the spring 2008 Volume 4, Issue 2 the-undercurrent.com

Undercurrent “It was as if an underground stream flowed through the country and broke out in sudden springs that shot to the surface at random, in unpredictable places.”

the business issue The Case for Stem Cell Research (3) praiseThe pharmaceutical big industry pharmadeserves to be glorified, Essay Contest (5) not vilified Too Big To Bail (6)

f you are sick, there is no better place and time to The Objectivist Academic Center (7) live than America in the 21st century. The past 50I years have witnessed an explosion of medical in- Speakers, Events, & Meetings (8) novation in the West. Drugs have been developed to lower cholesterol, fight AIDS, and altogether eradicate some diseases. Pharmaceutical companies have invested, and are investing, tens of billions of dollars each year researching new technologies to inside insider extend human life. Some day in the near future, trading by Dan Edge doctors may be writing prescriptions to slow your grandmother's Alzheimer's, to kill your father's brain tumor, or to vaccinate The nature and morality of your baby daughter against the virus that causes cervical cancer. (Actually, cross differential knowledge in that last one off the list—the HPV vaccine was invented a few years ago.) Just as our current era has been called the Information Age, the next era of human investing history may very well be dubbed the Biological Age. scientist working Yet, despite the obvious benefits pharmaceutical companies bestow upon for a pharmaceuti- mankind, "Big Pharma" is more vilified than almost any other industry. Critics calA company learns that charge that pharmaceutical companies, in their reckless pursuit of profit, pro- after decades of research and development, she duce dangerous and ineffective medicines. They claim that drugs are rushed to has succeeded in creating market without ample concern given to possible health risks. a drug that fights can- In fact, since the average drug takes 15 years and $500 million to produce, a cer. She wants to buy as pharmaceutical company puts its good name on the line every time it produces much stock in her com- a new drug. The risk of expensive lawsuits, and the accompanying loss of cred- pany as she can afford, ibility, always loom large. In the rare instances where drugs are found to have knowing that her efforts negative effects, they are taken off the market as quickly as possible. No drug by Rebecca Knapp will cause the stock price company would last five minutes if it disregarded the well -being of its custom- to sky-rocket. She wants ers. to take full advantage of her success—to invest in Big Pharma is demonized not because it profits by harming sick people, but herself. Yet if she buys stock in the company before because it profits from treating them. What critics imply, but never say openly, the news of the cancer drug is made public, she will is that there is something nefarious about making money by fulfilling a vital be liable for insider trading. human need. The CEO of a real estate development company Is there? Businesses earn profits by creating values to fulfill the needs of learns that the local government has denied him reg- ulatory approval for a huge new development project potential customers, and the more crucial the need, the greater the value. Big he has been pursuing for his company. Knowing his Pharma makes massive profits because it produces medicines that are of great daughter has hundreds of thousands of dollars in- value to sick people—of such great value that the sick are willing to pay top vested in his company, he wants to tell her to get it dollar for them. out before the stock price falls. But were he to do so, Does this mean, as Big Pharma's critics say, that drug companies are hold- under insider trading laws, both he and his daughter ing the sick hostage? Of course not. Such a view implies that sick people are the would face huge fines and jail sentences. rightful owners of the drugs, which pharmaceutical companies illicitly swipe Up until the late 1960s, there was no such crime as and hold for ransom. In fact, it is the pharmaceutical companies that have a "insider trading". Today, the Securities and Exchange (continued on page 2) (continued on page 2) The Undercurrent’s cultural commentary is based on Ayn Rand’s , Objectivism. Objectivism, which animates Ayn Rand’s fiction, is a systematic philosophy of life. It holds that the universe is orderly and comprehensible, that man survives by reason, that his life and happiness comprise his highest moral purpose, and that he flourishes only in a society that protects his individual rights. In these pages we hope to defend these values. To learn more about the ideas behind them, you can begin by reading Ayn Rand’s books, such as The Foun- tainhead and Atlas Shrugged, or by visiting aynrand.org. 2 praise big pharma continued from page 1 the undercurrent right to the drugs that they have This is a perverse injustice. created. There's nothing wrong with The Undercurrent is a student publication, produced and Life-saving medicines don't making money by servicing peo- distributed by college students at campuses across North grow on trees. The "miracle" ple's needs. Productivity