free speech – Ayn Rand Institute Live!

Why We Are Losing Our Freedom of Speech by Peter Schwartz

December 8, 2023 arilive_user 1:26:24 0 Comments

Freedom of speech used to be an unquestioned value. Even as society endorsed the use of force in other realms, the individual’s right to express ideas freely was widely acknowledged. Today, that right is coming under increasing attack. Why? And what can we do to counter this ominous threat? Mr. Schwartz discusses the fundamental relation between force and the mind—and examines the modern philosophic premise that, by blurring the distinction between thought and action, leads to the suppression of free speech.

Delivered at OCON 2023 in Miami, Florida on July 2, 2023.

Free Speech Under Attack Panel with Steve Simpson, Flemming Rose, Dave Rubin

March 2, 2022 arilive_user 02:11:08 0 Comments

Freedom of speech is a bedrock principle throughout the Western world, but increasingly it is being challenged — on college campuses, among intellectuals and in politics — in the name of preventing offense and “hate.” Why is this happening and what does it mean for the future of free speech.

Panelists are Steve Simpson, director of Legal Studies at the Ayn Rand Institute and editor of “Defending Free Speech”; Flemming Rose, author of “Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global Debate on the Future of Free Speech,” and Dave Rubin, creator and host of the Rubin Report. The event, “Free Speech Under Attack,” took place at Objectivist Summer Conference 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, June 13, 2017.

Questioning the Sacrosanct: Is There a Right to Protest? by Onkar Ghate

December 4, 2021 arilive_user 1:27:01 0 Comments

Americans today are divided on many issues. But one thing almost everyone seems to agree on, from BLM protestors to January 06 demonstrators, is that they have a right to take to the streets in protest. What if this is a mistake? What if there is no right to protest, at least not in the way traditionally understood? And what if this misunderstanding fuels escalating conflicts in America? In this talk, Ghate explores these questions and offers a distinctive account of what forms of public protest are consistent with the principle of individual rights and which are not.

This talk was given as part of Free Speech Week at the Salem Center for Policy, The University of Texas at Austin on Thursday, October 21, 2021.

Free Speech Panel at the University of Southern California with Dave Rubin, Colin Moriarty and Steve Simpson

May 8, 2019 arilive_user 2:03:24 0 Comments

College used to be grounded in the inviolate principle that each of us should confront new ideas, speak our minds, and learn. Has that time passed? This year (2017) alone we have seen a riot at U.C. Berkeley and violence at Middlebury College over controversial speakers. Instead of “express yourself,” a new view seems to be taking hold: “Suppress yourself—or I’ll do it for you.” What is happening to free speech on campus?

In this panel discussion (sponsored by the Ayn Rand Institute and the University of Southern California Political Student Assembly and Young Americans for Liberty), three leading voices in this field address current threats to freedom of speech on college campuses: Dave Rubin, Creator and Host of “The Rubin Report”; Colin Moriarty, Creator and Host of “Colin’s Last Stand,” and Steve Simpson, Director of Legal Studies, Ayn Rand Institute, and editor of “Defending Free Speech.”

This panel was recorded live at the Seeley G. Mudd Building, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Free Speech and the Internet by Yaron Brook

February 8, 2019 arilive_user 1:39:19 0 Comments

In recent years, the internet has become the focus of debates about free speech, and the issue is rapidly coming to a head.

The internet provides a platform to bring people closer together and to empower individuals by enabling new voices to be heard and sparking the formation of new communities and new movements. But some of these communities are rife with hatred and bullying, and there are worries that social media is coarsening our political discourse. Many people think that social media outlets have too much power over how we speak and interact on the internet and that more government oversight is needed.

Where does this leave the idea of free speech? What sorts of speech should be permitted and prohibited online? And who should decide?

Free Speech, De-Platforming, Patreon and Sam Harris’s Response

January 19, 2019 arilive_user 1:04:52 0 Comments

Yaron Brook talks with Onkar Ghate and Greg Salmieri about free speech, the Patreon scandal, and Sam Harris’s reaction. During this Livestream from the Ayn Rand Institute the guests will discuss free speech from an Objectivist perspective and why the controversy is philosophic in nature.

What It Means to Be Selfish in Life and in Politics: Yaron Brook at Exeter University

January 4, 2019 arilive_user 1:31:20 0 Comments

In this talk, Yaron Brook discusses what it means to be selfish, what role selfishness has in politics, and how selfishness contributes to creating a happy productive life.

This talk was streamed live from Exeter University on November 13, 2018.

The Berkeley “Free Speech Movement” and the Erosion of Free Speech by Steve Simpson

December 15, 2018 arilive_user 1:00:24 0 Comments

In the 1960s, protests erupted at U.C. Berkeley over a ban on political activity on campus. Students marched and occupied school property, all in the name of “free speech.” Today, the Free Speech Movement launched at Berkeley in the 1960s is widely held as a model for advocates of the right to free speech. Is that true? This talk analyzes the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and its implications for free speech today.

What Is Killing Western Civilization? with Douglas Murray, Claire Fox and Yaron Brook

December 7, 2018 arilive_user 1:38:36 0 Comments

Cultural observers have often noted that Europe — and, more broadly, Western civilization — despite historically unprecedented success, is in danger of losing itself. But what exactly is being lost, and why? And what can be done about it?

In a recent panel discussion entitled “What Is Killing Western Civilization?,” Yaron Brook (chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute) and Douglas Murray (author of The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam) met at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers lecture theatre in central London to discuss the future of Western civilization in the context of its own identity crisis and the growing trend of immigration to the West from those outside it — and, in some cases, hostile to it. The panel, moderated by Claire Fox (director and founder of Academy of Ideas), addressed such questions as:

What is Western civilization?
What is the nature of the crisis that the West faces?
How should one think about immigration in today’s world?

Elevating the Dialogue: Overcoming Today’s Intellectual Abyss with Sargon of Akkad and Gregory Salmieri

November 16, 2018 arilive_user 0 Comments

The political climate in the West, described by some as toxic, is deteriorating rapidly. The worse it gets, the more we hear about the conflation of speech and action, that words lead to violence, and that government should step in.

How serious are the problems around modern political discourse, such as trolling and de-platforming, and what is the best way to bring about constructive discussions on controversial topics?

This event was recorded live in London on October 12, 2018.