Ep. 224: Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and free speech

What happens when philosopher Ayn Rand’s theories meet free
speech?


Tara Smith and Onkar Ghate of the Ayn Rand Institute explore
Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, its emphasis on reason and
individual rights, and how it applies to contemporary free speech
issues. 


Smith and Onkar are contributors to a new book, “The First
Amendment: Essays on the Imperative of Intellectual Freedom.”
Listeners may be particularly interested in their argument that
John Stuart Mill, widely regarded as a free speech hero, actually
opposed individual rights.


Tara Smith is a philosophy professor at the University of Texas
at Austin and holds the Anthem Foundation Fellowship in the study
of Objectivism. Onkar Ghate is a senior fellow at the Ayn Rand
Institute, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on
Objectivism.


 


Timestamps:


00:00 Intro


02:51 What is Objectivism?


06:19 Where do Objectivism and free speech intersect?


09:07 Did Rand censor her rivals?


13:54 Government investigations of communists and Nazis


18:12 Brazilian Supreme Court banning X


20:50 Rand’s USSR upbringing


24:39 Who was in Rand’s “Collective” group?


35:12 What is jawboning?


40:01 The freedom to criticize on social media


46:02 Critiques of John Stuart Mill


59:49 Addressing a critique of FIRE


01:09:01 Outro 


 


Transcript is HERE


 


Show notes:




“Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings: Free Speech on Campus”
(2016)




Letters of Ayn Rand (1995)




“Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right”
(2009)




“Brandenburg v. Ohio” (1969)




“NRA v. Vullo” (2023)




“Murthy v. Missouri” (2024)




“Moody v. NetChoice” and “NetChoice v. Paxton” (2024)