Free Republic

The soon-to-be White House chief strategist laid out a global vision in a rare 2014 talk, one where he said racism in the far right gets “washed out” and called Vladimir Putin a kleptocrat. BuzzFeed News publishes the complete transcript for the first time.

In the first five parts of this series, and particularly in Part 5, I presented a new theory of history and the role of philosophical ideas in history. This article presents the theory behind that theory, discussing the deeper epistemological issues that are raised by the rest of the series. To begin, let me briefly summarize the essence of my theory. I have argued that the standard Objectivist theory—the view that a culture is changed by explicit philosophical ideas propagating downward from the ivory tower to the specialized sciences, to art, to the man on the street—is incomplete. This "top-down"...

Not once in the history of man has the government ever successfully "stimulated" the economy. Not once has the state ever "rescued" the economy or "made it grow." If the government could genuinely perform such financial magic -- successfully printing money, or conjuring wealth from the clear blue sky, etc. -- wouldn't it do it all of the time, and at a much higher level? In the history of the world, all that government intervention in production and trade has ever done is make various economic actors -- both labor and management -- behave in ways that they don't want...

In every serious and important sense, Hamas-controlled Gaza and Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon have declared war on Israel. These two jihadi states are overwhelmingly committed to conquering and enslaving the local Jews -- if not exterminating them. And these Muslim monsters are very open and confident about achieving this new holocaust. Pretty much nothing could be more heartlessly evil. So why doesn't Israel effectively counter these massive threats, and defeat these two obvious Islamo-fascist enemies? The nations of Gaza and Lebanon profoundly need to be decisively and resoundingly defeated. Their two dictatorships need to be crushed into oblivion for all time. The...

All those "humanitarians" on the Turkish/Gazan armada were anti-Western, anti-freedom savages, and ENEMY JIHADIS of Israel. Not only should all the boats have been sunk, in my view, but the responsible parties in Gaza and Turkey should have been heavily bombed in retaliation, as well. This open, brazen, shameless attempt to bring "aid" to Hamasistan and their neo-Nazi citizenry was an ACT OF WAR. It should have been dealt with as such.

http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/01/stiglitz200901?printable=ture&currentPage=all

Libertarianism is not thought of well in the minds of the public. Among the notably small percentage of them that have even heard of it (that is, heard enough to form an opinion on it), a prevailing view among them is it’s basically a quasi-anarchist, uber-capitalist homily to Ayn Rand.

We are a new group formed in Phoenix, Arizona whose purpose is to discuss Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, and its application to everyday life. Anyone interested is invited to attend.

Hi all and happy new year. Here's some humour, in the form of wallpaper for your computer (just right-click to save it). Send it to an anti-capitalist today! Cheers, LBM

I've been searching for the perfect way to describe the fashion that the liberal press covers the Bush Administration, conservatives and their policies. It's always been difficult, because journalists continually adapt their approaches to maximize insult and injury. Sometimes they try to imply guilt by association. Other times they report rumors and innuendo as fact. They often underreport or completely ignore stories that favor the Administration, and then over-hype anything that can be seen as damaging. But I finally realized that I have seen this kind of mass manipulation before. As a matter of fact, it was thoroughly depicted over...

Born 100 years ago in Holy Mother Russia and educated under the Soviets, Ayn Rand became the quintessential American writer and philosopher, upholding the supreme value of the individual's life on Earth. She herself led a rags-to-riches life, wrote best-selling novels that championed individualism and developed a philosophy of reason that validates the American spirit of achievement and independence. The story of Ayn Rand's life is, in the words of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life," a life more compelling than fiction. Born Feb. 2, 1905, she wrote her first fiction at age 8 when she also...

Article Last Updated: 9/20/2004 05:59 AM Laid-back Big Water mixes gay mayor, polygamists Near Lake Powell: The libertarian town of 400 residents almost liberalized its marijuana laws a few years ago By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune BIG WATER - The tiny town of Big Water is not a typical Utah community. There is no church. At least 10 percent of its more than 400 residents are unaffiliated polygamists. It does not have a main street. The Town Council once tried to pass more-lenient marijuana laws. And Big Water has an openly gay mayor. Situated in a small oasis...

In her 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand imagined a monstrous world in which the laws and the political regime, rather than protecting productive individuals, actually make it easy and legal for the rapacious and the envious to steal from them. Not surprisingly, many producers drop out of this society. In response, politicians warn the remaining producers not to leave their jobs, claiming that it is their duty to serve society. This nightmare scenario is now breaking out across the United States. The victims are physicians. Faced with the high costs of malpractice insurance and bogus lawsuits, plus onerous government...

The Objectivist political ideal is a society of trade, in which people interact by voluntary means to mutual benefit, rather than by coercion, plunder, and the exercise of power. A society of trade is a free society, in which individuals enjoy rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, and in which government is strictly limited to the function of protecting those rights through a system of law, with no authority to regulate belief, speech, the arts, or economic markets except to prevent one citizen or group from violating the rights of others. This political outlook puts Objectivism...

Capitalist. Say the word and what image comes to most minds: a grey-haired, sour-faced man in an expensive Italian business suit? Pu-leeze!!!! I've seen today's Capitalists. They are younger than ever. They are ambitious and hardworking. They wear mini skirts, track pants and Silver Tab jeans. This gross misperception needs to change. When you are 6 years old and run your own Kool Aid stand, you are called "smart, resourceful, and ambitious". When you are 36 years old and run your own successful business, you are called "greedy, opportunistic, and rich (as if rich is a bad thing?!). Why is...