is a vir- America. drugs that improve our health tue, not a vice. The fact that Big All inquiries regarding contributing, distributing, and extend our lives must be Pharma profits by helping sick and advertising should be directed to mail@ discovered. They would not ex- people is something for which it the-undercurrent.com. For more information on The Un- ist were it not for the enormous should be lauded, not derided. dercurrent, back issues, additional resources, and further investments of time and money So I say: Praise Big Pharma! commentary, visit our website at the-undercurrent.com. made by the men and women who work in the pharmaceutical Dan Edge is a 29-year old small industry. It takes the ingenious business owner living in Rockland Managing Editor Ray Girn effort of thousands of individu- County, New York. He earned a Editor als and hundreds of millions of Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy Stephen Donovan dollars to bring a single drug to from the University of South Caro- Staff Writers Guy Barnett market. As with any other com- lina, and is currently a Sophomore Kelly Cadenas modity, those who create these at the Objectivist Academic Center. remedies have a moral right to He keeps a weekly blog called "The Dan Edge set the terms of their sale. And Edge of Reason" at http://daned- Gena Gorlin to profit handsomely from their geofreason.blogspot.com. On April achievement. 5, 2008, Dan was married to Laura Mazer The enemies of Big Pharma longtime girlfriend Kelly Koenig. Noah Stahl disagree. On their view, achieve- The two of them are very active Advisory Editor ment is not to be rewarded, but and enthusiastic members of the lo- Ned Chalmers punished. And the greater the cal Objectivist Community in New Project Manager Rebecca Knapp value one creates, the less of a York. Layout & Design Tori Press: Red Queen right one has to it. Design Studio Webmaster & Business Manager Jared Seehafer insider trading continued from page 1 Web Officer Arthur Lechtholz-Zey Commission (SEC) spends a large do not punish the engineer who Distribution Manager Eric Brunner portion of its resources pursuing steals a file from his supervisor's insider traders. SEC regulations office, the lawyer who violates a mandate that anyone using non- contractual agreement to keep public, material information information confidential, or the about a company to buy or sell CEO who disregards his legal stock, before that information obligation to his stockholders to sponsors of the spring issue has been made publicly available, act in their interests (called a fi- Guy Barnett, Zev Barnett, Carl B. Barney, John may be criminally charged. The duciary duty). Such actions are Chappell, Prof. , Ted Gray, Paul crime also applies to any type obviously illegal, but they were of "tip" given to others (family, illegal long before insider trad- Gruchala, Harris and Ellen Kenner, Peter LePort, friends, clients) concerning such ing entered the picture, and are M.D.: General and Weight Loss Surgery, information. prosecuted on the basis of differ- Maryallene and Don Otis, David Ragaini, Sandra Insider trading laws force ent laws. Insider trading laws, by Shaw, Rob Tarr, Christian Wenstedt. company employees, officers, contrast, were created precisely to board members, and those they penalize trading in which such Disclaimer. The Copyrights. Copyright care about to knowingly act criminal activity is not involved. Undercurrent is an © 2008 TU Publications against their own interests. De- If insider trading laws do independent student Inc. Each article is the spite the fact that our scientist not exist to prevent theft or publication and does not property of its author; all has spent years developing a life- fraud, what is their justification? necessarily represent, in other content is the property saving drug, the SEC tells her Those opposed to insider trading that she must not make a move imply that insider traders profit whole or in part, the views of TU Publications Inc. No to profit from it. Despite the fact at someone else's expense. To of the Estate of Ayn Rand, portion may be reproduced that our CEO knows his daugh- quote a speech from an SEC or the . in whole or in part without ter will lose the money she had officer, highlighted on the SEC's The views expressed and the express written consent hoped to use to send her kids to website: "[Illegal insider trading] facts contained in each of TU Publications Inc. college, the SEC tells him he is the trading that takes place article are the responsibility "Too Big to Bail" is must not lift a finger to save her when those privileged with of the author. reprinted with permission investment. Insider trading laws confidential information … reap from the Ayn Rand legally prohibit investors from profits or avoid losses on the Institute. © 1995-2008 Ayn transforming lawfully obtained stock market, to the detriment Rand ® Institute(ARI). knowledge into action. of … typical investors." In other Contrary to common miscon- words, insider trading is unfair to ceptions, insider trading laws do some investors. not exist to prevent fraud. They (continued on page 4) 3

The moralDefining case for stem L cellife: research Stem cells are not lives. They save lives.

