Voices for Reason is a blog that covers a wide range of topics, including philosophy and its application to current events, programs of the Ayn Rand Institute and the ideas of Objectivism. Looking back on the year, here are 2016’s most-read blog posts (along with edited versions of the introductions that accompanied them at time of publication).
Steve Simpson, ARI’s director of Legal Studies, appeared on a new student-run video podcast to discuss recent attacks on free speech, the stifling atmosphere on college campuses and related issues in an hour-long interview.
Steve Simpson, ARI's director of Legal Studies, took to Facebook Live in response to criticism of his recent op-ed on The Hill, "Free Speech Is a Right, Not a Political Weapon."
Today The Hill published a new column by ARI’s Steve Simpson, in which he argues that while President-Elect Donald Trump’s hostility toward freedom of speech is worrisome, he’s also by far not alone in this regard. “[I]s Trump’s urge to censor this form of speech really different from Hillary Clinton’s desire to ban the political speech at issue in Citizens United?”
In recent years, Yaron Brook, ARI chairman executive, has been invited to give talks at Exeter University in the UK. In 2014, Brook gave his first Exeter talk on the morality of capitalism. The talk, which was organized with the help of a former ARI intern, was delivered to a lecture room filled to capacity. In 2015, Brook came back to talk about the inequality debate. Again, it was a packed room with more than 150 students attending live, and with over 30,000 views it is one of the most watched videos with Brook.
What is the significance of Donald Trump’s election win? “Can You Love God and Ayn Rand?” What's Behind the Bullying of Vaccine-maker Pfizer? And what does society look like without a wall separating religion and state?
At the end of October and beginning of November, Steve Simpson, director of Legal Studies at ARI, set out on a nationwide speaking tour to defend free speech. “Free speech is increasingly under attack today,” noted Simpson. “After the election, the right is more important than ever. But if we don’t defend, we will lose it.” In eight days, Simpson participated in ten well-attended and well-received events — seven talks, two panels and one debate — addressing hundreds of people, mostly students. Several of the talks were organized by student chapters of the Federalist Society, and Simpson distributed copies of his recently released book Defending Free Speech to attendees.
In this episode, Yaron Brook discusses what Trump’s victory suggests about a significant proportion of the American public and what it, in turn, tells us about America’s future.
Steve Simpson is currently on the road, visiting college campuses to give talks and debate topics such as the right to free speech, economic freedom, cronyism and campaign finance reform.
What is the state of freedom of speech in America today? In this special-edition episode of The Yaron Brook Show, Steve Simpson, director of Legal Studies at ARI, takes on threats to free speech such as campaign finance laws, the culture of sensitivity on campus and government abuses of our right to speak.
