Listener Questions & Comments (Show 052)

For this show, Mosley and Arthur responded to some of the listener questions and comments.

The first was a question posted on the website asking, “Speaking of capitalism, where are the Google ads?” Mosley explained that he does not use them on talkObjectivism because he would have little to no control over what would appear and does not wish to advertise for sites antithetical to Objectivism.

The second comment was from a listener who kindly inquired about Show 013 which seems to have been mysteriously replaced by another show, from another TalkCast, that is extremely vulgar. Mosley has contacted TalkShoe and is currently working to restore the original show.

For the remainder of the show, Mosley and Arthur discussed a post on talkObjectivism.com regarding Show 049. The essence of the post is contained in his statement saying, “I don’t know how you guys came to the conclusion that the Left would do less damage to Objectivism.” Mosley and Arthur do an excellent job of outlining the points why the Republicans are far more dangerous to Objectivist ideals in the long-run than the Democrats. For anyone still unclear about this, I would also highly recommend listening to Show 049 and reading Diana Hsieh’s post on the matter.

Capitalism Revisited (Show 051)

For show 051, Mosley starts by reading a quote from the essay What is Capitalism? in “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” by Ayn Rand. He then elaborates on this, discussing the basic nature of capitalism and its practical significance in our lives. Here is the quote below:

Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.

The recognition of individual rights entails the banishment of physical force from human relationships: basically, rights can be violated only by means of force. In a capitalist society, no man or group may initiate the use of physical force against others. The only function of the government, in such a society, is the task of protecting man’s rights, i.e., the task of protecting him from physical force; the government acts as the agent of man’s right of self-defense, and may use force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use; thus the government is the means of placing the retaliatory use of force under objective control.

So what do you think? Do you have any arguments against capitalism? Feel free to share. This is a forum for people to express their thoughts and maybe learn something new.

Listen to this show and more at Talkshoe.

Business & Integrity (Show 050)

Not until after the show did we realize, that this is our 50th show and that talkObjectivism has been around for about a year now! I know, it’s crazy! But I digress.

This show started with a discussion on an essay from Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal entitled “The Assault on Integrity” by Alan Greenspan (who is no longer associated with Objectivism). Mosley gave the following excerpt which captures the essence of the essay:

Protection of the consumer against “dishonest and unscrupulous business practices” has become a cardinal ingredient of welfare statism. Left to their own devices, it is alleged, businessmen would attempt to sell unsafe food and drugs, fraudulent securities, and shoddy buildings. Thus, it is argued, the Pure Food and Drug Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the numerous building regulatory agencies are indispensable if the consumer is to be protected from the “greed” of the businessman.

But is it precisely the “greed” of the businessman or, more appropriately, his profit-seeking, which is the unexcelled protector of the consumer.

Today’s common conceptions of greed and selfishness are wrong. There is nothing “selfish” about cheating and stealing from others in order to get as much as you can today, the short-term, while ruining any chance of earning more in the future, the long-term. Rather, this is destructive to the self, destroying not only any future potential for profit, but one’s integrity and self-esteem.

After discussing this, Mosley goes on to provide examples of the free-market at work and how regulation is not necessary when businessmen are truly greedy. He also mentions the topic for next week’s show, the introductory essay from C:TUI called “What is Capitalism?” We hope you’ll join us.

Also, we wanted to thank Mrs. Diana Hsieh for her gracious mention of the show on her blog, which I highly recommend. She updates it frequently with things that are both entertaining and educational, which will likely be of interest to any Objectivist or Student of Objectivism.

Listen to this show and more at Talkshoe.