Category: The Atlasphere

All things Atlasphere can be found here, columns, podcasts, interesting anecdotes, and more.

The Fountainhead Featured at "Economics Camp"

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From an article in the Anderson Independent-Mail:

While most students go to camp to perfect their tennis swing or cheerleading skills, a group of about 30 teenagers from across the country spend last week at Clemson University learning more about economics.
Thatâ??s right — economics summer camp.
Itâ??s designed for exceptional incoming seniors with a passion for public policy and economics. Thanks to a grant from BB&T, the students attend the camp for free and even make some money for going. They are reimbursed 45 cents for each mile they have to travel up to $300.
Steven Shiflett, a 17-year-old Belton-Honea Path High School student, said he was paid about $50.
On paper, the camp sounds boring, but the studentsâ?? eyes lit up when they got started talking about Ayn Randâ??s “The Fountainhead,” one of two books they were supposed to read before camp. After only the first two days, they were explaining how free trade affects the textile industry and BMW Manufacturing Co.â??s effects on the Upstate.
“Off the top of your head, youâ??d be like â??Economics camp? Thatâ??s whack,â?? ” said Atif Choudhury, 17, of Irmo High School in Columbia.
Mr. Choudhury plans to be a doctor, and Mr. Shiflett, who was in his small discussion group, wants to study aeronautical engineering. But they agreed the week of economics education was fun and would be useful in the future no matter what their career.
“You should always just have a background in economics,” Mr. Shiflett said. “You never know when itâ??ll be useful.”

See the full article for more.

Bidinotto Dishes up News on Atlas Shrugged Movie

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Robert Bidinotto offers quite a few exciting updates on the Atlas Shrugged movie, drawn from one of the sessions at this summer’s Atlas Society seminar.
Some tasty excerpts:

  • The final go-ahead “deal” was signed on June 29. The film is well-capitalized, with Lionsgate — the studio that produced the most recent Oscar-winning film, “Crash” — investing $40 million or more for initial production effort.
  • The plan is for the film to be shot and shown in three parts, as a trilogy, like “Lord of the Rings.” Only that length, they said, would give sufficient scope to tell Ayn Rand’s long, complex story. (The initial $40 million would go mainly to Part I.)
  • To hold down production costs, much of the filming may take place in Europe and in the American Southwest, with only “second unit” establishing shots done in iconic venues such as New York City. Filming for more than one of the three parts may occur at the same time.
  • Karen Baldwin declared that the novel’s heroine, Dagny Taggart, may well be the greatest female character in all of literature. In selecting a director, they said, one of their first questions is: “When was the last time you read Atlas Shrugged?” They are committed to hiring a capable director who is completely familiar with the novel, and who understands its message, characters, and style.
  • The Baldwins revealed that they have been deluged with major stars who want to play in the film. … Karen Baldwin also stressed that for [Angelina] Jolie, fidelity to the Dagny character as she is in the novel — particularly the dialogue — is a must; she wants as much of Rand’s dialogue to be used in the film as possible.

Interestingly enough, philosopher David Kelley has worked closely with screenwriter James V. Hart to ensure the screenplay’s fidelity to the novel, and will be credited on-screen as a co-producer of the film.
Bidinotto concludes: “Bottom line: It looks like this grand tale WILL be made, at long last; and more importantly, it looks as if everyone connected with the production is dedicated to DOING IT RIGHT.”
See Bidinotto’s full post on the topic for much, much more.

'A Scanner Darkly' Features the Fountainhead

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Sent to us by an, er, anonymous movie enthusiast:

Last night I saw the new SF film A Scanner Darkly. I thought it was totally incomprehensible and awful and was tempted to demand a refund. In one scene, a character attempts suicide, accompanied by a bottle of wine and a copy of The Fountainhead — which latter gets an enormous amount of screen time. (Although the film is presumably set in the future, itâ??s still the pre-Centennial quality paperback cover — but that error makes as much sense as the rest of the movie.)
Please donâ??t connect this report with my name as I donâ??t want to be informed that I wasnâ??t smart enough to understand the utterly confusing screenplay!

Heh. Yeah, despite the compelling pseudo-animations, it does look like a downer, based on the trailer.
Interestingly enough, The Fountainhead gets a little screen time even in the trailer for the movie. Here’s a screen shot:

fountainhead-scanner-darkly.jpg

That does seem like a rather conspicuous placement of the book. More like he’s brandishing a copy than reading it.

