From the Editor, Fall 2006

Let me begin by thanking the many readers who have sent letters praising The Objective Standard, as well as those who have written letters intended for publication (some of which we have indeed published). I am glad you are enjoying the journal, and I appreciate your thoughts and correspondence.

This issue of TOS is so packed with value that we had to publish forty-eight extra pages to make it all fit. Here is a preview: In “The Decline and Fall of American Conservatism,” C. Bradley Thompson examines today's putatively splintered conservative movement, zeros in on the essence of its two dominant factions, and shows the movement to be only superficially split while fundamentally unified—and stultified—by the conservatives' universal acceptance of a morality that is antithetical to liberty.

Dianne Durante's article, “19th-Century French Painting and Philosophy," examines the relationship between art and fundamental philosophic ideas by considering the Kantian notion that man cannot know reality by means of reason—a notion that became increasingly prevalent over the course of the 1800s—in connection with the works and words of 19th-century French painters and art critics, who, correspondingly, became increasingly hostile to reason over the same period. The article is accompanied by fifty-eight color images of the paintings discussed, which range from the sublime to the grotesque. (Larger images of all the paintings can be viewed at our website.)

In “The Jihad on America," Elan Journo elucidates the fundamental ideas behind, and the principal sponsors of, the Islamic assault on America by reference to the words and deeds of its adherents and supporters—words and deeds that westerners in general and Americans in particular must understand if we are to eliminate this anti-life movement before it eliminates more of us.

In closing, I am pleased to announce that TOS is now available to all libraries through EBSCO Subscription Services. Library sales are an important part of the journal's visibility, so please contact your local (or school's) librarian and urge him to subscribe (he will be familiar with EBSCO). If your efforts result in your library (or any library) purchasing a subscription, I will give you a complimentary one-year subscription, gift subscription, or renewal to TOS. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 800-423-6151.

Enjoy the issue, and let us know what you think!

—Craig Biddle

Editor and Publisher

About Craig Biddle

Craig is cofounder and editor of The Objective Standard, cofounder and director of education at Objective Standard Institute, and executive director of Prometheus Foundation. He is the author of Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It; Rational Egoism: The Morality for Human Flourishing; and the forthcoming Moral Truths Your Parents, Preachers, and Teachers Don’t Want You to Know. He is currently working on his fourth book, “Thinking in Principles.”

View all articles by Craig Biddle →