual property law. I hope that my work will change patents has helped me develop a first-hand, inductive Graduate Center, the precursor to the Objectiv- this! In the law, generally, I think there has been understanding of how and why these intellectual ist Academic Center. This certainly helped me some influence, but only indirectly and principally property rights arose. I’ve spent years studying the to better understand the issues I was dealing through the work of Objectivist lawyers who are primary historical sources; to give just one example, with in my graduate studies in philosophy at fighting in the trenches, such as Steve Simpson and I’ve read every patent decision from the nineteenth the time, and was a boon to my thinking and Dana Berliner at the Institute for Justice. Steve and century published in the Federal Cases reporter communication skills. Dana’s work in litigating on behalf of the rights to (that’s more than 1,400 opinions). Moreover, I’ve Last, but certainly not least, I have a beauti- free speech, property and contract has been tremen- not just read the law and treatises, as I’ve also ful wife, who’s also been an Objectivist for dously important. Of course, as more Objectivists been studying famous inventors and their inven- most of her life. We have an even more beauti- start engaging with law professors on issues in tions, such as Samuel Morse (telegraph), Charles ful daughter, Samantha, who just finished her political and legal theory—and here I’m thinking Goodyear (vulcanized rubber), Elias Howe, Jr., and first year in a Montessori school here in North- of ’s very important work, as well as Isaac Singer (sewing machine), Jack Kilby and ern Virginia. As she gets older, I am hoping that others such as Tom Bowden at the Ayn Rand Center Bob Noyce (the integrated circuit), etc., etc. These Sam retains her love of dinosaurs, because she for Individual Rights—I think we may start seeing extensive studies have proven invaluable in giving can do quite a ferocious roar. more signs of some influence in the law. I’m the me the evidence from which I have been able to Impact: Your lecture at this summer’s only tenured Objectivist law professor, and so I’m develop my theoretical arguments about patents Objectivist conference is titled “Intellectual very happy to have others join me at the barricades! and other intellectual property rights. Property Rights: Securing the Values of the Impact: What drew you to the field of intel- As a result, I have developed a reputation Mind.” Could you elaborate on what you’ll be lectual property law? among lawyers and law professors for produc- speaking about? AM: There were a couple reasons. First, ing solid scholarship in which I can back up AM: My lecture discusses Ayn Rand’s as I readily admit to my patent and cyberlaw my theoretical claims. Concomitantly, I’ve also radically new concept of intellectual property students, I’m a geek. I’ve always loved science developed a reputation as one of the sole schol- rights, and draws out its implications from a and technology, and so it seemed that it was ars who defends intellectual property rights as a legal perspective. I will show how, in contrast just a natural fit for me to enjoy studying and matter of moral principle, and not as a matter of to the traditional utilitarian defenders of intel- writing about the legal doctrines that secure economics or social utility. I’m proud of these lectual property rights, Rand justifies intellec- property rights in these subjects. Second, I’ve accomplishments, and I hope to take advantage tual property rights by grounding them in the always enjoyed political and legal philosophy. of this reputational capital in advancing my values that man must first conceive of and then When I was in the Ph.D. program in philoso- more explicitly philosophical work on intellec- produce in order for him to live and flourish. phy at Columbia University, I did a two-year tual property rights in the future. For this reason, she is the only philosopher who independent study of the historical evolution Impact: Thank you, Professor Mossoff. We offers a rational alternative to the many judges, of natural law and natural rights, and, if I had look forward to your lecture at this summer’s law professors and legal philosophers who stayed in the program and not left for law conference and wish you the best in your fight smear creators of intellectual property as evil school, I would have written my dissertation for intellectual property rights! monopolists who are stealing from the so-called on the natural rights theory of property in the * * * public domain. Ultimately, I think that fully seventeenth century. Property rights in land and grasping Rand’s defense of intellectual property in other tangible objects can be complex, and On behalf of ARI, Impact would like to congrat- rights requires that one understand her unique there are lots of interesting and knotty problems ulate Professor Mossoff on his recently receiv- justification for property rights as such, which to consider in applying this principle. Unsur- ing tenure and being promoted to full professor further concretizes her equally novel concept of prisingly, the idea of intangible property is even at George Mason University School of Law. value that is at the heart of her ethical theory. more complex and interesting. Congratulations! As far as I know, this will be the first So, the intellectual challenge of trying to