UPDATE: Here’s another review (no Rand background to my knowledge) from someone who liked the movie more.

Atlas Shrugged Movie May Come as 3-Part Trilogy

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Joe Duarte, who attended this year’s Objectivist Center summer seminar, had this to say about the session with Atlas Shrugged movie producers Karen and Howard Baldwin and financial backer John Aglialoro:

The Atlas Shrugged movie looks like it’s really going to happen. And it looks like Angelina Jolie is likely to play Dagny. Other names mentioned by the producers as people they’ve talked to or talked about: Julia Roberts and Ashley Judd. The big thing now is to sign a director. James Hart is the screenwriter.
The movie is likely to be a three-part trilogy, like Lord of the Rings. The most important thing I got out of the amazing session we had with producers Karen and Howard Baldwin, and John Aglialoro, the backer, is how committed they are to the message of the novel. Karen said that the character of Dagny is perhaps the best female character in all of literature. Bottom line: They get it.

This is encouraging.

Jimmy Wales Facilitating Net-based Political Reform

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Wikipedia founder Jimmy “Jimbo” Wales (whose appreciation for Ayn Rand’s ideas is a matter of public record) has launched an initiative to “ramp up the intelligence of poltics.”
In his open letter to the political blogosphere, published yesterday, he writes:

I am launching today a new Wikia website aimed at being a central meeting ground for people on all sides of the political spectrum who think that it is time for politics to become more participatory, and more intelligent.
This website, Campaigns Wikia, has the goal of bringing together people from diverse political perspectives who may not share much else, but who share the idea that they would rather see democratic politics be about engaging with the serious ideas of intelligent opponents, about activating and motivating ordinary people to get involved and really care about politics beyond the television soundbites.
Together, we will start to work on educating and engaging the political campaigns about how to stop being broadcast politicians, and how to start being community and participatory politicians.
How will we do that? Is it possible? Jimbo, are you crazy?
Ok, I might be crazy. I founded Wikipedia, which is of course about as crazy an idea as anyone might imagine. And you know what? I was not and I still am not smart enough to figure out how to make Wikipedia work. The Wikipedians figured that out, my role has only been to listen and watch, and to guide us forward in a spirit of sincerity and love to do something useful.
So, I will frankly admit right up front: I don’t know how to make politics healthier. But, I believe that you do. I believe that together we can work, this very election season, to force campaigns to use wikis and blogs to organize, discuss, manage, lead and be led by their volunteers.
We can turn this into the first beginnings of what is to come. This can be the start of the era of net-driven participatory politics. And it does not matter if you are on the right, on the left, moderate or extreme, socialist or libertarian. Whoever you are, and whatever you believe, you can share with me my sincere desire that the process start to be about substance and thought, rather than style and image.

Keep reading to learn more…

Objectivist "Founders College" Headed for Maine?

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

An update on the (Objectivist-backed) Founders College, from some apparently disappointed citizens of Oxford, North Carolina:

Organizers of Founders College seem to increasingly have their sights set on a $26.4 million coastline retreat for sale in Maine instead of opening for business in Oxford.
Harry Osgood, a higher education specialist for the Maine Department of Education, said that plans were almost set for an Aug. 8 hearing by an application review team.
Once representatives of Founders College are called forward, “The show is theirs to make,” Osgood said.

See the full article for much more on the subject.
And for more background about the college, see this Inside Higher Ed article from last month:

New private liberal arts colleges arenâ??t established every day, so pending proposals in Maine and North Carolina to create institutions from scratch have officials in those states intrigued. But the proposals, which have been cloaked in mystery, are raising some eyebrows â?? partly because of their sponsorsâ?? ties to Ayn Randâ??s Objectivism philosophy, and partly because of suggestions that Maine officials expedited their usual process for approving new colleges because the collegeâ??s backers are reportedly looking to buy a vacant $26 million piece of land. (Maine officials deny those accusations.)
Applications to create Founders College, as the new institution would be called, were submitted nearly a year ago in North Carolina and just last month in Maine. The main people behind both applications are Gary Hull and Eric Daniels, who are a senior lecturing fellow and visiting assistant professor, respectively, at Duke Universityâ??s Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace, one of multiple such programs at colleges in North Carolina that are supported financially by BB&T Bank.