n a recent political move, Republican other. We do not treat children as adults, Presidential candidate John McCain though they have the potential to reach voicedI his opposition to embryonic stem adulthood. If having the capacity to be cell research (ESC). Yet, even as the con- something were the same as already being troversy rages on, the real reasons for op- that thing, then children would be allowed position to embryonic stem cell research to drive cars, get credit cards, and have sex. are increasingly obscured. As Dr. of the Ayn Rand Stem cells are, in simplest terms, the Institute observes, by this logic we could basic cells that replicate and change into "call any adult an 'undead corpse' and bury the various cells that make up our bodies. him alive." We distinguish between chil- Their medical importance lies in the fact by Guy Barnett dren and adults, and adults and corpses, that they can produce a virtually unlimited because there is an obvious difference supply of any other cell. Because embry- human beings, it seems absurd to regard between a potential and an actual. Thus, onic stem cells are particularly suited for them as "innocent human life". Embryos there is no basis for treating an embryo as a this purpose, research in this field has tre- are not conscious or otherwise recogniz- human being simply because it can develop mendous potential to cure disease and help ably human any more than plants can en- into one. people live longer, healthier lives. To name gage in photosynthesis. Indeed, a human If there is no logical reason to identify just two breakthroughs this research may being is far more similar to a snake or rat stem cells as human, what then is the basis soon make possible: scientists at Novocell than he is to the cell mass that constitutes for the widespread opposition to embry- say embryonic stem cell research has the an embryo in the first trimester. And while onic stem cell research? We get a clue in potential to revolutionize treatment for di- embryos are genetically identical to human this statement by President Bush, made in abetes, perhaps even offering a cure. And beings, the same can be said of every cell in reference to children who were implanted Greon, a company doing research on spi- the human body. No one considers it mur- as embryos: "These lives are not raw mate- nal cord injuries, just announced that they der to have your tonsils removed. rial to be exploited, but gifts." are ready to test their stem cell treatment Stem cell research opponents scoff at Gifts from whom? Obviously, from on people after spectacular results with such analogies. Richard Doerflinger, Sec- God. Observe that those opposing the rodents—joyous news for the over 250,000 retariat of Pro-Life Activities, reminds life-saving possibilities of ESC research Americans with spinal cord injuries, who us that "[t]he human embryo, at the one- are uniformly religious. Their opposition is cannot walk, feed themselves, or even week-old (blastocyst) stage, is a developing not grounded in reason or the facts of biol- move their heads. human life". Doerflinger's point—that an ogy, but in the dogmas of faith. "God giv- Despite these and other potential ben- embryo, if left to develop, will become a eth, and God taketh away"—God imbues efits, however, many Americans adamantly human being—is, as he aptly describes it, a soul into the body at conception, and oppose stem cell research. Critics condemn "a basic biological fact, found in the stan- he alone, not human beings, must choose the practice of extracting stem cells from dard human embryology textbooks." But when to sever that tie. This is why, from a an embryo because, identifying embryos as Doerflinger assumes an additional unstat- religious perspective, there is no important human beings, they hold that destroying ed premise: that because the embryo will difference between a biologically indepen- them constitutes murder. President Bush, become a human being, it is a human be- dent living, breathing human being on the for example, endorsing this perspective, ing. This premise is at the crux of every ar- one hand, and an embryo on the other. explained that he would not "support the gument against stem cell research. Is there The observational and logical differences taking of innocent human life in the hope any reason for accepting such an idea? between these cases are irrelevant—they of finding medical benefits for others." Logically, there is not. The fact that are all flesh in which The embryos used by researchers are one thing has the potential to develop into microscopic clusters of undifferentiated another in no way implies that it is the cells. If we simply compare embryos with (continued on page 5) a little change means a lot pponents of embryonic stem cell research of- ful difference between them. When a thing evolves distinctions are "artificial". Regardless of the fact ten highlight the similarities between babies, incrementally into something else, this gradual de- that we may validly describe a certain range of tem- fetuses,O and embryos, and dismiss the obvious dif- velopment does not mean they are "really" the same peratures as either the warm side of cold or the cold ference between them. Their arguments almost thing. We don't say that cold and hot are the same side of warm, this in no way erases the difference invariably rely on the difficulty of marking precise merely because cold temperatures can, by degrees, between hot and cold. dividing lines between them, and offer this difficul- increase to hot temperatures. Just as one can clearly The difference between a bathtub full of ice and ty as a reason to dismiss the distinctions outright. observe that 30° F is not the same as 100° F, one one of boiling water is only a question of degrees, According to these proponents, there is only a con- can see that embryonic cells and babies are two very yet the difference is nevertheless real. The vast gulf tinuum of change from embryo to baby, without different entities. that separates embryo from baby is analogous. An any artificially differentiated stages. Scientifically, it may be difficult to