From The Objective Standard, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and the world today: An interview with Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute; and an essay on altruism, the moral root of the financial crisis. Matt Welch on the liberaltarian jackalope: The liberal-libertarian rapprochement is probably dead on arrival. A review of Michael Shermer's The Mind of the Market. A look at why the GOP really hates unions. Obsessed academics and ordinary thieves alike are willing to do almost anything to obtain ancient and priceless maps or pages that will fill a gap on their bookshelves. A review of The Bloody White Baron: The Extraordinary Story of the Russian Nobleman Who Became the Last Khan of Mongolia by James Palmer (and more). Katha Pollitt on how the global economic crisis is showing how wishful was the notion that philanthropy could save the world. Harm subsidies: Why the so-called nuclear renaissance ought to be aborted. A review of Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century by PW Singer; War Bots: How US Military Robots Are Transforming War in Iraq Afghanistan, and the Future by David Axe; and Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong by Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen (and more and an interview; and a review at Bookforum). Unnatural selection: An article on how robots start to evolve.
