analyzing culture, politics, and foreign policy from an Objectivist perspective
What is the real meaning of Thanksgiving? What’s there to celebrate amid a surging pandemic, rolling economic devastation, and renewed lockdowns? Particularly in these grim times, it’s important to reflect on the values we rely on everyday, yet often take granted or fail to appreciate. Elan Journo and Ben Bayer discuss the secular, philosophic meaning of Thanksgiving and celebrate stories of inspiring achievement and unsung heroes. Recorded on Nov. 24, 2020.
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In this podcast, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss what it means to honor the nation’s soldiers and veterans. They also explore the moral considerations underlying the decision to go to war and evaluate American foreign policy. Recorded Nov. 11, 2020.
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Paul Krugman wrote a New York Times column entitled “How Many Americans Will Ayn Rand Kill?” In this podcast, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo respond to this misrepresentation of Rand’s philosophy and describe ARI’s actual position on the pandemic. Recorded Oct. 23, 2020
Under the banner of “national conservatism” a new faction is pushing for its vision of a brighter future for America. It promises to restore America’s strength and freedom. Will it? Elan Journo and Keith Lockitch explore why the more “national conservatism” succeeds in reshaping our society, the more we’ll find ourselves moving further away from truly American ideals. Recorded Oct. 21, 2020.
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Elan Journo interviews Hillel Neuer — lawyer, writer, and the executive director of UN Watch — about the influence of China at the World Health Organization — and the broader forms of corruption that plague the United Nations. Recorded Sept. 9, 2020.
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For years Turkey was deservedly hailed as a modern, secular, pro-Western society — at least, until the last decade.
Turkey lies at the edge of Europe and the Middle East, not only geographically but also, in a sense, politically. It’s a Muslim-majority country that for most of the twentieth century was a “secular republic,” assuring freedom of religion and having no official state-backed religion. Though straddling the Middle East, Turkey is a member of NATO and has sought to join the European Union. But a lot has changed in the last twenty years.
Since the early 2000s, Turkey’s political system has steadily moved toward one shaped by Islamist ideas. Turkey has funded and enabled jihadist groups, such as Hamas. And it is jockeying with Saudi Arabia and Iran to style itself as leader of the global community of Muslims.
How did this happen? What lessons can we draw from the rise of Islamism in Turkey?
To understand this transformation, I talked with Dr. Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Rubin specializes in Turkey, Iran and the broader Middle East, and he was among the few voices early on raising the alarm about the ominous trends in Turkey.
The driving force behind the reshaping of Turkey is the country’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — a man Rubin has characterized as a jihadist in a business suit. Rubin argues that what Saudi Arabia was to the rise of the Islamist movement in the twentieth century (a financial sponsor of that ideology, opening religious schools globally and backing jihadists), Turkey aims to be in the twenty-first century.
From my interview with Rubin — which you can catch below — a few takeaways stand out regarding Turkey’s transformation. First, Erdoğan embarked on a calculated plan to inject Islamist ideas into Turkish society. Second, Erdoğan’s campaign was incrementalist, reshaping institutions and the legal system from within, but also opportunistic, exploiting pretexts to silence dissent. Finally, it’s crucial to recognize that Erdoğan’s authoritarianism is now moving toward dictatorship, and that this seizure of ever more power is a means to the end of creating an Islamist society.
Put another way, Islamist regimes in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and elsewhere aspire to, and sometimes attain, totalitarian power, but these recognizable variations of Islamist rule are not the only ones. It can also look like Turkey, and unless we recognize that, we overlook the influence of Islamist ideas.
Crossposted from New Ideal, the journal of the Ayn Rand Institute.
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The attacks of 9/11 have faded into history — for some, a dimming memory; for ever more people, an event that happened before they were even born. Yet the impact of 9/11 is with us today in innumerable ways, notably the Afghanistan “forever” war. And, nineteen years on, the fundamental lessons of 9/11 have not been learned. What is the full significance of that tragic event? What moral-philosophic lessons should we draw from it?
Elan Journo, Onkar Ghate, and Ben Bayer. Recorded Sept. 09, 2020.
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Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss the skepticism toward scientific expertise, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. August 26, 2020.
Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss the phenomenon of “cancel culture,” in connection with the controversy surrounding a letter published in Harper’s magazine.