3 Yaron Brook’s Public Talks, continued from page 1 ARC Intellectuals in the Media and Yaron Brook in Plenary Debate at on the Stage, continued from page 2 Academic Conference, continued from page 1 • April 27, “What Can You Do to Stop the Alarm- ing Expansion of Government?” talk and recep- Institute for Justice, and included lawyers who involved in university programs supported by the tion hosted by Jim Brown, La Jolla, CA submitted briefs in the Citizens United Supreme BB&T Foundation, have encouraged an interdisci- • April 28, “The Contemporary Relevance of Court case, which struck down some limitations plinary approach to the study of private enterprise, Ayn Rand’s Ideas and How They Matter,” on campaign finance restrictions. with the result that philosophers, economists, histo- GenNext LA, Los Angeles, CA Mr. Epstein presented a talk titled “In Defense rians, financial experts and others are in attendance. • May 10, “You Are Not Your Neighbor’s Health of Oil” at Central Washington University (Ellens- ARI’s academic programs receive many requests Care Provider,” National Press Club, Washington, burg, April 26), the University of Washington for information, support and collaboration as a D.C. Dr. Brook was one of eight speakers at an (Seattle, April 27), and the University of California result of our participation at APEE’s conference.” event titled “Redeeming Health Care Reform,” (Berkeley, April 28). The discussion about Rand’s ideas continued hosted by Americans for Free Choice in Medicine. Mr. Journo spoke on U.S. foreign policy at after the conference, when ARI was solicited to • May 11, “You Are Not Your Neighbor’s the University of Colorado (Denver, April 26), the write a guest post for Division of Labour about how Health Care Provider,” talk at University of University of Texas (Austin, April 27), and the Rand would approach a moral dilemma posed by Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Smith. Dr. Ghate responded. The post is available at • May 20, debate: “Lessons from the Financial April 28). On April 29 in Los Angeles, Mr. Journo http://divisionoflabour.com/archives/007049.php. Crisis: More Government or Less?” with moderated a symposium on the security of the Peter Kadzis, editor of the Boston Phoenix, United States titled “Culture of Denial: Is Our Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, Government’s Refusal to Admit Realities Harming EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Boston, MA Our Security?” The event was hosted by ARC, the • May 26, 2010, “Towards a Free Market in David Horowitz Freedom Center, the Hollywood Do you want to join ARI in the fight to change the Health Care Pricing,” Chain Drugstore Republican Congress, the San Fernando Valley culture? ARI’s Policy division is recruiting. Visit Conference, Washington, D.C. Republican Club and Stand Up America. www.aynrand.org/employment for more information.

Impact is published monthly by the Ayn Rand® Institute (ARI) and is ARI at Major Book Fair complimentary to current donors who contribute $35 or more per year. 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 RI recently extent to which planned giving program, and related indicia are registered trademarks. A hosted a Rand’s name has The Ayn Rand Archives is a special collection of the Ayn Rand Institute. Objectivist Conferences (OCON) and the Ayn Rand Bookstore are owned booth at one of become well- and operated by the Ayn Rand Institute. The Ayn Rand Institute does not the world’s larg- known. “Fewer and necessarily endorse the content of the lectures and courses offered. All photos of Ayn Rand are used by permission of the Estate of Ayn Rand. est book fairs, the fewer visitors say Purchases from the Ayn Rand Bookstore and OCON do not qualify as Los Angeles Times they have never tax-deductible contributions to the Ayn Rand Institute. Festival of Books. heard of Ayn Rand, Editors: Don Watkins, Jeff Scialabba More than 100,000 and some are even Editorial Advisers: Dr. Yaron Brook, Mark Chapman, Debi Ghate, Anu Seppala, Lin Zinser Designer: Simon Federman attended the festival surprised that we Printing: David Antonacci Copy Editor: Donna Montrezza this year, held would have to ask Headquarters: 2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250 annually at the such a question. Irvine, CA 92606-4926 Phone: 949-222-6550 Fax: 949-222-6558 University of Cali- This is quite a © The Ayn Rand Institute 2010. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without permission. ARI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions fornia, Los Angeles. change from when to ARI in the United States are tax-exempt to the extent provided by law. Booklovers from we first attended everywhere flock to the L.A. Times the two-day week- book fair in 2002.” end event, which This year’s features hundreds book sales at ARI’s ARI vice president of Cultural programs Anu Seppala at the ARI booth of booths selling booth were about books, along with presentations and panel discus- one-and-a-half times the average. Most sales sions with authors and publishers. centered on Rand’s fiction, with Capitalism: The Anu Seppala, ARI vice president of Cultural Unknown Ideal and The Virtue of Selfishness also programs, manned the booth along with support- selling well. ing ARI staff. “The response to our booth seems Other ARI staff included ARC fellow to grow more positive with each passing year,” Alex Epstein and Ayn Rand Archives depart- remarked Ms. Seppala. “We see a lot of excited ment manager , who both fielded fans of Ayn Rand’s novels and receive a great questions about Ayn Rand’s life and philoso- number of thank-you’s. It’s an uplifting snapshot phy, as well as Education department specialist of Rand’s influence.” Matt Ludin, campus club coordinator Matthew Another encouraging sign, she added, is the Morgen and Education assistant Jason Eriksen.