separate embryo may, after a long period of gradual changes, Yet the fact that embryos develop into babies gradual changes into discrete stages. But no mat- become a baby, but that doesn't mean it is one. by degrees does not mean that there is no meaning- ter how difficult it is, this does not mean that such 4 not involve theft, fraud or any legitimate to learn more than another, to work more insider trading crime. than another, to be promoted when another continued from page 2 What, then, gives insider-trading laws is not, to have friendships and relationships their plausibility? Why has the SEC, and with one person, but not another. To say Even if this were true, it's not an argu- those who support its actions, met with so that experienced, hard-working, successful ment that the practice should be criminal- little resistance in its attempt to prosecute individuals cannot profit from their expe- ized. It may be unfair for a teacher to play insider traders? rience, hard work, and success because not favorites in his classroom, or a secretary to The general public opposes bad legisla- everyone has made the efforts that they have play favorites among her co-workers, but we tion and prosecutorial zeal in cases where made is to sacrifice knowledge to ignorance, do not therefore establish a discrete body of the moral innocence of the victim is clear. industry to laziness, success to failure. It is law called "favorite-players law," and make When municipal governments and real to actively penalize . it one of the primary functions of a govern- estate firms team up using eminent do- Yet it is precisely this notion of unfair- ment agency to stamp out that societal un- main law to forcibly evict gentle old ladies ness that is at the root of the widespread fairness. from their homes, the public is (properly) opposition to insider trading. This is the But in fact, the claim that insider trad- outraged. In the case of insider trading, idea, not that everyone should be treated ers profit at someone's expense simply isn't however, there is no public outcry against equally under the law (that's American cap- true. To profit at someone's expense is to making insider traders legally guilty. This italism), but that everyone should actually take money that is rightfully theirs, without is because they are already presumed to be be equal, and that all differences between their consent. When our scientist bought morally guilty. The image of an "insider" people should be stamped out by the gov- stock in her drug company, she made an is a sycophant banker who has risen in his ernment wherever they appear. On this enormous profit—but she didn't steal that company through social manipulation at notion, wealth must be redistributed until money from someone else who didn't want golf games and charity events, and such an everyone has the same amount, and infor- to part with it. Anyone who invested in the investor does not seem to have earned his mation should be redistributed in the same company made money with her when the privileged position. way. company's stock rose. Anyone who didn't But this is a prejudiced, inaccurate con- The argument against insider trading was no worse off than he had been before. ception of how an insider trader accesses is, at root, the ethical theory of egalitarian- And anyone who sold because he didn't inside information. In any human activity, ism. This theory holds that fairness requires know what she knew missed an opportu- there are going to be people who take ad- equality of results, and that the government nity because he lacked the knowledge she vantage of the hard work of others. There should "correct" inequalities to approximate had—but still acted voluntarily. are professors who rise because they are this ideal. Whether or not one opposes in- When an insider sells, he sells to people better at navigating departmental politics, sider trading comes down to one's basic who have already made the decision to buy. even though they are worse researchers view of fairness. He is not duping any new buyer who would and teachers. Doctors, construction work- In a free society, fairness is taken to otherwise not have bought. When an in- ers, cooks, government officials—whatever mean that people attain the just results of sider buys, he buys from people who have the job, there is a marginal minority whose their productive activities, and that the rest already made the decision to sell. Again, he success does not reflect their effort and pro- of society leaves them alone to enjoy those is not cajoling anyone who doesn't want to fessional worth. The proper approach is not results. Put simply, it means that people sell into selling. to look at these exceptions, but to consider receive what they earn. Of course, this The SEC itself is aware of this. When the normal case. How does an insider trader necessitates unequal results. Some people pressed, it effectively admits that individ- come to possess the information that allows will work harder than others, and will earn ual investors are not defrauded by insider him to invest one step ahead of the rest of more. These individuals will then have the trading, and then switches focus: "[T]here the public? right to share their wealth with those they are those who argue that insider trading He earns it. Through his own efforts he value. is a victimless offense…this penny-wise, gains skills, knowledge, experience, posi- In the case of insider trading, the focus pound-foolish argument neglects…exter- tions of employment, and the respect of is not earning more, it is learning more. But nal costs." "External costs," then, and not his colleagues in his field. Through these the analysis is the same. It is impossible to harm to individual investors, are the SEC's means, he gains access to information that eliminate differences in information, un- target in prosecuting insider trading laws. he would not otherwise be able to access. less one makes all information sharing of What external costs? Again according to The savvy investor goes to business school, any kind illegal. Thus, one creates a world the SEC: "[I]nsider trading undermines