20 Top Objectivist Blogs

Are you looking for Objectivist blogs? Below are 20 top blogs, each of which is written by fans of Atlas Shrugged and of Objectivism:

1. Leonard Peikoff. Every week at this site, Peikoff answers questions about the application of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism to the task of living. He also answers personal questions, such as what periods of his life were most enjoyable and what is the single most important thing he learned from Ayn Rand. (These are by far my favorite.)

2. TOS Blog: This is the blog for The Objective Standard, a journal of culture and politics based on an Objectivist perspective. Here, you'll find engaging interviews, daily commentary on environmentalist nonsense or the beauty of Ayn Rand's ethics, and an extremely useful Week in Review.

3. Laissez-Faire: This blog shows "how, in case after case, the problem we face is government intervention and the solution is to free the economy." Yaron Brook and Don Watkins are the main contributors here and there's a good variety between short videos on specific issues and targeted posts on the same. See, for example, Brook's video on whether high taxes and prosperity go hand in hand and this post by Watkins titled, "It's the Spending, Stupid."

4. We Stand FIRM. This is the blog of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine. Written by Paul Hsieh, a regular contributor of articles to Pajamas Media and The Objective Standard. As you might expect, given how prolific a writer Hsieh is, the blog is updated frequently and well worth reading daily. A good example of the short posts you'll get is this one on the logical outcome of government-run health care.

5. Center for Industrial Progress: If you like industrial progress, you'll love this blog. Alex Epstein is the main contributor here but he's not the only one. Check out "Why I Celebrate Transforming the Earth" or read "The Industrial Manifesto"--both by Epstein--to get started. Then read some of the posts by other contributors, for example "The Story of DDT."

6. Philosophy in Action: This is the eclectic blog of Diana Hsieh. Like Peikoff, she has a podcast where she answers questions on how to "apply rational principles to the problems of life" and, while I disagree with her on a few issues, I also find that she has some very smart, well-considered things to say on many others. I enjoyed her podcasts on responding to requests for prayers, on overcoming perfectionism, and on living a value-dense life to name a few.

7. Luc Travers. At his site of the same name, Travers--author of Touching the Art and a teacher at VanDamme Academy--blogs about his fascinating approach to art and some of the artists he loves. The best place to start here is by viewing his introductory video on the home page. From there, check out some of his "art chats"--such as this one having to do with precious possessions.

8. Jason Crawford is a big fan of Atlas Shrugged--he actually has a website that helps students get free copies of it.. At this blog, he mostly writes about tech and business. Some of my favorite recent posts of his are "When there is no map, you need a compass" and "Does great work have to be cold and lonely?"

9. Rational Jenn: Jenn Casey--host of the weekly Blog Carnival for Objectivists--posts on a number of topics at this blog, but mostly on parenting. If you're an Objectivist parent, or plan to be one soon, you'll likely find much of value in her comments on disciplining without punishment or on kids and money.

10. The Capitalist. This is Richard Salsman's hard-hitting blog over at Forbes and it's always a pleasure to click over to that site and see an article such as "Memo to the Supreme Court: Health Care is not a Right" just published. Another one worth checking out for those interested is "Five Financial Reforms that Would Prevent Crises and Promote Prosperity."

11. Forgotten Delights This is the blog of Dianne Durante, "an art historian but not an academic." Durante's self-declared goal is "to describe art and comment on it in terms that non-academics can understand. No jargon, no appeals to authority, no stream-of-consciousness ranting." There's plenty to love at her site, especially for fans of Ayn Rand's aesthetics. A good place to start is with "What is the function of art?"--or, alternatively, "What is art?"

12. Scott Holleran posts regularly at his blog of the same name. You'll find lots of reviews here, notes on current events, and interviews. One of his interviews that I enjoyed in particular was this one with the composer for The King's Speech. If you decide to click over, I hope you enjoy it!

13. Gus Van Horn: This Objectivist blogger has been posting consistently since 2005. You can read some of his favorite posts over that time span here--or check out this one, which shows how licensing laws "are an evil, freedom-violating cancer that must be abolished"

14. Ari Armstrong: Although Ari Armstrong now posts consistently at TOS Blog, he maintains his own blog as well. One of his latest articles is a good example of the outstanding work he does. "[T]here’s nothing progressive," he observes, "about forcibly confiscating other people’s wealth. Real progress comes from respecting people’s rights and banning coercion—the initiation of force—from social relationships."

15. Voices for Reason is the blog of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. It has recently seen an exodus of bloggers, but Elan Journo (for one) is still posting regularly here and he's well worth clicking over to read. See "Responding to Iran's clenched fist" and "The intelligence debate over Iran's nuclear program" for proof.

