CIAO DATE: 07/2013
Volume: 8, Issue: 2
Summer 2013
Craig Biddle
In memory of assistant editor of TOS Blog Joshua Lipana, who recently died after a heroic nine-month battle with cancer.
The End of Central Banking, Part II
Richard M. Salsman
Explains why central banking should be terminated and how it can be, focusing primarily on the U.S. Federal Reserve System.
The Is-Altruism Dichotomy
Craig Biddle
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.
Interview with Artist Ifat Glassman
Craig Biddle
Ifat Glassman discusses her artwork, her atelier education, and her plans for the future. The interview is accompanied by images of several of her artworks.
Lincoln
Ari Armstrong
Written by Tony Kushner.
Based on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, and Tommy Lee Jones.
Rated PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage, and brief strong language.
Running time: 150 minutes.
Django Unchained
Ari Armstrong
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Distributed by the Weinstein Company.
Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language, and some nudity.
Running time: 165 minutes.
The Intouchables
Ari Armstrong
Written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano.
Starring François Cluzet and Omar Sy.
Distributed by the Weinstein Company.
Distributed by Gaumont.
Rated R for language and some drug use.
Running time: 113 minutes.
The Sessions
Ari Armstrong
Directed by Ben Lewin.
Screenplay by Ben Lewin, based on an article by Mark O'Brien.
Starring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy.
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Rated R for strong sexuality including graphic nudity and frank dialogue.
Running time: 95 minutes.
The DIM Hypothesis: Why the Lights of the West Are Going Out, by Leonard Peikoff
Ari Armstrong
Is the history of Western Civilization "one great blooming, buzzing confusion," to adapt the words of William James? Not according to Leonard Peikoff, Ayn Rand's lifelong student and heir. In his magnum opus, The DIM Hypothesis: Why the Lights of the West Are Going Out, Peikoff persuasively argues that the West's major historical periods have been driven by, and are defined by, their cultures' approach to knowledge and the integration thereof.
Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, by Andrew Breitbart
Robert Begley
In Righteous Indignation, Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) targets the political left's death grip on American culture. Focusing on the arts and entertainment, on academia, and (most important to him) on the media, he critiques the ideas of intellectuals who fundamentally oppose America's founding ideals, and he provides rational advice for liberty lovers who want to regain the culture.
Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis, by John C. Goodman
Jared M. Rhoads
Think about the health-related services you or your family need occasionally, if not regularly-doctor visits, hospital stays, casts, surgeries, health insurance. When was the last time you saw a meaningful price for any of these?
Island, by Thomas Perry
Daniel Wahl
From Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs to Nevil Shute's Trustee from the Toolroom, many of the best books ever written have until recently been hard to find and therefore often expensive to purchase.
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, by A. J. Jacobs
Daniel Wahl
One way to determine the practical significance of ideas is to try practicing them. In The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, A. J. Jacobs sets out to do just that.
The Truth about Gun Control, by David B. Kopel
Ari Armstrong
Should government further restrict the ability of rights-respecting Americans to buy, own, and carry guns, or should it recognize that ability as a basic right and protect it? David B. Kopel, among the most influential Second Amendment scholars working today, makes a terse but cogent argument for the right to keep and bear arms in his latest book, The Truth about Gun Control.
After the Welfare State, edited by Tom G. Palmer
Ari Armstrong
The modern welfare state began to take shape in the 1880s in Otto von Bismarck's Germany, and it took off in the United States in the 1930s under Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "New Deal." Now that the welfare state is thoroughly entrenched throughout most of the world, is there any reason to question its existence or any way to eliminate it? There is a reason and a way, and these are the subjects of the essays in After the Welfare State.
Craig Biddle
Welcome to the Summer 2013 issue of The Objective Standard.