studies balance sheets, learns about corpo- in which no investor has any basis for his investor confidence in the fairness and in- rate practices, determines how to evaluate investment, and the stock market becomes tegrity of the securities markets." (Both both financial statements and manage- a roulette wheel or a slot machine. quotes from the portion of the SEC website rial intangibles. He also networks with Insider trading laws do not punish devoted to insider trading.) colleagues and potential clients—and this criminals or even rascals. They prosecute Economists critical of insider-trading is perfectly legitimate. As a result of his ef- productive achievement on the grounds that laws see that this argument, too, is arbitrary forts, the capable investor acquires access individuals must achieve identically, or not and unsupported. Writes Daniel Fischel, a to information that someone who hasn't at all. Insider trading laws are an injustice. professor of law and business at the Univer- done the work can't access. This is part of Enacting a perverted, egalitarian notion of sity of Chicago Law School, "There is no the reward for his achievement. Ditto for fairness, they actively penalize that which evidence that investors had less 'confidence' the CEO who starts out as a rank and file should be rewarded. in our securities markets before 1968 than employee, and works his way up over the after … No matter how many times the course of 30 years to a position where he Rebecca received her B.A. in Classics at the Uni- government talked about the need to re- has earned access to information about the versity of Chicago in 2006, and will graduate store 'public confidence'… no one was ever company's behavior—including the right to from the UCLA School of Law in 2009. able to say what this meant. And how could profit from that information, so long as he this meaningless test be applied? How could does not do so at the expense of the com- anyone know when investors did or did not pany and the company's shareholders. He have 'confidence'?" earns the right to help his daughter and Insider trading does not exploit the the people he cares about to profit or avoid wealth of individual investors. It does not loss—again, so long as this does not con- undercut market confidence. Most impor- flict with his legal responsibilities as CEO. tantly, even it did do these things, it does To call it unfair for people like this to profit is to say that it is unfair for one person 5 that no sacrifice is needed, because an al- hesitate to conduct ESC research. To do defining life ternative exists—adult stem cell (ASC) so is to concede that destroying an embryo continued from page 3 research. David E. Smith, Executive Di- is murder, and to set the dangerous prec- rector of Illinois Family Institute, writes edent that religious morality ought to be God has placed a soul, and so they are all "Embryonic stem cell research comes at imposed on science and law. The message equally human life. too great a cost to human life. Our efforts to religious groups is that we will sacrifice The issue of whether to identify -em and resources should be focused on… the our own rational interests to respect your bryos as human or not is not merely se- use of adult stem cells." ASC research, like irrational beliefs, and close off promising mantic. The doctrine of treating embryos ESC research, investigates medical treat- avenues of research merely because you as actual human beings causes real harm to ments using stem cells. However, ASC oppose them, even if it means that more real people. From the child with a broken research extracts the cells from consenting people will die or live out their entire lives spine denied ESC treatment, to the man adults, rather than embryos. as helpless invalids. diagnosed with cancer who may have ben- Religious people on the Right, like Ta- Research companies and scientists efited from the ESC research that wasn't deusz Pacholczyk, a Roman Catholic priest, should decide where to devote their energy conducted—all will suffer. Real human argue that ASC research "doesn't raise the on the basis of scientific considerations and beings will pay the horrible price of the huge issue of destroying human embryos." on the potential for human benefit, not on slowdown of stem cell research. Whatever And this view is shared by growing num- the basis of fear that they will offend the the appeals to compassion for the "unborn", bers of Americans, including scientists. It religious. Real lives of real people hang in the religionist's attitude amounts to: "It has become commonplace to read articles the balance. doesn't matter if stem cell research could reporting on successful ASC research that allow you to walk again or save a loved praise it as helping to "resolve a moral di- Guy received his B.A. in political science from one from an incurable disease. My religion lemma for many." One commentator hap- the University of Toronto in 2004. He works teaches me that an embryo has a soul, so pily observed, "this would mean that one for a property management/development firm you'll just have to suffer." This attitude is of the most troubling aspects of stem cell in Hamilton, Ontario. not, as ESC opponents would have us be- research for many people—the use of hu- lieve, "pro-life". It is obscenely indifferent man embryos in the lab—has been side- to human life. No one can claim to value stepped." human life while insisting it be sacrificed Much of the debate on stem cells seems to microscopic cell tissue, even if that tis- to focus on choosing ASC research or ESC sue, under the right circumstances, has the research, but this is a false alternative. The potential to become human. central issue is that scientists should not, Some religious conservatives respond for fear of offending religious sensibilities, 6