16. 3 Ring Binder: This blog's by-line is "a place to collect, store, and eventually integrate ideas." It is not always focused (and thus hard to define) but it is often interesting and sometimes brilliant. For example, check out her post on Why I am an Objectivist.

17. The Rule of Reason: This is the blog of the Center for the Advancement of Capitalism. As you might guess it is predominately focused on political issues. Ed Cline, author of the Sparrowhawk series, posts here and to say he doesn't pull his punches, with regards to present-day politicians or Islam, would be an understatement.

18. Making Progress: This is the blog of Burgess Laughlin, author of Aristotle Adventure and, more recently, The Power and the Glory: The Key Ideas and Crusading Lives of Eight Debaters of Reason vs. Faith. The posts are logically laid out and well worth reading. Here, for example, are some of his notes on how to write a book review from Chapter 9 of The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers.

19 LePort Schools. This is the blog for LePort schools. Like that for the VanDamme academy (see below) there is plenty of good advice on education. An excellent place to start here is with the post, "Why Your Child Deserves a Better Curriculum." At the end of this one, there are links to videos at LePort's YouTube channel. The one on history is particularly good, but if your child is younger, definitely do not miss their videos introducing their Montessori approach.

20. The Undercurrent: This is a blog run by students who take ideas seriously--and Ayn Rand's ideas in particular. The posts are animated, passionate, and often well-thought out. For example, check out "Stimulus Checks vs. Our Rights" or another, more recent one, "Fundamentally Adrift: Today's Ideological Debates Require a Deeper Perspective."

Need more?

As a bonus, here are 10 more blogs. Some of these were included in my first collection but have since gone on hiatus; others weren't included back then but are worth checking out now: As before, check out the comments section, or add to it, for any I missed:

1. SeanCast. This is the blog of Sean Saulsbury, CEO at Soundtrack.Net. He doesn't post regularly but when he does it's excellent. Check out "Rework: Sell Your By-Products" or "The False Hope of Failure" for proof.

2. ReasonPharm: The author explains the purpose of this blog well. "Health care in America is in desperate need of a strong dose of reason. This blog presents a rational, Objectivism-based view of medicine." Here's a recommended post for those interested.

3. Titanic Deck Chairs: You'd probably guess that any blog with the by-line "nothing that is observable in reality is exempt from rational scrutiny" would be interesting. In this case, you'd be right. C. August produces great content here. But dont' take my word for it. Read his thoughts on the smoking ban or on human rights and judge for yourself.

4. Dollars and Crosses: This is the blog of Capitalism Magazine, a site that's been around since I first started studying Objectivism--and therefore got a ton of clicks from a younger me waiting for something new to upload.

5. One Objectivist's Art Object of the Day. This blog is run by Justin Wisniewski. The concept of it is as interesting as clear.Wisniewski presents an art object per day--most often with very little commentary. Here's a recent guest post by Luc Travers that I enjoyed, and here's a link to the most popular posts at the site.

6. Pedagogically Correct: This blog on education makes up for being rarely updated by providing timeless and extremely valuable information..It is run by the staff at VanDamme Academy, with Lisa VanDamme writing most of the (again excellent) posts.

7. Heroes of Capitalism: This blog focuses on, you guessed it, heroes of capitalism--the people who used private property--whether tangible or intangible (as in an idea)--to create wealth. The blog hasn't been updated in a very long time, but if you read the posts that are up you'll learn who exactly is to thank for everything from root beer to the clothes you wear. Hint: it's not God.

8. Three Little Things. This is the blog of Amy Mossoff. Like other Objectivist mommy bloggers, such as Kelly (at Reepicheep's Coracle), there are a lot of posts here on her kids and what she's doing with them. Other posts, such as this one, are about celebrating Randsday.

9. The New Clarion: Like some of the blogs above, this is a collaboration between different authors. The result? A lot of passionately delivered posts, from different perspectives and in different styles, almost always on politics.

10. The Aesthetic Capitalist: According to the blogger, the purpose of this blog is to support art with capitalism, glorify capitalism with art, and defend both with philosophy. Everything from completely honest church signs to beautiful starlettes dressed in tight-fitting Fountainhead shirts can be found here.

And that's it (because I have to stop somewhere)!

I do hope you get a lot of value out of the above. And if you're a fan of tiddlywink music, Richard Feynman, or movies about gaining the courage to face one's fears and pursue one's values, you may want to browse some of the posts here as well.

Again, enjoy, and feel free to add links in the comments section to any major blogs I missed, such as not PC or the popular Don't Let it Go blog and podcast by Amy Peikoff. (Doh!) I'll check those links out as will others stopping by--and future updates to this post will be much better.