Category: Culture

Rand-o-rama at The Chronicle of Higher Education

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s “Rand-o-rama” post of two days ago:

This week The Chronicle features three articles about the intellectual legacy of Ayn Rand. (The intro is here; to get to the main courses, follow the links in the right-hand column.)
In this 2004 interview, the Ayn Rand Instituteâ??s director, Yaron Brook, briefly describes his â??plan to help [objectivist] graduate students get placed in top-level philosophy departments around the country. The program is still in its infancy. It is very ambitious, and we will not know its success for many years.â?
Is that kind of talk creepy and messianic? Or is it the commendable behavior of a group that believes it has a true and important set of ideas to bring to the world? That was one of the debates that occupied faculty members this spring at Texas State University at San Marcos, as they considered whether or not to accept a Rand-related donation.

See the full post by David Glenn for (much) more Rand-related coverage at the Chronicle.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey: "I Loved Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead"

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is among the few large corporate managers that actively blogs, on behalf of his company, without letting the PR and media relations staff turn his posts into mealy-mouthed generalities.
In his recent post “Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, and The Federal Trade Commission,” Mackey very directly and publicly takes on the Federal Trade Commission for their recent complaint about the merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats.
In the ensuing discussion, one commenter wrote:

You’re one of my heros now. I am so glad you responded as you did to this FTC nonsense. I bet you kinda feel like John Galt, but please don’t go on strike.

To which Mackey replied:

I loved Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. “Who is John Galt?”

For more about John Mackey and Ayn Rand, see our earlier posts “Interview with Whole Foods’ John Mackey” and, before that, “Notes on Whole Foods Owner John Mackey.”

Cool new technology from Microsoft

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Experience some of Microsoft’s newest technological developments in action: Microsoft Surface and Photosynth. At Popular Mechanics you can see how Surface allows you to move information from one object to another via 30-inch tabletop display without a mouse or keyboard. And a recent TED talk by Blaise Aguera y Arcas demonstrates how Photosynth can reconstruct objects and places taken from large collection of photos into a three-dimensional space.

Group Encourages Wal-Mart to Promote Atlas Shrugged

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

To combat the left’s gradual encroachment on corporate policies, some free market activists have begun formally offering Wal Mart a new intellectual paradigm — namely, that the company should embrace free markets rather than run from them.
In the Townhall article “Wal-Mart’s Public Policy Dilemma: Turn Right or Left?” Tom Borelli explains the dilemma:

Most concerning is the possibility that Wal-Mart might actively support government funded universal health care as a way to shift its employee health care problem to the U.S. taxpayer and ease one major area of criticism. Turning Wal-Mart into a lobbyist for the Leftâ??s agenda represents a serious risk to the free market and, if successful, expands the role of government in our lives.
However, Wal-Mart can chart a different course. Instead of following the incremental path to socialism, a shareholder proposal (introduced by an organization Iâ??m affiliated with) offered Wal-Mart a free market alternative.
Wal-Mart can silence its critics by using its clout to encourage its suppliers to promote a pro-business atmosphere. For example, Wal-Mart should rally these businesses to promote free-market ideas such a tax cuts, litigation reform and medical savings accounts.
In addition, Wal-Mart should use its marketing muscle to sell Ayn Randâ??s timeless novel Atlas Shrugged into millions of homes. The book provides insight and perspective regarding the nature of Wal-Martâ??s conflict: capitalism vs. socialism; the risk posed by rent seeking corporate executives; and government interference in the free market.

See the full article for more.

New 'BioShock' Video Game

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From Atlasphere member Noah Rusnock:

I am not sure how much the Atlasphere community is involved with video games, but in the next few months a highly-anticipated, main stream video game with an Objectivist base will hit the market. The game is called BioShock and you can read about it here, here, and here.

UPDATE: For more about the game, check out the hands-on preview at Shacknews.