Errata: In the May 2010 issue of Impact, on page five savings. We apologize for any confusion this error (“Roth IRA Conversion: Offset Taxes by Supporting caused our readers. The corrected and revised ARI in 2010”) in the A, B and C examples presented examples may be found in the e-mail edition of the May in the third column, the tax deduction amount was Impact, available at www.aynrand.org/impact_201005 mistakenly presented as the amount of actual tax .pdf or by requesting a printed correction from ARI.

and switching to an e-mail subscription saves ARI Impact by E-Mail $30 annually per donor on printing and mailing costs. To start receiving Impact by e-mail, please n place of the print edition, ARI donors may opt see instructions in the lower-right-hand corner of I to receive Impact by e-mail each month. The the enclosed envelope, or e-mail your request to e-mail edition regularly contains additional articles, [email protected].

4 Using Social Media to Reach New Audiences

ringing the Institute’s message to new audi- Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. ARI uses “Social bookmarking” Web sites are being B ences is an ongoing process that requires these pages to promote the work of our intellectu- used as well. These Web sites allow users to post creativity, fluidity and the ability to stay on top als and upcoming events to thousands of subscrib- links to content on the Internet and to engage in of cultural trends. One such trend is the recent ers. There is also the ARI-run Objectivist Summer discussion about the linked content. Visitors can emergence of online social-media Web sites, such Conference 2010 page, where this year’s confer- vote on the value of posted links, and those that as and Twitter, whose users number ence attendees can meet one another virtually are popular can drive thousands of new visitors to in the hundreds of millions. As more and more and share information. ARI has pages for Atlas a linked Web site. ARI has been linking to content of the world interconnects itself through these Shrugged and The Fountainhead, uniting Rand such as ARC op-eds, Voices for Reason blog posts media, ARI has moved to capitalize on the public fans from all over the world, and the Institute runs and ARC-TV videos on the social bookmarking outreach opportunities that these new networking the Ayn Rand Club Association on Facebook to Web sites Digg, Reddit and Amplify, with moder- tools provide. promote campus Objectivist club speaking events. ate success. On Facebook, ARI has been using an Ayn Rand Twitter is another social networking tool that In addition there are YouTube and Fora.tv, “page” to post daily quotes by Ayn Rand and to ARI is using to inform the world of our events which house user-posted video clips. ARI has direct members to Ayn Rand essays and record- and our work. This unique medium limits all been posting videos to YouTube since 2007. The ings available on ARI’s Web sites. The response announcements—or, “tweets”—to a maximum ARI “channel” has three thousand subscribers, has been phenomenal. There are typically between of 140 characters, so messages are typically short and our videos have been watched nearly 500,000 two hundred and three hundred comments on any and direct readers to another ARI Web site for times. Fora.tv is billed as “YouTube for thinkers,” given post, and membership in the page has surged more information. ARI’s and ARC’s Twitter pages and hosts videos of an intellectual nature such as from 27,000 subscribers in November—when ARI have close to 7,000 “followers” combined, many lectures, debates and interviews from universities, took over administration of the page from a friend of whom “retweet” ARI’s announcements on their think tanks and conferences. ARI has only recently of the Institute—to more than 71,000 today. own Twitter pages, thus expanding the reach of the joined Fora.tv and is currently researching the best In addition to the Ayn Rand page, ARI runs messages. ARI also tweets to high school teachers way to take advantage of the Web site, but look for Facebook pages for the Institute itself and for the and students via separate Twitter accounts. ARI and ARC videos on Fora.tv in the future.

