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The Objective Standard Mini-Conference in Dallas last weekend was a tremendous success. Turnout was substantially greater than anticipated (80 attendees), with people coming from Austin, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New York, and Canada. The speakers, Andrew Bernstein, Richard Salsman, and Craig Biddle, delivered enlightening and energetic speeches followed by lively Q&A sessions.…

New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof has expressed consternation that many of his readers were “savagely unsympathetic” in their responses to a column in which he shares the story of his recently deceased friend, Scott Androes, in hopes that “his story would help readers see the need for universal…

Prompted by pro-life Georgia representative Terry England’s bizarre comments comparing women to farm animals, the Center for Reproductive Rights has released a star-studded video encouraging viewers to “draw the line” against attacks on abortion and contraception rights by signing a petition called the Bill of Reproductive Rights. The first article…

Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez and his team of surgeons at the University of Maryland School of Medicine deserve praise for their success in “the most extensive face transplant performed to date.” Seven months after receiving a new face, Richard Lee Norris, a 37-year-old Virginia resident who for fifteen years was…

In an interview with Tracy Oppenheimer of Reason TV, Jonathan Hoenig, manager of Capitalist Pig Hedge Fund, expressed a view that is likely shared by many lovers of liberty: recognition of both great potential for progress and great potential for destruction in the future: When I see what man can…

Even if it were true that historical tribes had primitive rules that nod to modern altruism, this would not disprove Ayn Rand’s ethics.

Why do so many on today’s left so forcefully advocate censorship when it comes to campaign spending? Hasn’t the left traditionally stood up for free speech, at least in the political realm? The left has always suffered from a basic contradiction: It seeks to protect “civil liberties”—traditionally including the right…

In last night’s pathetic debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, three sentences from Obama stood out to me: I believe that the free enterprise system is the greatest engine of prosperity the world's ever known. I believe in self-reliance and individual initiative and risk takers being rewarded. But I…

Congratulations to Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull Stratos for their amazing and exciting achievement. One is reminded of what Ayn Rand said of Apollo 11: [N]o one could doubt that we had seen an achievement of man in his capacity as a rational being—an achievement of reason, of logic, of…

Prints of Ifat Glassman’s portrait of Ayn Rand (which adorns the cover of the Fall issue of TOS) are now available through Fine Art America. Prints start at just $89 and can be matted and framed to your specifications. Order one for yourself and several for Christmas presents, birthday presents, and…

Our right of free speech as recognized and protected by the First Amendment is a cornerstone of liberty and of America’s republican form of government. That right is under assault, and our freedom of speech is at risk of serious erosion. In the wake of the Citizens United Supreme Court…

The opening of Atlas Shrugged II in theaters this weekend is a great opportunity to introduce people toThe Objective Standard, the preeminent magazine written from the perspective of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Toward that end, we've created a flier for printing and handing to moviegoers before and after the show.…

Laughing Joe Biden, during the vice presidential debate, made clear his commitment to egalitarianism: [I]nstead of signing pledges to Grover Norquist not to ask the wealthiest among us to contribute to bring back the middle class, they [Republican candidates] should be signing a pledge saying to the middle class we're…

Last night Diana Hsieh of Philosophy in Action interviewed Craig Biddle about common mistakes people make in thinking about ethics. The full podcast of the hourlong interview is now available. Discussion encompassed "people's wrong ideas about ethics, including ethics of duty, pragmatism, religious ethics, [and] collectivism." For Biddle's systematic treatment…

U.S. policies of appeasing and even subsidizing Islamists, and promoting democratic processes to empower the same, have predictably produced a resurgence of Islamist assaults on “infidels.” Consider a few recent news stories: In Pakistan, members of the Taliban boarded a school bus and shot a 14-year-old girl in the head…