The Baltimore Sun published today an interview with Andrew Bernstein, the author of The Capitalist Manifesto. Bernstein was introduced by the interviewer as follows:
The philosophy professor – author of The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire, published in September – defends and celebrates capitalism as “the system of freedom.” He is an Objectivist, a follower of the individualistic philosophy created by Ayn Rand, best known for the novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
The interview was concluded with a direct question about Rand and Objectivism:
Q: You say your book is grounded in Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. What is Objectivism?
A: She’s given us for the first time in history a philosophy that stresses reason, the rights of a human being to pursue their own happiness, freedom – these are the ideas that the United States was founded on, but Ayn Rand provided the philosophic foundation and validation.
The interview made a reference to Bernstein’s upcoming speech about Capitalism in Columbia, Maryland on February 18, which was announced on this meta-blog.