Category: Objectivism | Just Right Media

939 – Socialism—not very social

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Nov 192025

Thanks to the recent election of Zohran Mamdani as the City of New York’s ‘socialist’ mayor, there have been increasing alarms warning of a rise in ‘socialism’s popularity’ among a majority of America’s young people. However, this may be an overstatement.

While it is fair to say that there has been a rise in the number of socialist politicians getting elected, to attribute these electoral wins to any love of socialism is simply misguided. Why? Because the average ‘socialist voter’ has no concept of socialism, either in terms of its definition or in terms of its horrific history. They are voting ‘against’ something, not for it.

Socialism, as an understandable or relatable concept, has little or no relevance to most voters’ daily concerns and lives. To them, socialism is just some nebulous label that politicians use to belittle one another (even though they may all behave the same and pursue the same socialist policies).

In practice, socialism is the political application of the philosophy of egalitarianism. Socialist ‘equality’ does not mean ‘equality before and under the law’ – it means equity: the ‘equality’ of results. It means that those who work hard, take risks, and produce the goods, services, and products upon which a society’s survival depends, must be punished to the degree of their success, while those who do not fit into the productive class (for whatever reason) are to be rewarded by sharing in the products they had no part in creating. Continue reading »

927 – When objective isn’t—there’s Objectivism

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Aug 272025

Sad to say, the vast majority of people do not take philosophy seriously, even though they are helplessly in its grip. It is understandable that with with all of the competing ideologies and perspectives on the nature and purpose of human life, philosophy is seen by many simply as another religion without the element of deity – a subjective secular belief system.

Enter philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand, whose philosophy of Objectivism has a name that specifically refutes the subjective, and who since having arrived on America’s philosophical frontier, established a reputation unlike that of any other philosopher. She self-identified as being on the Right, which she associated with freedom and capitalism.

But there are many others who self-identify as being on the Right, who completely reject Ayn Rand’s philosophy, not because of its principles which they rarely mention, but because of its messenger.

“Ayn Rand is a modernist atheist radical individualist; what about that is conservative?” asked the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles on his April 4 podcast during which he ranked the greatest philosophers. Continue reading »

904 – So where’s the party?—on the Left or Right?

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Mar 192025

Having witnessed the political party machinations in Canada on both the provincial and federal level, it should not be surprising that there have been calls to reduce the influence of political parties.

Operating on the principles of a British parliamentary system, Ontario’s Doug Ford, after having won a two-week February snap election called on a whim, has since made an utter fool of himself attempting to beat US president Donald Trump in a tariff war. Meanwhile, Mark Carney, now Canada’s Prime Minister, was never elected to office and is an open advocate of globalism and an opponent of Canadian sovereignty.

With only 19% of Ontario’s eligible voters giving Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party a majority government, and with zero voters on the federal level having elected Mark Carney, some might be asking whatever happened to the ‘democratic’ principle of ‘we the people’?

In Canada, there is one federal party that has addressed this question head-on in its very name: the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) under the leadership of Maxime Bernier. Continue reading »

Judge: Philosophy and Freedom in the First Person | Paul McKeever

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Nov 172024

For many, philosophy has devolved into an exercise where errors in reasoning, logic, and definitions are layered upon one another, resulting in the field becoming a subject of mockery among the general populace. Imagine if foundational sciences like physics, chemistry, or mathematics had clung to their initial mistakes; we might never have seen the advent of computers or advancements in medicine, and basic arithmetic could still be in dispute.

To rejuvenate the importance of philosophy, we need to pinpoint and resolve its historical puzzles and paradoxes, effectively consigning them to obsolescence.
In his work, “Judge: Philosophy and Freedom in the First Person,” Paul McKeever meticulously examines twelve classic philosophical problems, offering solutions with such lucidity that there remains no justification for their continued discussion as credible issues.

“Judge” distinguishes itself as a work of deep insight, crucial not just for academic scholars but for anyone intrigued by the exploration of human nature, our connection to reality, and our interactions with others. In a very novel way, it provides one with an understanding of reality, perception, identity, logical reasoning, ethical principles, and the fundamental aspects of individual freedom.

However, there’s no need to take our word for this assessment. In keeping with the theme of McKeever’s work, you be the judge.

