What specific principles lead the heroes of Atlas Shrugged to go on strike? And what does it look like for an individual or a movement to implement these principles today in a world that resembles that of the novel in some ways but not in others? What decisions do we face that are analogous to those faced by the protagonists, and what can we learn from the novel about which course is right and which wrong?
What is the role of business in society? In business schools, mainstream views on corporate social responsibility represent profit as a necessary evil, even as business leaders are taught how to make money in finance and marketing.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dizzyingly complicated. Tomorrow, June 12, Elan Journo — author of a new book on the conflict and America’s stake in it — looks at how intellectuals conceptualize and debate the issue, and spotlights the distinctive value of an Objectivist perspective on it.
Tomorrow, June 11, we will livestream Adam Mossoff’s talk titled “Life, Liberty and Intellectual Property.” In this talk, Mossoff will explain why intellectual property rights are an essential requirement of a growing free market and flourishing society.
Tomorrow, June 10, Onkar Ghate will give a talk titled Productive Achievement: Man’s “Noblest Activity,” in which he will explore what Objectivism means by the virtue of productiveness and discusses aspects of our culture’s positive and negative attitudes toward producers and productive activity.
In case you aren’t able to attend Objectivist Summer Conference 2017 but were planning to livestream the general sessions, we have good news! Two additional talks have been added.
Learn more about the Academy Award-Nominated 1997 documentary Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life and its director Michael Paxton in this new website, which was launched to commemorate the documentary’s twentieth anniversary. You’ll also find video clips from the film and information about the cast.
When conference attendees arrive in Pittsburgh for #OCON2017, their first stop will most likely be Attendee Services. One of the smiling faces there to greet them will be Matthew Morgen, development account manager at the Ayn Rand Institute. “I’m one of the staff behind the scenes giving people a great experience,” says Morgen.
“Give me liberty or give me death.” This inspiring slogan from the American revolutionary period is all the more impressive when we remember that the revolutionaries were not trying to flee a totalitarian dictatorship but were rebelling against one of the freest, most prosperous nations of their age. There is an important insight here — American revolutionaries demanded, in full, the political freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence as a matter of principle. What was the principle these revolutionaries held so dear and why don’t Americans see it the same way today?
