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Welcome to the Summer 2013 issue of The Objective Standard.

I begin with heartbreaking news. Joshua Lipana, my good friend and assistant editor of TOS Blog, died this past April after a heroic nine-month battle with cancer. As I wrote in a blog post the day he passed away:

To know Joshua was to love him. To know him well, as I did, was to love him like another self. Joshua loved life with a contagious passion. He thought at levels well beyond his years. He wrote with an eloquence few writers ever acquire. And he laughed with a joy earned only through perfect virtue. His death is a monumental loss not only for those of us who knew and adored him, but for every person on Earth who values human ability, rationality, freedom, flourishing.

For more about Joshua's life, see "In Memory of Joshua Lipana." Special thanks to artist Bryan Larsen for creating the beautiful portrait of Joshua that accompanies that tribute, and to Linda and Quent Cordair for commissioning Mr. Larsen to produce it for me.

The feature article in this issue, "The End of Central Banking, Part II" by Richard M. Salsman, explains why central banking should be terminated and how it can be, focusing primarily on the U.S. Federal Reserve System. (Part I, published in the Spring 2013 issue of TOS, shows that the "end," as in ultimate purpose, of central banking is to finance fiscally profligate governments and welfare states. Part II shows how to "end," as in terminate, the problem.) Given the mayhem caused by the Fed in recent decades, ending this statist machine is an idea whose time has come, so be sure to tell your friends about this vital, two-part essay. Nothing like it has ever been written.

My article "The Is-Altruism Dichotomy" shows why, even after Ayn Rand created a complete morality based exclusively on observation and logic, many people persist in believing that moral principles cannot be derived from the facts of reality. The essay examines a few key ideas and distinctions that people must grasp in order to understand a rational, secular, objective morality.

Next up is an interview with artist Ifat Glassman, discussing her artwork, her atelier education, and her plans for the future. The interview is accompanied by images of several of her artworks.

Movies reviewed in this issue are: Lincoln, written by Tony Kushner; Django Unchained, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino; The Intouchables, written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano; and The Sessions, directed by Ben Lewin. All four are reviewed by Ari Armstrong.

Books reviewed are:

The DIM Hypothesis: Why the Lights of the West Are Going Out, by Leonard Peikoff (reviewed by Ari Armstrong);
Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, by Andrew Breitbart (reviewed by Robert Begley);
Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis, by John C. Goodman (reviewed by Jared M. Rhoads);
Island, by Thomas Perry (reviewed by Daniel Wahl);
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, by A. J. Jacobs (reviewed by Daniel Wahl);
The Truth about Gun Control, by David B. Kopel (reviewed by Ari Armstrong); and
After the Welfare State, edited by Tom G. Palmer (reviewed by Ari Armstrong).
In addition to reading The Objective Standard, be sure to visit TOS Blog for daily commentary from an Objectivist perspective, and join us on Facebook and Twitter for quick hits and interesting links.

Have a wonderful summer! -Craig Biddle