Talk:Ayn Rand Institute

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[edit] Old, unsectioned comments

I think we should eliminate the ARI Watch link because it's not very notable; if there must be a critique of the ARI, it should probably be one from the Objectivist Center website, since that is the far more important organization.

Okay; the current link to TOC is fine. I may try to work some of the content from ARI Watch into the text, too. --zenohockey 23:58, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

-oOo-

Not very notable"? One can note that ARIwatch.com is focused on the Ayn Rand Institute and its associated organizations. It addresses this Wikipedia subject perfectly.

I've no quarrel with including the Objectivist Center critique as well, and for the same reason.

Chris Matthew Sciabarra, who is, whatever you think of him, a notable person in Ayn Rand studies, gave two links (main and a page) to ARI Watch December 22, 2005. See

www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/notablog/archives/2005_12.html#000935 "a useful compendium of quotes can be found here"

-oOo-

I still think we should eliminate ARI Watch, inasmuch as the positions it takes seem to be neither in line with ARI nor with TOC. It seems like irrelevant criticism from some fringe group.

-oOo-

Of course a critique of ARI is not going to be in line with it! Some reputable people, see above, think it's relevant criticism. It's literate and, if forceful, still urbane.

I deleted the link to ARI Watch website, interesting as it may be: as far as I can tell it is totally anonymous and as such has no authority. Perhaps Jackem9 is one of the authors? In any case, is it too much to ask that ARI Watch authors sign their articles and perhaps add brief biographical notes that would indicate some reason to think these authors' opinions are worthy of note to any prospective reader — let alone worthy of note in an encyclopedia? It should not be hard to find links to critics of ARI who can be cited by name. Blanchette 06:41, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

-oOo-

Come on! By that standard you wouldn't have referenced the Federalist Papers in the 1780's. It's difficult not to suspect that you deleted ARIwatch.com not because it is anonymous but because you disagree with it.

It contains many interesting Ayn Rand quotes not found elsewhere on the web, easily verified as authentic by going to the original books. It quotes ARI writers, which is also easily verified. And it contains analysis and comparisons which stand on their own merit. They don't depend on the author having or not having a Ph.D. or whatever.

I shall restore the link.

The Federalist Papers were published in some of the leading newspapers of the day. This is a website set up by an anonymous person. One can find forceful, urbane things written by people without Ph.D.s by using Google.
Having said that, it is certainly of note that ARI is widely seen as housing imperialist, bloodthirsty warmongers. This topic deserves more thorough treatment than a link to a random site. With all the time you people have spent inserting and removing the link, maybe you could have posted some excerpts from it—or, even better, from a more important, respected, recognized source. Just saying. --zenohockey 23:58, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

-oOo-

Yes, the Federalists Papers were originally published as newspaper editorials. My point is that they were published anonymously, or to be precise, pseudonymously.

ARIwatch is not a “random site.” On the contrary, it’s focused on the very subject of this Wikipedia entry. It belongs here. And I shall restore it.

-oOo-

There’s nothing wrong with criticizing ARI watch, but that’s not what the vandal who keeps deleting the link to it is doing. He would prevent criticism, criticism of ARI. No openness and transparency for him, he wants ARI Watch to just disappear. Let’s not let him get away with it.

Dear vandal, why not create your own website, called say “ARIwatch Watch” and link to it. More power to you if you do that.

But by trying to prevent others from seeing ARIwatch.com you only reveal your contempt for the Wikipedia user’s intellect.

-oOo-

One has to wonder at the validity of Wikipedia when someone, or group, who does not reply to the above can repeatedly vandalize an article while getting their opponent labeled the vandal.


[edit] Libertarianism?

I think we should remove the "Libertarian" sidebar, inasmuch as the Ayn Rand Institute condemns libertarianism outright; Objectivism certainly was an influence on libertarianism, but I don't think the Institute is. LaszloWalrus 06:53, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 503(c)(3)

Am I the only one to be amused by the recently noted fact that the ARI is a non-profit organization? Alienus 00:54, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

I know, the irony is just thick in the air when people hear about this who know anything about Objectivism... The Fading Light 4:57, 8 April 2006

I'm not surprised by this. If I were to create an organization whose many principles include the idea that government is not to interfere with private affairs, I wouldn't want it to be taxed. Adam T.

I'm told that an early sign of cultism is the loss of any sense of humor about the cult. Smile; your face won't crack. Al 22:56, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ARI Watch

Of course websites with critical opinions of something must stay. Please reread WP:NPOV - it clearly says that all views must be presented, including critical views. And there is no exception that anonymous criticism somehow doesn't count. Now if we already had links to ten different critical websites, it would be ok to select "more important" ones or something - but right now without ARI Watch link the article wouldn't say anything about criticism of ARI, and it wouldn't link to any criticism of ARI, and it would be totally one-sided.

