Objectivist Round Up #94

Welcome to the April 30, 2009 edition of the Objectivist Round Up! This blog carnival features posts by blog authors who are advocates of Objectivism.

Objectivism is the philosophy of the 20th-century novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. It is a comprehensive system of thought that identifies the basic axioms of the universe, and formulates and defends a reality-based theory of concepts, free will, morality, political liberty, history, aesthetics... and virtually every other aspect of living a human life.

Miss Rand was once asked if she could express the essence of her philosophy while standing on one foot. She responded by saying: Metaphysics - Objective Reality; Epistemology - Reason; Ethics - Self-Interest; Politics - Capitalism.

If you wish to discover more about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, you can do no better than reading her two great novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The Ayn Rand Institute and the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights provide very relevant information and commentary, and a great introduction to Ayn Rand’s works can be found here.

With no further ado, I present this week’s Objectivist Round Up posts:

John Drake presents “A Changing Tide?” at Try Reason!, saying, “Obama's policies and apparent philosophy are prime targets for Objectivists. His presidency may help spread Objectivism throughout the culture by becoming its antithesis.”

Guy Barnett presents “Obama, No Take-Backs” at The Undercurrent, saying, “When the rules of the game keep changing, how can businesses and individuals make long-terms plans?”

Roberto Sarrionandia presents “Poisoning Money” at Tito’s Blog, saying, “How socialism poisons money.”

Jason presents “Ruminations on Meta-Ethics” at Erosophia, saying, “Ruminations on the difference between teleology and Ethics and the nature of ultimate ends.”

Mike L. presents “On the Epistemological Problem of Anarchy” at Coroner’s Bureau, saying, “With the onslaught of oppressive government in the form of inflationary monetary policy and deficit spending, many have been tempted to reject government in its entirely, wishing to replace it with anarchism. Here I defend the existence of limited government as an epistemological necessity.”

Jared Rhoads presents “The Lucidicus Project - Editorials on Individual Rights in Medicine” at The Lucidicus Project, saying, “Obama needs more doctors in order to carry out his plan to expand healthcare, but tinkering with reimbursement rates won't attract more people into this increasingly regimented field.”

Diana Hsieh presents "Just Say no Fast Tracking" at NoodleFood, saying, "The Democrats in Washington want to fast-track socialized medicine. Take a few minutes to write quick letter to your representatives expressing your opposition!"

Linn and Ari Armstrong present "After Tea, Try Liberty" at FreeColorado.com, saying, "After the tea parties, we need to return to the ideas of liberty."

C. August presents "Pragmatism, Social Justice, and the Failure of Conservatism" at Titanic Deck Chairs, saying, "A conservative columnist identifies, perhaps unwittingly, a crucial point about the nature of Obama's pragmatism, and damns his political philosophy in the process."

Ryan presents "20th Century Motor Company, Anyone?" at The Money Speech, saying, "Get ready for the Federal Bureau of Automobile Manufactures!"

Paul Hsieh presents "Alarming Flu Reports From Mexico" at NoodleFood, saying, "As more cases of swine flu appear in the US, how will the US government? What should you look out for on a personal and political level?"

Doug Reich presents “An Injustice of Injustice: Bossnapping vs. Capitalist Logic” at The Rational Capitalist, saying, “The "struggle against free market forces" (as evidenced by violent attacks against businessmen in Europe) is a struggle against the nature of reality - the same struggle implied by the morality of altruism.” Also, “Maybe It’s The Sun Part III,” saying, “Given yet more evidence that climate scientists do not yet understand the sun's role on earth's climate, this post concludes that the most dangerous scientific phenomenon facing man today is the computer model which codifies and extrapolates massive philosophical errors, viz., an invalid process of induction on the part of these climate scientists and the anti-human ideology of environmentalism.”

Miranda Barzey presents “America Should Leave the UN” at Ramen & Rand, saying, “The American delegation walked out of the UN, forever ending it's membership in the group...well, not really. But it did happen at my mock UN conference.”

Rituparna Basu presents “Thug Rule in Washington” at The Undercurrent, saying, “Ken Lewis recently revealed controversial threats issued to Bank of America by Paulson and Bernanke. When thugs like these are masked as political leaders, how can financial confidence be restored among the American people?”

Rational Jenn presents “Tough Choices” at Rational Jenn, saying, “This post describes a conflict I had with my oldest child recently, and how I used Positive Discipline techniques to reinforce my parenting principles and help my son make a tough (for him) decision.”

Gus Van Horn presents "Apuzzo on Fingerprinting" at Gus Van Horn, saying, "Apuzzo thinks torture is wrong, but fears that it might be effective. Being a pragmatist and a leftist, he damns it with an impossible standard of practicality."

UPDATES

Sorry, GVH! I've now added a last-minute entry by Gus Van Horn that should not be missed.