1. In a recent interview with Ayn Rand biographer Jennifer Burns and Lex Fridman, some biographical stuff turned up that I hadn’t heard of, such as the correspondence between Frank Knight and Milton Friedman on Rand. Both Knight and Friedman (free market advocates) take issue with Rand’s belief (as they see it) that the outcome of free market relationships will inevitably be better from a strictly moral perspective. Put differently, Rand seems to think that if you succeed in the free market, you probably deserve it.
2. Looks like there is a new schism brewing between Craig Biddle and the Ayn Rand Institute. Biddle says or implies that the ARI is “trashing” him for debating non-Objectivists. Turnabout is fair play according to Biddle.
- Yaron Brook and Greg Salmieri had a friendly public discussion with Kantian-mystic Jordan Peterson at OCON 2018.
- Brook teaches at Peterson Academy.
- Brook publicly debated or had friendly discussions with: academic Marxist Richard Wolff, socialist YouTuber Vaush, and anarchist Michael Malice.
3. ARI philosopher Ben Bayer debates atheist New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman on Ehrman’s support for altruism (by which he means concern for people whom you don’t know, such as a Tsunami victim in Asia). Ehrman says that Christianity gave birth to hospitals, poor houses and orphanages and Bayer doesn’t seem to know what to say. Years ago, I wrote a piece on what Rand thought of charity in the context of such situations. I can’t find it, but my recollection is that Rand wasn’t totally opposed to charity in that sense. I don’t imagine that Rand was writing checks to support orphanages in Timbuktu, but I don’t think she thought it was immoral.
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