In this 1977 lecture delivered at Boston’s Ford Hall Forum, Ayn Rand examines the meaning of “ethnicity” and the consequences of “modern tribalism” in politics. Drawing her title from the Balkan Peninsula, where ethnic groups have splintered and warred against each other for centuries, Rand argues that the global trend toward political organization based on race, language, and religion bodes ill for the future of Western civilization.

An edited version of this talk is available in The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought, a book of essays by Rand and others. This recording is 89 minutes long, including Q&A.