And it's unreasonable to expect some famous names among the critics here, ARI is not that well-known, so it has less well-known critics. That doesn't make this article exmept from NPOV policy. Taw 14:58, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

ARIWatch is run by ONE MAN named Marko something or other. It is not an organization, but more of a blog. Those don't count. LaszloWalrus 21:45, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Of course they do count. It's mostly the usefulness of information that matters, not whether the guy is called Marco or not, and ARI Watch website seems to contain the most detailed criticism of Ayn Rand Institute anywhere on the Internet, and it is well-sourced.

Anyway, I did select one other American think-tank at random: Cato Institute. What's there ? A real criticism section, and links to "private websites" criticizing it, like [1].

As you can see, linking to criticism on "private websites" too, is a well-established practice on Wikipedia. We've been doing it since as far back as I can remember (like, since 2001). You cannot simply claim they do not count.

And I think people definitely want Wikipedia to inform them about members of Ayn Rand Institute endorsing torture, genocide, and suspending civil liberties, if that's actually true (well, the sources are there, anybody denying their validity ?), no matter who pointed that out first.

If you think what I'm doing here is totally wrong and against established Wikipedia practice, please ask some other person for their opinion. I guess they'd be much more likely to agree with me than with you :-) Taw 16:20, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

It looks to me that the history of this page is a history of removing the link to ARIWatch. Also, copying all that text could well be a copywright violation. Also, blogs do not count as valid sources. LaszloWalrus 19:33, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

If, as Humpty Dumpty might, you define a blog as a collection of someone’s essays, then sure, ARIwatch.com is a “blog.” But then so are zillions of other Wikipedia external links. The fact is ARIwatch.com, love it or hate it, is a collection of essays, some fairly long essays, essays on which obviously much time and effort has been spent. ARI Watch is no blog in the proper sense of the word.
LaszloWalrus might explain how a website by two or more people can be Wikipedia material, yet a website by one man cannot. I agree with Taw on this.
As for violating any copyright, this is a ridiculous accusation. All the quoting in ARI Watch is well within the limits of Fair Use. LaszloWalrus is groping here. – 26 August 2006

Hmm. I think the anon user might be another Alienus sock. LaszloWalrus 04:06, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't know this Alienus, and in any case what difference to arithmetic would it make if this Alienus said 2 + 2 = 4 ?

{Editprotected}

Declined - I don't see a consensus or straw poll supporting this addition let alone a signature from the nominator. --  Netsnipe  ►  15:27, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Please add

to the External Links list. If Wikipedia truly aims for a NPOV then it won’t restrict itself to the POV of boosters of the Ayn Rand Institute. As Taw said: “WP:NPOV ... clearly says that all views must be presented, including critical views. And there is no exception that anonymous criticism somehow doesn’t count. ... right now without [the] ARI Watch link the article wouldn’t say anything about criticism of ARI, and it wouldn’t link to any criticism of ARI, and it would be totally one-sided. [The fact that the not well-known ARI has a not well-known critic] doesn’t make this article exempt from NPOV policy.”

I quote from Wikipedia's article on reliable sources: "A self-published source is a published source that has not been subject to any form of independent fact-checking, or where no one stands between the writer and the act of publication. It includes personal websites, and books published by vanity presses. Anyone can create a website or pay to have a book published, and then claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published books, personal websites, and blogs are largely not acceptable as sources." Further, "Personal websites, blogs, and other self-published or vanity publications should not be used as secondary sources.
That is, they should not be used as sources of information about a person or topic other than the owner of the website, or author of the book. The reason personal websites are not used as secondary sources — and as primary sources only with great caution and not as a sole source if the subject is controversial — is that they are usually created by unknown individuals who have no one checking their work. They may be uninformed, misled, pushing an agenda, sloppy, relying on rumor and suspicion, or even insane; or they may be intelligent, careful people sharing their knowledge with the world. Only with independent verification by other sources not holding the same POV is it possible to determine the difference.
Visiting a stranger's personal website is often the online equivalent of reading an unattributed flyer on a lamp post, and should be treated accordingly." LaszloWalrus 16:12, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

The complete article “Reliable Sources” from which LaszloWalrus quotes can be read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:Reliable_source . Possibly LaszloWalrus didn’t provide a link to it because, like the admonition that one should always be grammatical, it allows exceptions.

