From the Editor, Fall 2009

Welcome to the Fall 2009 issue of The Objective Standard.

I am happy to announce that TOS is now indexed and abstracted in Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO), Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS), and Political Science Complete (PSC). The journal is under review for coverage in several other indexes as well. Periodicals covered by such indexes are more appealing to libraries, so now is a good time to try (or retry) persuading your university, alma mater, or local librarian to subscribe to the journal. A PDF of our Library Recommendation Letter, which may be printed and handed (or mailed or emailed) to your librarian, is available on our Help Promote TOS page.

Here is a synopsis of the issue at hand:

John David Lewis’s article “Obama’s Atomic Bomb: The Ideological Clarity of the Democratic Agenda” 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.

Next up are two items on American foreign policy: an interview with Yaron Brook, Elan Journo, and Alex Epstein of the Ayn Rand Center about the dismal state of American foreign policy and what should be done about it; and the introduction to the forthcoming book, Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism, which is edited by Mr. Journo and includes essays by all three men.

My article “The Creed of Sacrifice vs. The Land of Liberty” 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.

Whereas my article focuses primarily on the destructive essence and philosophic sources of altruism, Michael Dahlen’s essay “The Rise of American Big Government: A Brief History of How We Got Here” focuses on the historical details of how American government, fueled by altruism, has become the rights-violating, economy-wrecking behemoth it is today.

Paul Hsieh’s article “How the Freedom to Contract Protects Insurability” 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.

My essay “How Morality is Grounded in Reality” is chapter 3 of my book Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It. This chapter presents Ayn Rand’s solution to the so-called “is–ought” problem and shows how she identified the requirements of man’s life as the objective standard of moral value.

The books reviewed in this issue are: Objectively Speaking: Ayn Rand Interviewed, edited by Marlene Podritske and Peter Schwartz (reviewed by Dina Schein Federman); The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, by Alice Schroeder (reviewed by Daniel Wahl); Fred Astaire, by Joseph Epstein (reviewed by Scott Holleran); and The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants, by Jane S. Smith (reviewed by Daniel Wahl).

Enjoy the articles and reviews, and let your friends and relatives know about The Objective Standard. Everyone concerned with the future should be reading this journal today.

—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 →