Objectivist Round Up #130

Welcome to the January 7, 2010 edition of the Objectivist Round Up!

This Round Up is a weekly compilation of posts from Objectivist bloggers.  In case you've stumbled upon this publication for the first time, here is a brief summary of the philosophy of Objectivism, in the words of its originator, Ayn Rand:

At a sales conference at Random House, preceding the publication of Atlas Shrugged, one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essence of my philosophy while standing on one foot. I did as follows:

• Metaphysics: Objective Reality


• Epistemology: Reason


• Ethics: Self-interest


• Politics: Capitalism

If you want this translated into simple language, it would read: 1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty or give me death.”

If you held these concepts with total consistency, as the base of your convictions, you would have a full philosophical system to guide the course of your life.

The best source for more information about Objectivism is The Ayn Rand Institute's web site, where you can find excerpts from her fiction and non-fiction, a short biography, information about her ideas, and much, much more.

And now, I present the January 4, 2010 edition of The Objectivist Round Up:



Mike Zemack presents 2010 - Into the Political Vacuum posted at Principled Perspectives, saying, "A brief look back ... and ahead: In 2010, the political vacuum widens, and so will Objectivism's opportunity."



C.W. presents Meltdown by Thomas Woods, Review posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "Review of "Meltdown" by Thomas Woods. A book recommended by Yaron Brooke. Excellent, detailed explanation of the 2008 panic. Good economics."



Ottens presents Deregulate the Banks! posted at Atlantic Sentinel, saying, "Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is wrong. A lack of regulation did not produce the financial crisis; the Federal Reserve along with enormous government intervention in the American housing market did."



Rachel Miner presents Sharing Emotions posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "As Faber and Mazlish state, 'Children need to have their feelings accepted and respected.' (A separate issue from the necessary limits on their actions). I discuss why I think the same applies to parents and why, I think it is letting one aspect of the teaching opportunity pass to supress our emotions as a shelter for a child and focus only on the physical consequences, alternative actions, identification / acknowledgement.'"



Trey Givens presents Insurance is not a Coupon for Free Stuff posted at Trey Givens, saying, "I've written three posts recently on health insurance that I think are pretty good, but this one came to me in a flash of insight. Apparently, there are a bunch of people out there who think insurance is a discount program!"



Ari Armstrong presents What Are Conservatives Trying to Conserve? posted at FreeColorado.com, saying, "A look at the four strains of conservatism: libertarianism, tradition, faith, and liberty."



Myrhaf presents 2009 and Beyond posted at The New Clarion.



Pomponazzi presents Digesting Objectivist Principles posted at Pomponazzi ponders, saying, "I explain what the primacy of existence means and use it to refute the false theories of Descartes and Kant."



Paul Hsieh presents 2009 Front Range Objectivism Media Output posted at NoodleFood, saying, "In 2009, Front Range Objectivists published 57 OpEds, 48 LTEs, and 3 articles, including high-profile outlets like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Christian Science Monitor. Most of this was done by volunteer activists working in their spare time. Americans are willing to hear our ideas -- we just have to be willing to articulate them!"



Adam Reed presents A Radical Strategy for Objectivists posted at Born to Identify, saying, "Most people's New Year resolutions have to do with a new commitment to act in accordance with one's values, but often too little thought is given to the identification of the course of action that will lead to the realization of one's values. The principles relating actions to values constitute a strategy for the achievement of values."



Diana Hsieh presents The Unsoap Experiment posted at NoodleFood, saying, "It sounds crazy, but I'm experimenting with going mostly soap-free and shampoo-less in January -- yet definitely not unwashed."



Ryan DeGoyler presents Toddlers-Selfish or Selfless? posted at The Undercurrent, saying,  "Are children naturally altruistic? A recent study seems to suggest so. DeGoyler discusses the assumption that cooperation is altruistic, and presents an alternative explanation for the child's motives."



Andrew Dalton presents The soul of an egalitarian posted at Witch Doctor Repellent, saying, "A British intellectual notices that children who attend private schools succeed disproportionately -- and proposes banning private schools as the solution."



Stella presents One good point, and a lot of bad ones posted at ReasonPharm.



C.W. presents Speech by Ben S. Bernanke, Commentary posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "I read this so that you don't have to. Really, it wasn't fun. But it was revealing. This isn't just bad economics, it is a methodological disconnect from reality. Freedom, reality, even money supply are not terms that he would ever use in a conversation."



Edward Cline presents States’ Rights: Dumb Show and Noise posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "The Republican Party has reached deep into its armory of political arguments and come up with its best shot against federally-mandated health care “reform.” Citing the Tenth Amendment, they are beginning to claim that Congress is overstepping its Constitutional authority to require individuals to purchase health insurance, thus usurping states’ “rights” to do the same thing. The power is not enumerated; ergo, it is unconstitutional."



Tom Utley presents Clemson has an Institute for the (honest) Study of Capitalism! posted at It's My Blog, saying, "This is my first ever submission to this list, but I wanted to share the news to all objectivists because I'm so proud of my Alma Mater!"



That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Objectivist Round Up by using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.  Next week's host will be Titanic Deck Chairs.

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