LaszloWalrus avoids the burden of consistently defining “personal website.” What kind of website is the Ayn Rand Institute’s about itself –- aynran.org -– now gracing External Links? Is it subject to independent fact-checking? It is not. Is it subject to peer review? It is not.

Is it self-published? It most assuredly is.

It might be objected to this that, since the Wikipeida article under discussion is about ARI, anything published by ARI, even if riddled with fallacies, is “primary source material” and therefore must be allowed. Very well! But if other External Links pointing out those fallacies are not allowed, the Widipedia article becomes just a mouthpiece for ARI.

ARI Watch may not be the ideal website for reviewing ARI but it does articulate what many students of Ayn Rand have been thinking.

What makes LaszloWalrus think ARI is above the criticism of ARI Watch? “ARI is a group, ARI Watch is just an individual” doesn’t cut it. What really matters, of course, is whether the ARI Watch website is relevant and useful. That is what LaszloWalrus should argue against, if he can.

Whether or not it is "relevant and useful" ARIWatch does NOT meet the criteria for website inclusion on Wikipedia. Period. LaszloWalrus 23:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Identifiable Critics of ARI

As one who objected to the anonymity of ARI Watch and the probable self-promotion of that site by one or more 'sock puppets', usually from the University of VA, I'm surprised to see no one taking up my suggestion to find "critics of ARI who can be cited by name." Here are some links, by no means exhaustive and not all of which I would consider to be 'encyclopedia grade', but all of which connect to the larger world by having names, institutions, or forms of dialogue associated with them. I think we could agree to include some of these:

(1) http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/critics/ari-toc.html "The ARI-TOC Dispute"
(2) http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ct-3-Better_Things_Do.aspx "Better Things To Do" A summary of the 'Truth and Toleration' debate.
(3) http://www.nattvakt.com/onlineenglish/tjsconflict.htm "Why I do not support the "official" Objectivist "movement"" by Per-Olof Samuelsson
(4) http://www.jeffcomp.com/faq/index.html "FAQ - What's REALLY Wrong With Objectivism?" Many criticisms of ARI and its members.
(5) http://www.aristos.org/ar-cspan.htm "C-SPAN American Writers Program on Ayn Rand: a Sham Cedes Control to Doctrinaire Rand Institute" by Louis Torres & Michelle Marder Kamhi
(6) http://rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/Writing/RobertBidinotto/RandVsPeikoff.html "Rand Versus Peikoff" by Robert J. Bidinotto -- with links to other essays on related themes.
(7) http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/fem/Femreviews/ferc.htm "Chris Matthew Sciabarra Responds to R. Mayhew" Critique of ARI orthodoxy.
(8) http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/1996_jan-dec/04/04-19-96tdc/04-19-96d07-002.htm "Objectivists' hidden agenda a Klan mentality" by Rebecca Stambanis. Impassioned criticism of ARI speaker Gary Hull

I could also come up with defenses of ARI, its associates and positions, but in the spirit of the list above, I would like the defenders of ARI Watch to make suggestions for that list, just to reflect that NPOV ideal towards which we all assuredly strive. Blanchette 04:30, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

The first two links are internecine attacks from The Objectivist Center, whose position on the “War on Terrorism” – WOT – differs not a jot from that of ARI.
The third link was written in 2000 and of course doesn’t address WOT at all.
The fourth was written even before that, and of course there’s nothing on WOT.
The fifth is contemporary criticism, not of ARI, but of C-SPAN. It’s interesting, however again, it does not address WOT.
The sixth and seventh: nothing whatever on WOT.
The eighth dates from 1996. Guess what, you won’t be surprised by anything about WOT.
That concludes this irrelevant list.
You can dig up some Internet articles that do criticize ARI for it’s position on the "War on Terrorism" -- the most important issue of our time. There are some by Chris Matthew Sciabarra, for example. But let’s face it guys, ARIwatch.com is the 500 pound gorrilla in this regard. It is the identifiable critic of ARI.
-oOo-

[edit] Intellectual Heir?

I know this is a big debate and this is probably not the place for it, but should we call Peikoff Rand's intellectual heir, especially in an article that is not directly about him? I don't think he is even refered to as such on his own page. Should we delete it?Atripodi 07:28, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

I think it could go either way, but I lean towards keeping it. People not familiar with Peikoff probably could use some background information on him in this article, so they don't have to read through the Peikoff article, but either way is fine with me. LaszloWalrus 19:45, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Let's kill the Muslims

I see that this article is semi-protected. I think that the following edit should be made. There should be a section on the Institute's views on Islam. The reference to a "free speech campaign" is a euphemism. There should also be discussion of this article: [2] in which it is reported that Institute head Yaron Brook "said Islamic totalitarian states pose a severe threat to the security of the United States and other Western nations and suggested that a way to defeat these regimes is to kill up to hundreds of thousands of their supporters."

