Medworth.org.uk

Posting is still light here, but I couldn’t let Christmas pass without mention.

A suitable dose of Christmas cheer was provided by this wonderful Christmas article by Onkar Ghate in US News. Not only is it a timely reminder of why Christmas should be more commercial, the fact that a major news outlet would run this is a sign of just how much progress Objectivism is making.

If you really want something by me, I’m still very proud of my Christmas post from 2006.

My very best wishes for a happy holiday season to all my readers!

Regular readers can’t have failed to notice that this blog has not been updated in a while. This is for a collection of personal reasons: all I can say is that there are things going on in my life right now which are taking priority over writing.

I apologise for this, but right now I don’t know when (or even whether) the situation will change.

In the meantime, interesting things are continuing to happen in the world. An excellent column against moral relativism appeared in the Times a few days ago, which is worth reading. While the author makes some excellent points against moral relativism, she seems less sure of what should replace it.

The problem with this is that most people already know, on some level, what is wrong with moral relativism. Relativism is not something one can consistently practice. It does nothing to help you live. For a great many people, relativism functions as a rationalisation for immoral behaviour, to be called upon when it seems convenient. But in other areas of their lives, people do believe in firm moral principles, which they believe are factually superior to the alternatives. (If you don’t believe me, talk to a relativist whose car has been stolen.)

Refuting relativism is an important step, but by itself, it can at most deprive people of a rationalisation for immorality. However, human beings are rather good at finding replacement rationalisations, if they are determined to do so. To heal our world, the only moral code which will suffice is one which people have a genuine reason to follow, where any attempt to cheat is simply senseless. This, I believe, is what Ayn Rand has given us, and why I think the recent surge of interest in her work is such a positive sign.

For those who weren’t aware, the ARI have recently been improving their online offerings markedly. Not only do they now have a blog, they also have a one-stop shop for all their video recordings, ARC TV. Enjoy!

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

(My eternal thanks to Lord Byron for one of the greatest poems ever written.)

Dr Brook’s speech at the Adam Smith Institute is now available on YouTube here. Enjoy!

I’m delighted to announce that my interview with Yaron Brook is now available on YouTube. You can watch the first part below.

Dr Brook’s evening speech which followed the interview will be available shortly.

Having spent so long writing this comment on a Samizdata post, I wanted to promote it here. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been consistently impressed recently by the economic commentary of Peter Schiff. He is a stockbroker inspired by the Austrian school of economics, who predicted the current recession long before it happened.

He has many good videos on YouTube. I recommend this one, in which he describes exactly what went wrong and why in terms anyone can understand.

Ayn Rand is still everywhere. Sales of Atlas Shrugged are still surging, and it is being discussed all over the place, including recently on the BBC’s Newsnight.

One particularly exciting development is the interest of Douglas Carswell MP in Ayn Rand’s work. He has posted favourably on Atlas Shrugged several times recently on his blog. Exciting times!

The number of media references to Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged has absolutely exploded in recent weeks.  Not only have pro-Ayn Rand intellectuals had articles published in very big newspapers (such as this one by Yaron Brook in the Wall Street Journal), she has been mentioned extensively in the UK newspapers (the FT and the Guardian being two recent examples).

Much of the coverage has been surprisingly respectful, though of course there has been a predictable backlash from the Rand-haters, with the usual smears and distortions being wheeled out. Still, even these are, I believe, a positive development. Any attention for Rand or discussion of the relevance of her ideas to the current crisis is a good thing.

The smears are so laughably irrelevant and silly (one article picked out a line of dialogue from Atlas Shrugged about smoking, and “wittily” observed that Rand died of lung cancer) that they will only convince people who already hate Rand, and those people are ultimately irrelevant. More open minds will, I believe, observe the utter bankruptcy and mindless bile of the smears, and want to find out the truth. We must be ready to help them do so.