Aaron Smith

'Pigliucci, surprisingly, tells his readers nothing of what Rand had to say about Aristotle's influence on her philosophy.' newideal.aynrand.org/?p=14518 #AynRand #Stoicism #Aristotle #philosophy

@MarkRPellegrino If I lie on my back in your living room, will you set out some sushi?

A couple of weeks ago I found a cricket on our living room. He wasn’t doing well. He was lying on his back. And that’s never a good thing with creepy crawlers. So, I pushed him over onto his tummy and left for Jiu jitsu. When I returned, he was on his back again. So I pushed him into his tummy. His antennae were moving around. Still alive and kicking. I looked up what crickets ate. I figured, he got stuck inside and is prolly starving to death. When I saw that they were opportunistic eaters and could pretty much eat anything I put a small leaf of spinach on the floor right under his head. He moved toward it and his mouth seemed to be working. I went upstairs to bed. The next morning I came downstairs, certain that the little guy had expired. To my surprise both he and the little leaf were gone. Last night I heard a couple crickets behind the kitchen trashcan. I set a small piece of broccoli on the floor and went upstairs to sleep. The broccoli was gone the next morning. What do you think?

"Unable to resolve a lethal contradiction, the conflict between individualism and altruism, the West is giving up. When men give up reason and freedom, the vacuum is filled by faith and force." ("Requiem for Man," Ayn Rand)

@Nikos_17 I've never read Jules Verne. What do you recommend starting with?

My 2nd favourite author has birthday in the same week as my top favourite author. Their two greatest heroes, Captain Nemo & John Galt, share many similarities: x.com/Nikos_17/statu…

If you're not ssubscribed to this, you're missing out. ://youtube.com/@nikos_1717?si=pztPyi31pc2krdKI

Iranian Theocracy on the Brink? Why Protesters Deserve Our Moral Support In this episode, of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, @elanjourno and Onkar Ghate examine why Iran’s ongoing uprising may be the regime’s most serious challenge yet—and why it deserves far more moral support from the free world.

This is so awesome. The revolution is televised, but only on X. The blackout, or minimal reporting in back webpage stories, by BBC, NY Times, CNN, etc. means millions of people who still only use MSM will wake up one day soon to "surprising news" that Iran had a revolution.

‘-How do you remember that day? -I don’t remember that day. I still live in that day’. Hardest line I’ve ever heard, by a local IDF officer who was showing me around the killing fields of October 7.

Israelis! @aynrand_israel is hosting a conference in Tel Aviv Fri.Dec.19th w/professors from @AynRandInst,speaking on: "Israel’s Moral Right to Exist"by @Nikos_17, "Objectivism:A Philosophy of Life"by @PhilosophySmith,"Philosophy&Happiness"by @taltsfany #details2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">tickchak.co.il/93164?ref=nwc#…

@AvaMcleen Individualism: Genuine and Counterfeit share.google/sw5FtlJaIUI0sB…

@PhilosophySmith Love this perspective. How do you think people can practice real individualism today?

"Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: “I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense.” An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man — his own and those of others. (Ayn Rand) #aynrand

AynRandCon-Europe returns April 17–19, 2026 in Porto, Portugal—and registration is officially open! If you're new to Ayn Rand's ideas and want to dive in, this conference is for you. Super Early Bird pricing is available through Nov 7, so don't wait! hubs.la/Q03S5BrF0

@AvaMcleen Yes, definitely. Her point concerns the nature of a mixed economy. If politicians have the power to dispense favors to some groups at the expense of others, all sorts of groups will lobby for favors.

@PhilosophySmith That’s such a sharp quote from Ayn Rand. Do you think her ideas about mixed economies still apply to what we see happening today?

"If parasitism, favoritism, corruption, and greed for the unearned did not exist, a mixed economy would bring them into existence." -- Ayn Rand, "The Pull Peddlers" in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal

“Lobbying” is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy — of government by pressure groups." -- Ayn Rand, “The Pull Peddlers” Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal

The moral justification of capitalism lies in the fact that it is the only system consonant with man’s rational nature, that it protects man’s survival qua man, and that its ruling principle is: justice. (Ayn Rand, "What Is Capitalism?" – ARI Campus share.google/4hLncG1WezBUtF…

"Faith in the supernatural begins as faith in the superiority of others." -- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT to Ayn Rand "My dear Miss Rand: I’ve read every word of THE FOUNTAINHEAD. Your thesis is the great one. Especially at this time. So I suppose you will be set up in the market place and burned for a witch." Full Letter (#114) here: tinyurl.com/ydm9m3tt

Hamas and the Tyranny of Need newideal.aynrand.org/hamas-and-the-… via @AynRandInst

@OregonEdProject @AndrewBent6 This is just as arbitrary as all of your posts to this thread.

@PhilosophySmith @AndrewBent6 You are demonstrably ignorant. Fin.

Ayn Rand called altruism “the rusty claw in a marshmallow glove,” and she was right: a mushy, artificial, sweet-seeming cover for a toxic tool.