What is The Objective Standard?

TOS is a quarterly journal written from an Objectivist perspective, Objectivism being Ayn Rand’s philosophy of reason, egoism, and laissez-faire capitalism. Learn more about TOS here. Join our mailing list here. Subscribe here.

Winter 2011–2012Vol. 6, No. 4

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Features

The American Right, the Purpose of Government, and the Future of Liberty

Identifies the proper role of government; applies this principle to crucial issues of the day, including “entitlement” programs, corporate bailouts, and the Islamist threat; and calls for lovers of liberty to save America by adopting this moral truth as their fundamental political principle. Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

The Assault on Abortion Rights Undermines All Our Liberties (accessible for free)

Surveys the expanding efforts to outlaw abortion in America, examines the facts that give rise to a woman’s right to abortion, and shows why the assault on this right is an assault on all our rights. Read the article.

The Patience of Jobs

Examines Steve Jobs’s famous impatience, compares it to his less-well-known patience, and finds that in this area, as in so many others, Jobs breaks the mold and is worthy of praise and emulation. Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

An Interview with Still-Life Painter Linda Mann

Ms. Mann discusses how she became an artist, her favorite painters, her own works and techniques, and the respective roles of the conscious mind and the subconscious in the process of painting. Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Sanctum Sanctorum: The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Discusses the collections and virtues of the NGA, compares it to other museums in America, and concludes that the NGA is the fairest of all. Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

2011 Essay Contest Winner: “‘Dog Benefits Dog’: The Harmony of Rational Men’s Interests” (accessible for free)

Responds to the prompt: In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand dramatizes the principle that "there are no conflicts of interest among rational men, men who do not desire the unearned . . . men who neither make sacrifices nor accept them." Elucidate and concretize this principle using examples from both Atlas and real life. Read the article.

Film Reviews

The Help, directed by Tate Taylor

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Book Reviews

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House by Herman Cain

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

American Individualism—How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party by Margaret Hoover

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Disabling America: The Unintended Consequences of the Government’s Protection of the Handicapped by Greg Perry

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

The Right to Earn a Living: Economic Freedom and the Law by Timothy Sandefur

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics by Nicholas Wapshott

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Capitalist Solutions: A Philosophy of American Moral Dilemmas by Andrew Bernstein

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Toyota Under Fire: Lessons for Turning Crisis into Opportunity by Jeffrey K. Liker and Timothy N. Ogden

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Dare to Stand Alone: The Story of Charles Bradlaugh, Atheist and Republican by Bryan Niblett

Read the opening paragraphs (full article accessible to subscribers).

Departments

Correspondence

We value your thoughts on articles in The Objective Standard, and we welcome your letters to the editor—whether critical, argumentative, or complimentary. Well-written letters will be published in our "Letters and Replies" section toward the front of the journal and, when appropriate, may be accompanied by writers’ responses. Letters may be edited.