From the Editor, Summer 2012

Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of The Objective Standard.

In the lead article, “Why Marxism—Evil Laid Bare,” C. Bradley Thompson examines key ideas that have driven Marxists and socialists–from Asian and European dictators to American college professors—to enact or advocate an ideology that is historically and philosophically pure evil.

In my article “How Would Government Be Funded in a Free Society?” I lay out evidence in support of the fact that, in a free society, people would voluntarily pay to support a properly limited, rights-protecting government; and I discuss the essential means by which they would do so.

In “Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand’s Morality of Egoism,” which is a version of a speech I’ve given on college campuses over the years, I provide a myth-busting introduction to the Objectivist ethics. (Although it discusses Atlas Shrugged, the article does not contain spoilers.)

In his extensive interview with Ari Armstrong, Steve Simpson, of the Institute for Justice, surveys the continuing threats to corporate freedom of speech and discusses the essential elements in the battle to defend it. Mr. Simpson sheds much light on the fundamentals of an otherwise nightmarishly complex political mess.

I had the honor of interviewing one of my favorite artists, painter Bryan Larsen. If you love Larsen’s work (one sample of which graces the cover of this issue of TOS), you don’t want to miss this interview. In addition to getting to know the fascinating man behind the masterful brush, you’ll get to enjoy high-resolution images of ten of his breathtaking paintings.

In the film reviews section, C.A. Wolski appraises The Avengers (directed by Joss Whedon), finding it a near-perfect superhero movie; and Andrew Bernstein reviews Act of Valor (directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh), explaining “why I have seen this movie eight times” and “why I will see it again.”

Under book reviews, Daniel Wahl’s discussion of Farnsworth’s Classical English Rhetoric, by Ward Farnsworth, will whet your appetite for more principles and examples of classical English rhetoric—an appetite you may not have known you have. (I now have my copy and will be enjoying it by the pool this summer.) Our newest contributor, Hannah Krening (welcome Hannah!) reviews The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State, by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, finding it highly valuable for the history it provides, even if suboptimal philosophically speaking.

In case you haven’t yet noticed, TOS has become much more than a quarterly journal. Our daily blog (TOS Blog) is the source for daily commentary from an Objectivist perspective. Topics include economics and politics, science and technology, philosophy and ethics, education and the arts, human achievement and personal productivity. Keep up with our blogging by subscribing to our RSS feed or by visiting the site daily.

We also have highly active Facebook and Twitter pages, where we link to notable news, opinion, and general-interest pieces around the Web. Join our conversation on Facebook by “Liking” our page, and join us on Twitter by “Following” us there.

I hope to see you around the Web, and, in any event, I wish you a productive and enjoyable summer.

—Craig Biddle

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.”

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