Category: Culture

Warning: Men Not Working

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Instapundit says “Atlas is shrugging.”
Consider the evidence:

Millions of men like Mr. Beggerow — men in the prime of their lives, between 30 and 55 — have dropped out of regular work. They are turning down jobs they think beneath them or are unable to find work for which they are qualified, even as an expanding economy offers opportunities to work.
About 13 percent of American men in this age group are not working, up from 5 percent in the late 1960â??s. The difference represents 4 million men who would be working today if the employment rate had remained where it was in the 1950â??s and 60â??s.

What could be causing all these men to stay home? For the full story, see Dr. Helen Smith’s post on the topic.

Founders College Launches Beta Web Site

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

FoundersWeb_Logo.gifWe just received the following announcement:

Greetings!
There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding the startup of Founders College — the greatest revolution in higher education of our lifetime. You can be the first to get the real deal (not the media mush) on this exciting project by checking out www.founderscollege.com. Whether youâ??re a friend or just curious about the project, youâ??re getting a first look because youâ??re a rational, prolific, powerful web communicator. There will be many exciting milestones to come — announcement of our location, full faculty listing, and much, much more — and weâ??ll be in touch along the way.
Best,
Tamara K. Fuller
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
Founders College Education, Inc.

Their web site looks like a good start to a great idea. (I mean, who could not love that logo?)

Capitalism = Happiness?

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The situation may not be as simple as “Living Under Capitalism = Being Happier” but a new article in New Scientist called “Wealthy Nations Hold the Key to Happiness” suggests that such a conclusion is not far from the truth.
The “Map of World Happiness” below sums it up pretty well. Red indicates happiness. Yellow indicates unhappiness.

world-happiness.jpg

From the article:

According to the analysis, a countryâ??s happiness is closely related to its wealth, along with the health and education levels of its people. It is no surprise that people spending heavily on healthcare, such as US citizens, rank highly, says White, as this investment increases life expectancy and general wellbeing.
“There is a belief that capitalism leads to unhappy people,” he says. “However, when people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher [earnings] per capita, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy.”

Many thanks to friend and political-happiness scholar Will Wilkinson for calling this new article to our attention.

This certainly adds an interesting twist to the “Materialism = Unhappiness” equation that we hear advanced a lot, implicitly or otherwise, in American Buddhist and leftist circles.

Here is an interesting tidbit:

Countries that rank in the top 20 in both Whiteâ??s list and the Happy Planet Index â?? presumably very happy places indeed â?? are Costa Rica, Bhutan and Antigua and Barbuda.

I wonder what these countries have going for them.

At Nerve.com: Sex Advice from Objectivists

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Wondering how to get an Objectivist to go home with you? How to persuade your boyfriend to partake in that threesome you’ve been dreaming about? Whether to tell your new girlfriend you’re actually a virgin?
Your wait is over.
Nerve.com has published its “Sex Advice from Objectivists,” including answers to all your most pressing questions — from a panel of undisputed pros, of course.
As owner of the Atlasphere, I was invited to participate. Yikes!
If you don’t get the answers you were hoping for, you can always consult their sex advice from tribute bands, Santas, or poker players.

Michael Crichton: Environmentalism as Religion

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

From a speech titled “Environmentalism as Religion” that Michael Crichton gave to the Commonwealth Club in September 2003:

I have been asked to talk about what I consider the most important challenge facing mankind, and I have a fundamental answer. The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance.
We must daily decide whether the threats we face are real, whether the solutions we are offered will do any good, whether the problems we’re told exist are in fact real problems, or non-problems. Every one of us has a sense of the world, and we all know that this sense is in part given to us by what other people and society tell us; in part generated by our emotional state, which we project outward; and in part by our genuine perceptions of reality. In short, our struggle to determine what is true is the struggle to decide which of our perceptions are genuine, and which are false because they are handed down, or sold to us, or generated by our own hopes and fears.
As an example of this challenge, I want to talk today about environmentalism. And in order not to be misunderstood, I want it perfectly clear that I believe it is incumbent on us to conduct our lives in a way that takes into account all the consequences of our actions, including the consequences to other people, and the consequences to the environment. I believe it is important to act in ways that are sympathetic to the environment, and I believe this will always be a need, carrying into the future. I believe the world has genuine problems and I believe it can and should be improved. But I also think that deciding what constitutes responsible action is immensely difficult, and the consequences of our actions are often difficult to know in advance. I think our past record of environmental action is discouraging, to put it mildly, because even our best intended efforts often go awry. But I think we do not recognize our past failures, and face them squarely. And I think I know why.

Keep reading…
I’ve recently purchased Crichton’s anti-environmentalist novel State of Fear, and am looking forward to reading it.

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.

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…

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