The Ayn Rand Institute Facebook page The Ayn Rand Center Facebook page

The Ayn Rand Institute Twitter page ARI and ARC videos on the Ayn Rand Institute YouTube Channel The Ayn Rand Center Twitter page

Wave of Recent Books by Objectivist Intellectuals

By Yaron Brook, executive direc- tor of the Ayn Rand Institute

ny time a book is published A by an Objectivist intel- lectual it is a significant event. Books have always been the dominant currency of the intellectual world, the primary means of advancing serious ideas. And for good reason: they afford the author the space to present a full argument and demand the full attention of the reader. I would like to draw attention to a number of books by Objectivist intellectuals that have In October Winning the Unwinnable War: hit the bookstore shelves. Capitalism Unbound: recently been published or which will soon reach America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic The Incontestable Moral Case for Individual bookstore shelves. Totalitarianism was published by Lexington Rights, by , offers a concise These books are particularly noteworthy in Books. Winning the Unwinnable War, by ARI explanation of capitalism’s moral and economic that they are authored by Objectivists and they fellow Elan Journo, and featuring contributing superiority to all forms of , including employ Objectivist ideas, but they are not about essays by ARI analyst Alex Epstein and me, is a America’s current mixed-economy welfare state. Ayn Rand or Objectivism. The books are about thematic collection of ARI essays on U.S. foreign It’s an especially timely book for Tea Partiers and politics, science, history, and they rely explicitly policy as it relates to the threat from Islamic other Americans who are fed up and angered by or implicitly on Objectivism as a framework. totalitarianism. Winning the Unwinnable War has our expanding government. In doing so, they demonstrate the scope and helped Mr. Journo and ARI garner attention as March saw the publication of Nothing Less relevance of Ayn Rand’s ideas across scholarly uncompromising advocates of a self-interested than Victory: Decisive Wars and the Lessons of disciplines. They show—rather than tell—the foreign policy—as evidenced by an interview History by Duke University professor John David practical value of Objectivism and the depth at with Mr. Journo about Iran on Fox News Channel’s Lewis. Dr. Lewis examines six major wars, from which philosophical ideas influence thought. America’s News HQ on March 27. antiquity to World War II, and argues that wars To recap: In January it was Capitalism Unbound that Continued on page 6 5 Wave of Recent Books by Objectivist New Foreign Editions of Books by Ayn Rand Intellectuals, continued from page 5

are won and lasting peace achieved only through aggressive, strategic military offenses that target an enemy’s ideological, political and social support for the war. Nothing Less than Victory is a fitting complement to Winning the Unwinnable War’s indictment of America’s foreign policy—for the United States is engaged in exactly the kind of war that Lewis shows leads to prolonged carnage, inde- cision, stalemate and loss.

Bulgarian translation of

Dutch translation of

Neoconservatism: An Obituary for an Idea, by C. Bradley Thompson, and featuring contributing material by me, was published last month. The book provides a comprehensive and devastating critique of and its philosophic underpin- nings from the perspective of America’s founding principles. It is an informed, incisive, scholarly analysis of neoconservative thought and action that will appeal to intellectuals across the political spectrum—and hopefully drive a nail into neocon- servatism’s coffin.

Finally, there is The Logical Leap: Induction in Physics, by physicist David Harriman, slated to reach bookstores this July. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of this work, which applies ’s theory of induction to the physical sciences. As Dr. Peikoff explains in his introduction, this book “represents the first major application of Ayn Rand’s to a field other than philosophy.” Years in the making, The Logical Leap provides a defense of induction desperately needed in today’s intellectual world. At a time when Rand is being invoked in popular opinion often, but usually at a superfi- cial level, books such as these show that she has Italian translation of in three parts something unique and compelling to say about every aspect of man’s life. Books that rely on Ayn Rand’s ideas in the examination of a specialized subject are not only likely to bring new insights into the field, but are also tremendously powerful Objectivist Summer Conference 2010 Updates, continued from page 2 tools for advancing knowledge and appreciation of Objectivism as a systematic and comprehensive particular mission within ARI’s broader mission, Book Signings: A number of book signings are view of life. present details about accomplishments of the being scheduled. Details will be made available at past year, and discuss ARC’s specific objectives the conference. All of these titles are available for ordering or pre- and plans for the immediate future. There will Visit www.objectivistconferences.com/ ordering from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. Call 1-800- be ample opportunity for questions. Registration ocon2010 for conference information and 729-6149 or visit www.aynrandbookstore.com. required. registration. 6