During November 2015, Steve Simpson, the Ayn Rand Institute’s Director of Legal Studies, gave two talks to university audiences.

The first talk was a debate on campaign finance law at Emory Law School, co-sponsored by the Federalist Society and the American Constitution Society. Mr. Simpson’s opponent was Timothy Kuhner, a professor at the Georgia State University College of Law. Mr. Simpson made the argument that while individuals on both the political left and right raise legitimate concerns about campaign finance, that both sides fail to appreciate that what underlies the conflict are disagreements about the nature and purpose of government.

The second talk was a lecture at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, co-sponsored by the college’s Objectivist Society, Economics Department and Political Science Department, as well as the Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C.  In the lecture, titled “Capitalism is the Cure for Cronyism,” Mr. Simpson argued that the solution to cronyism is not to shrink the size of government or to get money out of politics, but to create a government strictly limited to protecting individual rights. The College of Charleston Objectivist Society will publish a video of the lecture in the near future.

Mr. Simpson reports that the students were engaged with the ideas, especially during the debate on campaign finance.  Having ARI scholars lecture on college campuses is an important part of our efforts to change the culture, and Mr. Simpson has been on a roll this month.

Other resources:

• “Bernie Sanders Is the Cause of Cronyism” by Steve Simpson
• “Inequality and Money in Politics” by Steve Simpson