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)