Yaron Brook Stirs Up Discussion at WJU

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Yaron Brook, Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, gave a talk at Wheeling Jesuit University on March 6, 2007. The title of his talk was: “In Defense of the Morality of Free Financial Markets.” The talk was sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Morality at WJU, as part of their distinguished speakers series. The talk was well received, and according to Ed Younkins, Director of the Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Morality, Dr. Brook’s ideas “were still being talked about daily by students and faculty well over a month later.”
As reported here before, the Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Morality is a recipient of a grant from BB&T.

Rand's Novels Indispensible for Managers?

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From the article “Executive Picks,” just published at US News & World Report:

[H]undreds of business books are published each year: How to find the one you need?
U.S. News spoke with 14 leaders from all walks of business lifeâ??from academics to entrepreneurs to corporate executivesâ??about the five books they consider indispensable reading for managers. The responses ranged far and wide: Military metaphors popped up occasionally, with Sun Tzu’s The Art of War rearing its age-old head. But books about biology were also surprisingly prevalent, not only for their insight into how business environments imitate the natural world but also, several executives said, because understanding biology helped them appreciate the concept of randomness.
The vast majority of the books selected are more than five years oldâ??and not all were bestsellers. “There’s a tendency to think there’s a lot of great new stuff out there. That may not be true,” says Jack Brennan, CEO of the Vanguard Group, who reads a few dozen business books a year, then hands his favorites out to his executives.
Some basic how-to guides were also mentioned, from books about making sales calls to advice on writing. Ayn Rand, with her revolutionary ideas about entrepreneurship, also made her presence felt. And then there was Jim Collins, whose books Built to Last and Good to Great offer highly respected explanations of what separates good companies from great companies. Collins, Thomas Friedman, and Peter Drucker were the authors mentioned most often. Read on for more of what business leaders have found between the covers of books.

Nice to see Rand figured in the list for at least some managers. I’m sure her novels have inspired many people to view the world through more entrepreneurial eyes.

Facing New York – Rock & Roll Individualism

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From the article “Striving for Individualism” in today’s San Francisco Examiner:

Facing New York has had plenty of opportunities to make more money. While music-industry people have offered lucrative deals in exchange for control over their work, the band members passed, wanting to remain true to themselves.
Howard Roark, a character in Ayn Randâ??s â??The Fountainheadâ? (an inspiration for the groupâ??s name) dealt with a similar struggle. Members of the group shared and admired Roarkâ??s control of creative decisions even at the expense of money, says guitarist, keyboardist and lead singer Eric Frederic.

From the band’s MySpace page:

Facing New York is a psychadelic rhythm & blues band from the year 2020. 2 guitars + 2 basses + 2 drum sets + 2 Fender Rhodes + 2 Roland Junos + 4 close friends = a band obsessed with â??nextâ? and hopelessly devoted to the black music and prog rock from the early 1970s.

Check out their site or their MySpace page for more info. Their song “Full Turn” opens with a cool guitar riff.

Atlas Shrugged Cameos in Aspen Mayoral Race

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From an article in yesterday’s Denver Post:

Aspen mayors, as former office-holders attest, hobnob with world leaders and celebrities. They turn up on CNN and at parties hosted by The Donald as well as tackling pressing problems such as undoing Aspen’s worsening traffic congestion and helping struggling businesses.
“You meet someone, and they are very impressed you are the mayor of Aspen,” said Helen Klanderud, who will be vacating the post after three terms. […]
The cast of candidates willing to jump into this political cauldron includes a bicycle-riding, left-leaning environmentalist attorney who has survived three recall attempts as an outspoken and sometimes abrasive Pitkin County commissioner; a developer who favors sports cars and high-dollar cowboy boots and quotes Ayn Rand; a former tennis pro who goes by one name and is courting the young vote; and a platinum-blond former TV news anchor whose website features sexy portraits and an admission that she may resemble the late Anna Nicole Smith – but only in looks. […]
Developer candidate Tim Semrau, 53, in designer jeans with coiffed hair, set Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” on the table in front of him, along with a sheaf of position papers and cast himself as a developer, yes, but one who has done many affordable-housing projects.

See the full article for more.
Any politician willing to set a copy of Atlas Shrugged on the table deserves a second look.

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