Too Bigby Alex EpsteinTo Bail very few days we hear that another meaning, when institutions are told they leading financial institution has writ- can never fail, managers are given an in- tenE down billions more on subprime invest- centive to put more capital at risk. If the ments gone bad. Nearly every major finan- investments go well in the short term, as cial institution, it turns out, had a hand in subprime investments did for several years, loans to low-credit borrowers—borrowers the profit potential is huge. If they eventu- whose ability to pay often hinged on end- ally fail, the downside is only so bad; the lessly low interest rates or a strong hous- government will "do something" to keep ing market. How could this happen? How the firms afloat. could nearly all the leading lights of the fi- and others have a huge potential pool of And when these reckless investments nancial industry—the experts in assessing capital accessible to them if they take on do go well in the short term, they're sure to and managing risk—expose themselves to the additional cost of offering deposi- be repeated. If one financial giant is reap- such massive losses? Or, as a Fortune cover tors higher interest rates than their com- ing huge profits from subprime, other firms crudely put it: "What were they smok- petitors'. On its Web site, Countrywide are pressured to follow along—or else risk ing?" is actively chasing your dollars, boasting, losing investors, customers, or employees A major part of the answer is: govern- "Can your bank match our CD rates?" The who want to be part of the exciting profit ment bailout crack. policy is working; American depositors machine. The long-term result of "too big For decades our government has had have invested or kept $10s of billions of to fail" is a gradual and overall decline in a semi-official policy that large financial their savings in Countrywide's coffers— responsible risk-taking—with periodic cri- institutions are too big to fail—and there- despite regular headlines about the com- ses like the subprime debacle. fore must be bailed out when they risk pany's perilous finances. Depositors know Any doctrine that encourages overly- insolvency—a policy that creates perverse that no matter how reckless Countrywide risky investing, and punishes sound risk- incentives for them to take on far more is with their money, other taxpayers will be taking is unfair and destructive. We need risk than they otherwise would. "Too big there to pay the company's FDIC-backed to phase out "too big to fail" and replace it to fail" is implemented through a network commitments—just as they were there to with a free market in banking, which would of government bodies that protect finan- bail out depositors in savings and loans in reward sound long-term lending and bor- cial institutions from the long-term con- the 1980s. rowing practices and punish irresponsible sequences of their decisions at taxpayer Still another item on the bailout menu ones. Otherwise, the next financial market expense—a phenomenon we can observe is provided by the Federal Reserve. To- fiasco is just a matter of time. right now. day and throughout history, when major Consider Countrywide, a major sub- financial institutions are losing money, Alex Epstein is an analyst at the Ayn Rand prime money-loser just acquired by Bank the Fed uses its power to manipulate in- Institute, focusing on business issues. The In- of America. Private lenders have not been terest rates and the money supply so that stitute promotes Objectivism, the philosophy of willing to grant Countrywide the $10s banks can borrow cheaply—giving them Ayn Rand—author of Atlas Shrugged and of billions it sought to keep afloat, given easy money with which to paper over their . Contact the writer at the company's huge and difficult-to-mea- old mistakes. Again, it is other taxpayers [email protected]. sure subprime exposure. In a free market, who pay—in this case, through inflation. bankruptcy would loom—but in our sys- Inflation depletes Americans' hard-earned tem, Countrywide and others can turn savings; the trend of skyrocketing housing to the government-backed Federal Home and commodity prices we have witnessed Loan Banks for cash; these banks have lent during the last five years is just the latest Countrywide over $70 billion so far. Ac- and most obvious harm done by our gov- cording to the Wall Street Journal, these ernment's inflationary actions. banks specialize in "providing funding The combined effect of these and other where other creditors won't go"—which bailout policies is to make risk-taking less they can do because of "a widespread belief risky for large financial institutions—be- the government would bail them out [with cause true failure is not an option. taxpayer money] in a crisis." If an institution can be bankrupted Cash from Federal Home Loan Banks when its investments go bad, it is supreme- is just one of the many entrees the govern- ly clear to its managers and its creditors (its ment provides on its bailout menu. An- depositors, in the case of a bank) that they other option a failing bank has is to court must be continuously diligent about risk. bank depositors—who will not be scared They have every incentive to thoroughly away because their deposits are backed by investigate long-term consequences—be- the government's Federal Deposit Insur- cause enough money badly invested could ance Corporation (FDIC). Countrywide mean the firm's extinction. However, when the long term loses its 7

The Objectiviststudy Academic Centerayn offers rand'sstudents a chance toideas formally study Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. s more and more young people be- ized, drawn out to their full implications, come interested in Ayn Rand's ideas and integrated with each other. Students andA methodology, there is an increasing see the implications of these principles on need and demand for an institution that ethics, politics, art, science, and history. systematically teaches her philosophy. In They are pushed to relate what they learn fact, such an institution exists. to both their other academic knowledge, The Ayn Rand Institute's Objectivist and their own life experiences. Academic Center offers students an op- Many students interested in Objec- portunity to formally study Rand's philos- tivism start by studying Rand's works on ophy. According to the Institute's website, by Gena Gorlin their own. While