Walking to the train station, I photographed this street sign in Chicago: I was reminded of Rand’s caustic remarks exactly 50 years ago about Minow and government censorship: “And then there is Newton N. Minow [then chairman of the Federal Communications Commission] who declares: ‘There is censorship by ratings, by advertisers, by networks, by affiliates […]
Newton N. Minow Way in Chicago Read More »
Professor Paul Kidder published a short article entitled “The Simplistic Flaw in Ayn Rand’s Philosophy: A philosophy professor dissects the faulty logic in the libertarians’ favorite deep-thinker.” Kidder’s argument is that Rand’s position amounts to asserting that only entirely self-sufficient entrepreneurs have worth; consequently her philosophy is flawed in overlooking or ignoring the value that
Philosopher Paul Kidder on Rand Read More »
What makes liberal capitalism good? Here is a flowchart I’ve developed for use in some upcoming talks. The chart diagrams the positive claims about liberal capitalism by its defenders — John Locke, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and others. Click on the image for full size
Justifying liberal capitalism Read More »
My lengthy journal article entitled “Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand” [pdf] is now publicly available for free at the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies‘ site. The abstract: “Philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand are often identified as strong critics of altruism and arch advocates of egoism. In this essay, Stephen Hicks argues that Nietzsche and
“Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand” at JARS Read More »
In this extended interview, philosopher Douglas Den Uyl responds to a series of questions about his life and work. Den Uyl is the author of many works. His latest book, co-authored with Douglas Rasmussen, is Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics. Why did you become a philosopher? [0:19] Where did you get
Profiles in Liberty: Douglas Den Uyl Read More »
My original post on Toohey’s five strategies of altruism has been published in a print version designed by Christopher Vaughan, with graphics and scary pull quotes. Here is the PDF version. The post’s opening: “The ethics of altruism holds that others are standard of value. One is good to the extent one puts the interests
“Toohey’s Five Strategies of Altruism” reprint Read More »
Part of a work-in-progress in philosophy of economics, here is the video of a seminar I led on “Economics as a Value Science.” Part of my argument is that there is a large, problematic gap in economic theory about the relationship between economic facts and economic values. Along the way I discuss Friedrich Hayek, David
Seminar on “Economics as a Value Science” Read More »
Rights in Mises, Hayek, and Rand I am chairing a session and presenting a paper on the theme of “Rights in Mises, Hayek, and Rand” for the annual conference of the Association for Private Enterprise Education, to be held April 1-3, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rationale for the session: Three giants of twentieth-century
Rights in Mises, Hayek, and Rand — APEE panelists Read More »