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872 – From Marx to Jefferson—Epicurious about Epicurus

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Aug 072024

When a philosopher has been said to influence everyone from Karl Marx to Thomas Jefferson, it bears taking note, particularly given the polarized political zeitgeist in which we currently find ourselves. One such philosopher was Epicurus (341-270 BC), perhaps best known as an advocate of ‘the simple life’ as the path to happiness.

So naturally, we became ‘epi-curious’ about Epicurus given that the right to the ‘pursuit of happiness’ is a founding principle of a free society. What we discovered was that ‘happiness’ itself is an incredibly polarized concept, a polarization that can also be seen in terms of the political Left and Right. This perhaps partially accounts for the differing narratives and interpretations regarding Epicurus’ history and philosophy.

For example, given the contrast between the motivations of Karl Marx and Thomas Jefferson, it should not be surprising that each interpreted the philosophy of Epicurus in equally contrasting ways. Were Epicurus alive today, how he himself might have viewed their Epicurean narratives is certainly a subject open to discussion.

According to one source regarding the Greek philosopher: “Epicurus promoted the following worldview: the universe is made of atoms and void and subject to the laws of physics without divine intervention. The world can be understood through an empiricist epistemology, and pleasure, pursued intelligently and ethically, is the goal of life.” Continue reading »

864 – The Right WING—flying in every direction

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Jun 122024

The belief that Left and Right have become useless labels has been utterly destructive to those on the Right.

Expressing a recognition that conservatives and liberals have become a ‘uni-party,’ many on the Right have falsely operated on the assumption that, for example, Republicans represent the Right and Democrats represent the Left. The sad fact is that, just as ‘Republicans in name only’ (RINOs) are not Republicans, so too many on the right ‘wing’ are ‘Right in name only.’ Or in other words, their ideologies are Left.

How did this misconception of Left and Right arise?

That Republicans and Democrats sit in ‘opposition’ to each other leads most to believe that the split between them is ideological – Left versus Right. But the real ‘split’ is about power, not about ideology. (This principle also applies to parliamentary governments, where there is an ‘official opposition’ yet with little or no ideological difference to the ruling party.) Continue reading »

852 – Primacy—consciousness or existence?

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Mar 202024

“In politics, perception is reality, the truth doesn’t matter.”

Given the broad acceptance of this view of politics, it should not be surprising that so many good people see politics as an evil. They thus avoid getting involved in a process that affects everyone’s life whether they are interested in politics or not.

But this viewpoint is itself a form of political propaganda because in reality the truth does indeed matter in politics, so much so that political interests which are not aligned with truth go to such great lengths to hide and/or misrepresent the truth. Those political views are broadly identified as coming from the Left, which represents many variants of collectivism.

For those on the Right (which represents individualism, freedom, and capitalism), the current state of politics has become so irrational and beyond understanding that it is almost impossible to accept that the tyranny we are experiencing is real. “Everything is upside down or totally backwards,” has become a familiar refrain expressing this frustration and disbelief.

To understand the madness of the political Left, it is necessary to know how those on the Left think. One of the most difficult concepts to grasp is that those on the Left are strictly ideological, not philosophical. Ideology originates strictly in the mind, unconcerned with the facts of reality. A working philosophy on the other hand, is disciplined by the facts of reality.

In philosophy, these two opposing ways of thinking are contrasted as the ‘primacy of consciousness’ (in which reality is not perceived by consciousness but is created by consciousness) and the ‘primacy of existence’ (in which reality exists irrespective of anyone’s consciousness).

In politics, it is the Left that relies on ideology, while the Right relies on philosophical principles.

Consequently, this conflict between Left and Right manifests itself in a battle of definitions and concepts, ranging from the definition of freedom to the definition of democracy. While those on the Left are obsessed with “defending democracy,” many on the Right insist that freedom is the primary value to be defended.

While freedom is indeed the primary value, the surprising truth is that freedom and democracy go hand-in-hand.

Unfortunately, even when the truth is told, most people cannot recognize it or distinguish it from all of the false perceptions about politics. To be understood in a light that is Just Right, truth must be discerned; it requires a process of thought and discipline that too few understand: philosophy.

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