valuable knowledge can the OAC "offers a systematic program of be gained as a result, there is no substi- University's eCollege program, so that stu- tute for the input, guidance, and profes- instruction in the essentials of Objectivism dents get college credit for attending and in the nature of objective thought and sional feedback of live experts. Students The program opens with a pair of in- who have entered the OAC program with communication." troductory courses on philosophy and non- The program is intended to be a supple- the expectation that it would serve as "re- fiction writing, with the objective of de- view," or that they would just be rehash- ment to an undergraduate college educa- veloping the student's critical analysis and tion, and can be thought of as a minor in ing the material they had already mastered communication skills. Through lectures, through their years of independent study, Objectivism. Launched in 2001, it has organized discussions, written assign- grown rapidly both in its curriculum and are almost invariably hit with a strong dose ments, and tutorials, instructors work to of reality as to the actual extent of their student body. Courses are taught online help students improve the clarity of their and via teleconference, so that students can understanding. The level of understand- thinking and writing. ing expected of them in their OAC papers attend from anywhere in the world. Stu- Later years include courses like the dents unable to attend live are provided ac- generally far exceeds that attained by their "Seminar on Ayn Rand's Philosophy of Ob- own readings. cess to class recordings and posted discus- jectivism" ("SARPO") and "Understand- sions. Most full-time students receive full The OAC Early Admission deadline ing Objectivism" (based on Dr. Leonard for the 2008-2009 academic year is April tuition waivers and phone scholarships, Peikoff's lecture course of the same name), so that the OAC is easily affordable by all 16, 2008; the Regular Admission deadline in which the principles of Objectivism are is July 30, 2008. Admission is highly selec- who get admitted. The first year courses brought under the microscope and meticu- are formally accredited through Chapman tive, so interested students should consider lously inspected—dramatized, essential- applying early. Testimonial of an OAC graduate he primary purpose of the OAC is my college classes: in my college classes I trated and mystified me. Philosophy and to teach students about Objectivism. acquired the content and prevailing opin- related humanities classes have become, if However,T in my case the program also pro- ions in many fields of study, and in my not easy, at the very least navigable. The vided a major secondary benefit: the posi- OAC classes I learned how to understand OAC has provided me and my classmates tive effect it had on the rest of my academic and interpret that material. At the OAC, I with a valuable guidepost in the difficult life. systematically trained my mind to think, world of academia. The knowledge and skills I acquired at under the tutelage of experts who knew As an undergraduate alumna and cur- the OAC had a permeating impact across the questions to ask and the feedback to rent graduate student in the OAC pro- my academic studies: I noticed myself un- give in order to direct my understanding. gram, I cannot recommend the program derstanding the relationship between inte- The OAC has served as an anchor for highly enough to anyone interested in grals and derivatives better as we learned my thinking method and has, in effect, learning how to think and communicate about them in calculus class; the mixed "kept me honest". I could not "get away ideas effectively—and thus to take part in ideological currents behind the women's with" imprecision in the OAC the way I competently effecting cultural change. suffrage movement as we learned about it could have (and would have) in my college in American History class; the fatalistic humanities courses; the OAC instructors' Gena is an undergraduate at Tufts University worldview that manifested itself differ- intellectual radar immediately detected and the New England Conservatory of Music, ently in Shakespeare's comedies than his any gap in my understanding or any at- triple-majoring in philosophy, psychology, and dramas (and the features of each genre that tempt to gloss over a confusion by means vocal performance. She plans to attend gradu- accounted for the differences) as we learned of flashy rhetoric—even when I myself was ate school in psychology and/or music. She has about it in English class. Even though the blithely unaware of having tried it. Thanks completed the four-year undergraduate pro- classes I was taking at the OAC did not to the OAC, I have developed a clearer gram at the Objectivist Academic Center. touch on any of these topics specifically, sense of how it feels to "get" an idea—as they enhanced my ability to evaluate and against being able to mimic its structure or appreciate them. recognize its pattern without having actu- Through my four years of undergradu- ally understood its meaning and its eviden- ate study this effect grew exponentially, tiary basis. guiding my progress both as a university By learning to integrate, concretize, student and an aspiring intellectual. My and essentialize both in thought and writ- OAC classes masterfully complemented ing, I have excelled in difficult college classes that would otherwise have frus- 8 Speakers, Events, & Meetings

