Volume 20, No. 2: Summer 2025
If you are a paid subscriber, you will be able to access PDF and EPUB versions of this issue here by June 6.
In this issue:
From the Editor
The Summer 2025 Issue of TOS Is Published!
Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of The Objective Standard, the rational alternative to regressivism and conservatism.
Cover Article
Frédéric Bastiat: Liberty, Rights, and The Law
Frédéric Bastiat’s journey from an orphan to a merchant to a global beacon of classical liberal thought is a testament to his resilience, courage, and the enduring power of his ideas.
Heroes
Henry Kaiser: Wartime Producer and Industrial Hero
Thanks to men such as Kaiser and their extraordinary industrial capabilities, the United States was able to outproduce its WWII enemies effectively.
Robert Ingersoll's Profoundly Moral Defense of Capitalism
Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899), known as “The Great Agnostic,” is widely recognized for his powerful oratory in defense of free thought, secularism, and individual liberty. However, Ingersoll was also a dedicated advocate of capitalism, entrepreneurship, and the American ideal of self-reliance.
Good Living
The Happiness Experiment by Carl Barney
If you’re someone who dreams of success, wealth, and happiness, then The Happiness Experiment is sure to inspire and motivate you.
Reason for Living: A Rational Approach to Living Your Best Life by Thomas Walker-Werth (Review)
Reason for Living offers a powerful set of tools for anyone seeking to live a life full of meaning, purpose, and happiness.
Adopting Rational Virtues to Achieve Your Goals
If building a better life for yourself according to a rational standard is a proper goal, then the behaviors that enable you to achieve that goal are virtues.
How a Deeper Understanding of Your Interests Leads to a Richer Life
What matters is not so much what you’re interested in but why.
Politics and Rights
The DOGE Delusion: Trump’s Power Play versus Principled Reform
Trump’s DOGE initiative is not grounded in principle but in personal loyalty, spectacle, and force.
A Black Hole in Economics: Money Creation and Its Consequences by Jim Brown (Review)
How is money created, who creates it, and what are the economic effects of money creation?
Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America’s Nazis by Scott Payne (Review)
Although flawed in two significant respects, Code Name: Pale Horse is overall a thrilling and inspiring tale of a man who risked his life to put dozens of violent criminals behind bars.
Kudos to Ryan Holiday for Standing on Principle
Kudos to Ryan Holiday for standing up against book banning and for promoting the thoughtful examination of ideas.
The Arts
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Review)
Sunrise on the Reaping shows us why Haymitch Abernathy decided to join the rebellion against the Hunger Games.
Andor, Created by Tony Gilroy (Review)
Star Wars was always at its best when it focused on rebellion against tyranny. Andor has finally taken that premise and delivered on it in full.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive (Review)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a riveting, achingly beautiful tale of loss, hope, and difficult choices.