What is the significance of Donald Trump’s election win? My colleague Onkar Ghate, senior fellow at ARI, offers a careful analysis of the cultural meaning of Trump’s election to the presidency. Onkar writes at length about what the election means for the future of freedom in America, and why Ayn Rand’s philosophy is more important than ever. Whatever your view of Trump, you should read Onkar’s piece, because you’ll learn a lot not only about the state of our culture, but also about how to think about that crucial issue. Read the whole thing here.

God and Ayn Rand? In a letter to the editor at the Wall Street Journal, Onkar Ghate gives an incisive, and eye opening, answer to an op-ed titled “Can You Love God and Ayn Rand?”

The Fear of Speaking Up on Campus. At the Washington Post, Professor Rajshree Agarawal writes about the climate of self-censorship on campuses and highlights one of its underappreciated effects: the insidious impact on entrepreneurial and innovative thinking, so crucial to business and progress. (Professor Agarwal, who teaches at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, was a speaker at Objectivist Summer Conference in 2016.)

What’s Behind the Bullying of Vaccine-maker Pfizer? At Investors Business Daily, Dr. Amesh Adalja looks at the campaign to pressure Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, to lower the price of a crucial vaccine in many markets. The ultimate aim of this campaign, Dr. Adalja argues, is to  “cripple pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer,” and he urges the vaccine-maker “not to be swayed by bullying tactics that threaten the long-term prospects of this industry that is so vital to human flourishing worldwide.” (Dr. Adalja, an infectious-disease physician, spoke about the history of vaccines at Objectivist Summer Conference 2016.)

What does society look like without a wall separating religion and state? Glance back at Europe’s history or at the contemporary Middle East, where the fusion of Islam and state is pervasive. Writing at The Federalist, I recount the horrifying story of what happened after a Jordanian writer criticized Islamic State. His tragic story illustrates the vital importance of the principle of separating religion and state. 

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