”Apollo and Dionysus" Revisited University of Maryland new york university (new By Regular (College Park, MD) york, ny) Date: Thursday, May 8, 2008 Terrapin Objectivists Ayn Rand's Morality of Selfishness Location: Objectivist Club Contact the club for meeting information. Date: Tuesday April 10, 2008 — 7pm Ford Hall Forum, Boston, Massachusetts, 6:30pm Contact: Location: Kimmel Center, NYU, 60 Washington Contact: Visit www.aynrand.org for more Meetings [email protected] Square South, 10012 information. Contact: Kara, [email protected] Description: In 1969 Ayn Rand’s Ford Hall Description: Why Objectivism provides the only Forum talk, “Apollo and Dionysus,” addressed New York University Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA) means to achieving a flourishing life and a fully the nearly simultaneous events of Woodstock and (New York, NY) What: Weekly meetings free, fully civilized society. the first lunar landing. Almost four decades later, NYU Objectivist Club Contact: cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/aynrand Dr. Yaron Brook, president and executive director What: Regular meetings of the Ayn Rand Institute, reflects on her words The Rise and Fall of Property Rights and explores the implications of how American Contact: Kara Zavwarella university of colorado, Date: April 21, 2008, 7:00pm culture since Woodstock has valued [email protected] boulder (boulder, co) Location: Kimmel Center, Room 914 relative to collectivism and civilization relative to What: Boulder Objectivist Club Time: 7:00pm, New York University, New York, primitivism. Contact: [email protected] NY. Harvard University Contact: Attendees must RSVP to nyu@ (Cambridge, MA) objectivistclubs.org Harvard Objectivist Club Tufts University Description: A lecture by Adam Mossoff, J.D. GENERAL What: Regular meetings, Mondays (Boston, MA) Where: Loker Commons/Memorial Hall Tufts Objectivist Club The Threat of Totalitarian ANNOUNCEMENTS Contact: Kelly Cadenas What: Regular meetings Date: Monday May 5th, 2008, 7:00pm [email protected] Where: Tufts University, Mayer Campus Center Location: Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hoc New York University, New York, NY The Ayn Rand Institute Contact: Gena Gorlin Free video and audio selections online: Contact: [email protected] [email protected] www.aynrand.org Description: Panel Discussion featuring Dr. University of , Yaron Brook, Dr. Daniel Pipes, and Flemming "The Road to 9/11: How America's Selfless Rose Los Angeles Metro Detroit Policies Unleashed the Jihadists," by (Los Angeles, CA) The Objectivist Group "The Rise and Fall of Property Rights in LOGIC What: Monthly meetings America," by Adam Mossoff What: Weekly meetings When: Third Wednesday of each month the university of chicago Totalitarian Islam's Threat to the West: A panel on UCLA campus Contact: (chicago, il) discussion featuring Yaron Brook, Daniel Pipes Where: Humanities A48 [email protected] The Virtuous Egoist and Wafa Sultan When: Wednesdays at 7:00 pm Date: Wednesday April 16th, 2008, 7:00pm "The Separation of School and State: The Case Contact: www.ClubLogic.org San Francisco, CA Location: Harper Memorial Library, Room 140 for Abolishing America's Government Schools," [email protected] Golden Gate Objectivists Time: 7:00pm by C. Bradley Thompson Contact: Contact: [email protected] "Atlas Shrugged—America's Second Declaration www.goldengateobjectivists.com Description: Lecture and Q&A by Dr. Tara of Independence," by University of California, [email protected] Smith "Religion and Morality," by Onkar Ghate "Democracy vs. Victory: Why the 'Forward Berkeley (Berkeley, CA) Strategy of Freedom' Had to Fail," by Yaron Objectivist Club of Berkeley The Morality of Brook What: Weekly meetings Date: Thursday, May 8, 2008, 7:00pm Washington, DC "Passing Judgment: Ayn Rand's View of Justice," Where: Atrium of the Valley Life Sciences Bldg DC Objectivist Salon (DCOS) Location: Harper Memorial Library, Room 140 by When: Wednesdays at 6:00 pm What: Monthly study/discussion group Contact: [email protected] Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons: A panel Contact: Katie Brakora Contact: www.dcobjectivistsalon.org Description: A lecture and Q&A by Dr. Eric discussion featuring Yaron Brook and Daniel [email protected] Daniels Pipes Toronto, Ontario "Why Conservatives Are Anti-Business," by OPAR Study Group Yaron Brook University of California, Contact: Dalia Tubis university of california, "America's Foreign Policy: Self-Interest vs. Self- Irvine (Irvine, CA) [email protected] berkeley (berkeley, ca) Sacrifice," by Ayn Rand Club at UCI & Guy Barnett The Threat of Totalitarian Islam What: Weekly meetings [email protected] Date: Tuesday, April 29th, 7-9pm Where: HH257 The Lucidicus Project Location: 2050 Valley Life Sciences Bldg., UC Free books to medical students interested in When: Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Berkeley Campus learning about the moral and economic case for Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected] capitalism. theobjectivistclubatuci.blogspot.com Description: A panel discussion with Yaron Contact: Jared Rhoads—jared.rhoads@lucidicus. One-Time Brook and Daniel Pipes org University of California, Events costa mesa, ca San Diego (La Jolla, CA) Woodstock's Legacy: The Rise of UCSD Objectivist Club Environmentalism and the Religious Right What: Weekly meetings Rogers state university Date: Thursday, May 1, 2008 Where: Sequoia Room of Sierra Summit (claremore, OK) Location: Hilton Costa Mesa, CA When: Mondays at 7:00 pm Global Capitalism: The Solution to World Contact: Visit www.aynrand.org for more Contact: [email protected] Oppression and Poverty information. Date: Wednesday April 9th, 2008, 7:30pm Description: A lecture and Q&A by Dr. Yaron Location: Will Rogers Auditorium Brook San Fransisco State Description: A lecture and Q&A by Dr. Andrew University Bernstein The Morality of Capitalism Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008 (San Fransisco, CA) Location: Hilton Costa Mesa, CA SFSU Students of Objectivism university of colorado Contact: Visit www.aynrand.org for more What: Weekly meetings information. Where: Cesar Chavez Student Center boulder (boulder, co) Religion vs. Morality Description: A lecture and Q&A by Dr. Eric Contact: [email protected] Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008 Daniels Location: Wolf Law Building, Room 207 University of Florida Description: A lecture and Q&A by Dr. boston, ma (Gainesville, FL) The Threat of Totalitarian Islam Ayn Rand Club Date: Tuesday, May 6th, 2008, 8:00pm Contact: Location: Emerson Hall, Room 210, Harvard [email protected] University, Cambridge, MA Description: Panel discussion featuring Yaron Brook, Daniel Pipes, and Robert Spencer