So let’s see. We need “total war,” which amounts to a murderous denial of individual rights, in order to preserve a government based on individual rights. And since this is WAR, you understand, in defense of individual rights we also need to adopt a utilitarian calculus: whatever it takes to win is what we’ll do. These are the imperatives of reason itself. “As a free nation, we have the moral right to defend ourselves, even if this requires mass civilian casualties in terrorist countries,” says another Objectivist. The rest of his article accepts every collectivist premise under the sun, including … Continue reading Objectivism: The Philosophy of Reason