Ayn Rand on Morality and the Misuse of Political Power – New Ideal

Ayn Rands perspective on morality and political power was philosopher Aaron Smiths topic at a symposium on classical Greek and Roman thought.

Power & Politics was the title of a recent online symposium at which I spoke to fans of ancient Greek and Roman thought about Ayn Rands perspective on political power.

The two-day event, hosted by Classical Wisdom, featured talks and panels with philosophers, historians, classicists and others including philosopher Massimo Pigliucci, psychologist Donald Robertson, and classicists Anthony Long, Michael Fontaine and James Romm.

My own talk, Morality and Political Power, emphasized the ways in which our cultures conception of morality, which extols self-sacrifice, leads us to use political power in destructive ways.

Among the topics discussed:

In the Q&A following my half-hour talk, I answered questions on:

If youre interested in Rand or classical thought, or both, you can read or listen to my article The False Promise of Stoicism or listen to a podcast about Aristotle and Ayn Rand that I recorded with Classical Wisdoms cofounder, Anya Leonard. For a conversation I had with my colleague and fellow philosopher Onkar Ghate about the classics and cancel culture, try our podcast Why We Shouldnt Cancel Aristotle.

Heres the symposium talk, recorded on October 25, 2020:

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Ayn Rand on Morality and the Misuse of Political Power - New Ideal