The Objective Standard Podcast
Summary: The Objective Standard is the preeminent source for in-depth cultural and political analysis from an Objectivist perspective, Objectivism being Ayn Rand's philosophy of reason, egoism, and laissez-faire capitalism. TOS's podcast includes select audio versions of TOS articles as well as lectures by and debates involving TOS contributors. For more information about TOS, visit http://www.TheObjectiveStandard.com.
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- Artist: The Objective Standard
- Copyright: Copyright ©2005–2010
Podcasts:
Analyzes the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, surveys the relevant history of campaign finance laws in relation to the Court's decision, and discusses the significance of the ruling for the future of free speech. Read by Sean Saulsbury.
Presents a history of usury, showing that, just as moneylenders are being damned and blamed for today's "sub-prime mortgage crisis," so they have been condemned and castigated for alleged wrongdoing from the beginning of Western civilization. Read by Sean Saulsbury.
Specifies the rights violations and economic problems caused by U.S. government interference in health insurance and medicine and shows that the only viable solution is to transition to a rights-respecting, free market in these industries. Read by Sean Saulsbury.
Examines the morality of altruism, exposing its incompatibility with the basic principle of America (i.e., individual rights), identifying its philosophic roots, and showing that if Americans want to save America, they must repudiate this creed, root and branch. Read by Karl Kowalski.
Identifies the theory behind the Massachusetts mandatory health insurance program, exposes the program as a fiasco, explains why the theory had to fail in practice, and sheds light on the only genuine, rights-respecting means to affordable, accessible health care for Americans. Read by Karl Kowalski.
Examines the moral ideas of Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins, exposes some curious truths about their ethics, and provides sound advice for theists and atheists alike who wish to discover and uphold a rational, secular morality. Read by Sean Saulsbury.
Reviewed by Robert Mayhew. Read by Sean Saulsbury.
Does the government have a moral right to take citizens' property under certain conditions---or do citizens have an absolute right to their personal property? Does robust economic development require the occasional use of eminent domain---or would economic progress be greater if property rights were upheld as truly inalienable? What are the moral issues involved in eminent domain? What are the practical issues? Are the moral and the practical necessarily at odds---or can they be reconciled? Mr. Finkle and Dr. Brook will present the facts in support of their respective positions.
This talk consults the historical precedent of American policy towards Shintoism in post-1945 Japan to show that a proper policy today would first identify Islamic Totalitarianism as the cause of the threat facing the West, and then direct American resources toward eliminating the political imposition of Islamic Law. If Americans want to end the threats against their lives and liberty, they must first identify the advocates of political Islam (those who seek to impose Islamic Law by force) as the true enemy, and then destroy that enemy---beginning with the Islamic State of Iran.
The Bush administration's pseudo-war is a self-sacrificial disaster. Nearly five years after President Bush declared "war on terrorism," victory is nowhere in sight. American soldiers continue to die in Iraq for no clear self-defense purpose, while enemy regimes such as Iran and Saudi Arabia continue to sponsor Islamic terrorism and spread anti-Americanism without fear of reprisal. The cause of America's continuing insecurity is not any practical inability to defeat our enemies---America can militarily crush any enemy it chooses---but our leaders' unwillingness to do what is necessary to defeat them. The only path to American security is real war, self-interested war, a war of genuine American self-defense. In this talk, Dr. Brook presents the principles of "Just War Theory," the altruistic theory guiding the Bush administration's so-called "War on Terrorism," and contrasts them with the principles of a proper, moral approach to American self-defense.
Focuses on the principle of property rights as it applies to the Internet in the face of increasing calls for government controls of this, as yet, relatively free market. Read by Karl Kowalski.
Zeros in on the fundamental cause of the problem, showing that widespread acceptance of the morality of self-sacrifice necessitated the kinds of laws, regulations, and decisions that have driven the financial markets into the gutter. Read by Karl Kowalski.
Examines America's political climate in light of the unmistakably statist agenda emanating from Washington, and finds cause for optimism in the effect Obama is having on the minds of Americans---and cause for activism toward helping Americans to see the proper political alternative: not conservatism but capitalism. Read by Karl Kowalski.
Shows that, contrary to proposals being put forth by Republicans, a genuinely free market in health insurance is not only moral, in that it respects the rights of producers and consumers, but also practical, in that it enables businessmen to solve problems for profit---which leads to more and better products and services at lower prices for consumers. Read by Sean Saulsbury.
Concretizes the selfishness-enabling nature of capitalism and shows why this feature makes it the only moral social system on earth. Read by Sean Saulsbury.