In this lecture examining the 1968 papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), Ayn Rand discusses the meaning of the Catholic Church’s admonition against the use of contraception and the view of sex that it implies. She contrasts this religious perspective on sex with the Objectivist view, drawing out the relationships between love, sex, self-esteem and happiness.

A version of this talk was originally delivered live at the Ford Hall Forum on December 8, 1968. An edited version of this talk is available in The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This recording is 56 minutes long.

In this 1967 lecture, Ayn Rand argues that capitalism is the only moral social system — the only system which is consistent with man’s nature as a rational being and therefore the only system that protects his ability to engage in the kinds of productive activities that his life and happiness require. Rand covers such topics as the nature of man and the role of reason in his life, individual rights and freedom, differing views of “the good” and the social systems that they produce, the purpose and proper functions of government, her definition of “capitalism,” and why only capitalism — a system of voluntary interaction among free people — is the system of human flourishing.

An edited version of this talk is available in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This recording is 47 minutes long.

In this 1967 lecture delivered at Boston’s Ford Hall Forum, Ayn Rand discusses two prominent issues of the day: the Vietnam War and the military draft. Focusing on Vietnam, Rand questions the morality of fighting a war that “does not serve any national interest.” Rand also explains how the military draft violates the rights of those conscripted.

An edited version of this talk is available in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This talk is 48 minutes long.

Rand begins this 1966 lecture by describing how experiments have shown the detrimental effects of sensory deprivation. Rand then asks, If sensory deprivation has such negative effects, what happens to a person deprived of values? Rand looks at various facets of modern culture — academia, religion, politics, literature, art — and argues that it is exceedingly difficult for a rational person to find a source of values and meaningful experiences. Rand then discusses the consequences of this cultural value-deprivation, suggesting that it could help explain the rise in drug addiction and teen suicide.

An edited version of this talk is available in The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This lecture is 55 minutes long.

In this 1965 talk delivered at Boston’s Ford Hall Forum, Ayn Rand discusses the “anti-ideology” she calls “government by consensus,” explaining why America, “a country which does abhor fascism is moving by imperceptible degrees — through ignorance, confusion, evasion, moral cowardice and intellectual default — not toward socialism or any mawkish altruistic ideal, but toward a plain, brutal, predatory, power-grubbing, de facto fascism.”

An edited version of this talk is available in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This lecture is 54 minutes long.

ARI’s Point of View on Education and a Free Society

For Ayn Rand, a nation’s long-term direction is set not by today’s political headlines and debates, but by the ideas and ideals that come to dominate its culture. Above all else, such dominance depends on trends in a nation’s educational systems, which train young minds and impart fundamental ideas and convictions. If students learn to think rationally and scientifically and to value themselves and their intellectual independence, the culture will come to reflect that. But if education fails in this task, the culture will degrade, with succeeding generations less able to think and to deal with the abstract requirements of life and more willing to follow authority. Such a nation will not remain free for long.

In her lengthy essay “The Comprachicos,” Rand examines the pervasive intellectual influence in education, Progressive education, and finds it thoroughly irrational and destructive. From kindergarten onward the Progressive approach stunts the student’s ability to think abstractly and logically, with far reaching implications for our culture and nation. (Originally published in The Objectivist Newsletter in 1970, “The Comprachicos” can be found in Return of The Primitive.)

ARI stands apart from this modern educational trend. Through our education programs, we foster abstract thinking and intellectual independence in students and oppose the anti-conceptual methodology of Progressive education.

Below is a 1964 interview, part of Columbia University’s “Ayn Rand on Campus” radio series, in which Rand discusses the purpose and value of education, and touches on the effects of contemporary trends in education.

In this 1964 lecture delivered at Boston’s Ford Hall Forum, Ayn Rand addresses a single question: “Is Atlas Shrugged a prophetic novel — or a historical one?” Rand draws parallels between events in the novel and events of the day, commenting on issues ranging from socialized medicine and the “brain drain” of Britain’s scientists to antitrust laws and the revival of “Robin Hood” festivals.

An edited version of this talk is available in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This presentation is 44 minutes long.

In this 1963 radio talk, Ayn Rand offers her assessment of President Kennedy’s signature New Frontier program. In doing so, Rand identifies a fundamental principle that Kennedy’s program shares with the fascist states of twentieth century Europe: the “subordination and sacrifice of the individual to the collective.” This principle, Rand argues, is the “ideological root of all statist systems, in any variation, from welfare statism to a totalitarian dictatorship,” and it was ubiquitous in the political dialogue of 1960s America.

A version of this talk was originally delivered live at the Ford Hall Forum on December 16, 1962. An edited version of this talk is available in The Ayn Rand Column, a collection of articles by Rand. The talk is 58 minutes long.

In this 1962 radio talk, Ayn Rand argues that America’s intellectuals defaulted on their responsibility to understand and defend capitalism. In particular, Rand contends that intellectuals failed to grasp the source of businessmen’s productivity and the destructive effects of collectivist schemes implemented by government coercion. By failing to uphold the value of individual liberty, intellectuals paved the way for authoritarian states and the decline of freedom in the twentieth century.

A version of this talk was originally delivered live at the Ford Hall Forum on December 17, 1961. An edited version of this talk is available in The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought, a collection of essays by Rand and others. This recording is 50 minutes long.

In this 1961 talk, Ayn Rand argues that “every ugly, brutal aspect of injustice toward racial or religious minorities is being practiced towards businessmen” under America’s antitrust laws. Rand catalogs the injustices of antitrust, decries the scapegoating of businessmen, analyzes particular cases, rejects antitrust laws as non-objective and calls for their ultimate repeal.

An edited version of this talk is available in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, a book of essays by Rand and others. This presentation is 59 minutes long, followed by a 35-minute Q&A period.