Keep reading…

Atlasphere in the Christian Science Monitor

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The Atlasphere was mentioned in the Christian Science Monitor today, in an article about niche dating services titled “Single white Earthling seeks Klingon for romantic orbit.”
The primary focus of the article, as you might guess from the title, is on “Trekkies” — fans of the Star Trek series. But fans of Ayn Rand’s novels make a cameo.
We’ve been getting plenty of new sign-ups today from the article.
To all these new members: Welcome!

National Association of Scholars on the Institute for the Study of Capitalism

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The current newsletter of the National Association of Scholars includes an upbeat article about the Institute for the Study of Capitalism at Clemson University. The Institute was launched last year with a grant from BB&T Charitable Foundation and is headed by C. Bradley Thompson.
According to the article, the Institute is unique in studying the moral foundation of a free society. Prof. Thompson is quoted as saying that “the Clemson Institute is the first and only university-related program in the U.S. that takes as its core mission the defense of Capitalism as the moral and just social system.”
The National Association of Scholars is committed to rational discourse as the foundation of academic life in a free and democratic society and promotes an informed understanding of the Western intellectual heritage. The article concludes with the note that “Professor Thompson would be happy to speak with NAS members and supporters who might be interested in adapting or replicating the Clemson program on other university campuses.”
The BB&T Charitable Foundation is sponsoring several academic programs on Capitalism, as pointed out on this meta-blog here, here, and here.

Fat Cup of Trouble for Starbucks

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From a new op-ed by Ed Hudgins published in the Washington Times:

Critics charge many Starbucks products are high in calories and high in fat, especially those tasty trans-fats that are really bad for us. So what? Starbucks offers everyone a choice. If you don’t like the venti vanilla caramel Macchiato with extra whip, don’t order it. In any case, Starbucks lists on its Web site and brochures in its stores the nutritional information about its products.
But that’s not enough for the self-appointed health police. They’re trying to shame Starbucks into putting all of that information on menu boards in their cafes which, aside from being redundant, would make those menus, crowded with numbers, look to most people as confusing as the big board at the stock exchange. In any case, come on people, we all know whipped cream and cakes are fattening. Starbucks’ upscale clientele is certainly educated enough to figure that out.
Critics also want Starbucks to “voluntarily” cut down on the fat stuff in their fare. Normally, boring biddies can natter at us all they want and we’re free to take their advice or tell them to take a hike. But that’s not what the Center for Science in the Public Interest wants. They and their kind are bent on stopping us from being unhealthy — by their definition — no matter what.

Keep reading…

Buffett Gives Largest Philanthropic Gift in History

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Warren Buffett — not known as a particularly principled supporter of capitalism, though clearly talented at making money — has long planned to give away his fortunes when he died. But he’s decided to move up the timetable.
From the article “Warren Buffett gives away his fortune” published today in Fortune Magazine:

Buffett, 75, has for decades said his wealth would go to philanthropy but has just as steadily indicated the handoff would be made at his death. Now he was revising the timetable.
“I know what I want to do,” he said, “and it makes sense to get going.” On that spring day his plan was uncertain in some of its details; today it is essentially complete. And it is typical Buffett: rational, original, breaking the mold of how extremely rich people donate money.
Buffett has pledged to gradually give 85% of his Berkshire stock to five foundations. A dominant five-sixths of the shares will go to the world’s largest philanthropic organization, the $30 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose principals are close friends of Buffett’s (a connection that began in 1991, when a mutual friend introduced Buffett and Bill Gates).
The Gateses credit Buffett, says Bill, with having “inspired” their thinking about giving money back to society. Their foundation’s activities, internationally famous, are focused on world health — fighting such diseases as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis — and on improving U.S. libraries and high schools.

Giving money to charity can be a very good thing, if the money gets spent well, and infectious diseases are a great problem to address through private charity rather than government appropriations.
But when we hear Buffett and Gates claiming that this is their way of “giving back to society” (as though they were looters up to this point, rather than trading value-for-value with every day they worked) it all starts sounding like a scene from Atlas Shrugged — and not a good one.
If they really want to give to society, they should stop apologizing for their success and start promoting values like political freedom, private property, and free markets — values that not only allowed them to become wealthy, but will allow future generations to do the same.

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