[edit] ARI Watch

Has ARIWatch been covered in the major media? That is to say, is there any reason to think they are notable outside of self-promotion? We don't view personal blogs and websites as proper sources for attribution unless there's some external reason to do so. What is the external reason in the case of ARIWatch? Until that justification is given, I think it has to stay out. Nandesuka 14:36, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

They are notable in that they present the other side of ari and thus allow people to make informed decision, without their presence on the ari page, we have only a pov article. If there are two sides of one story, and you contrive reasons for excluding one, then are you really telling the whole story? I personally had never heard of ariwatch until i saw it in the context of this article. I don't think that the article represents ari without it. --Buridan 17:46, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
The place to present the other view is in the text of the article, not as an external link. —Centrx?talk • 18:42, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
why? the link does the work.--Buridan 19:29, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
Because Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not google. Nandesuka 19:42, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Nandesuka asked  “... is there any reason to think they (ARIwatch.com) are notable outside of self-promotion?”  For what it’s worth, Andrew Sullivan, a Times Magazine author, recently linked to it in his blog:  http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/10/ayn_rand_on_tor.html .  I think ARIwatch belongs somewhere in the article or the links list. Should the subject be protected and shielded from other points of view?

Absolutely not, but we have a duty to not represent extreme minority points of view, because representing extreme minority points of view in the interests of "balance" is actually a form of original research. Did Sullivan discuss ARIWatch, or just put in a link? If he mentioned them in enough detail, that would be enough for me (something like "There are groups who disagree with the ARI's methods. Journalist Andrew Sullivan described one such group, ARIWatch, in his article on (date) where he said blah blah blah...") Nandesuka 01:05, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

External links are for websites that are directly important to the subject of the article. If there is any question about whether a link is relevant, it should not be included. The aynrand.org link belongs because it is the official website of the subject of the article. The Daily Bruin link should be deleted; Wikipedia is not a link directory of every news event or website about the subject. —Centrx→talk • 01:14, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ARI promoted the Iraq invasion

Someone keeps inserting the following misleading sentence:
“Though some Institute writers promoted the invasion of Iraq, the Institute opposes how the Iraq War is being handled.”
The fact is ARI strenuously agitated for the Iraq invasion. Just look in their archives, or visit  Relentless Propaganda  for a raft of statements of them doing so. It’s disingenuous to say only “some” did so when it was practically all. The truth is as follows:
“Most Institute writers, including the Institute’s director, promoted the invasion of Iraq, however they now oppose how the Iraq War is being handled.”
And citations for examples of them doing both these things is in order, not just the second. The person who keeps changing "practically all" to "some" evades the true history of ARI and seeks to deceive others as he deceives himself.

"Practically all?" Your article cites four writers, one of which no longer works for ARI. If you want to maintain that "practically all" (or any equivalent) ARI writiers said this, the burden is on you to document it. So I've eliminated the "outspoken" and added the quantifer "some," changing the sentence to "Though some at the Institute supported the invasion of Iraq, it now opposes how the Iraq War is being handled." (This is the first time I've changed the sentence. I don't know who did in the past). Endlessmike 888 00:16, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia: Truths or Half-Truths?

Someone keeps inserting
“The Institute opposes how the Iraq War is being handled.”
as the sole statement about ARI and the Iraq War. It’s true, as far as it goes. What’s missing is that the ARI was outspoken in support of initiating that war. ARI repeatedly and stridently called for the invasion of Iran in op-eds, letters to the editor, press releases, talks, radio interviews. This history of ARI is important and deserves stating with citation just as much as the above fact, which by itself is but a half-truth.

The following is a mild statement of ARI’s full position:
“Though the Institute was outspoken in promoting the invasion of Iraq (see http: //ariwatch.com/RelentlessPropaganda.htm Relentless Propaganda), it now opposes how the Iraq War is being handled (see [http: //www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=13587&news_iv_ctrl=1021 What We Owe Our Soldiers]).” (And that last citation is a whitewash: see this http: //ariwatch.com/WhatWeOweOurSoldiers.htm Review.) web links de-linkified by User:Nandesuka; this user seems to be trying to pump up google juice to this site. Nandesuka 13:53, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

This does seem a bit dishonest. It could lead the reader to infer that the Institute is somehow dovish on the war, when in fact I have seen quotes from Institute representatives where they say that if Bush had been less concerned about civilian casualties, he could have terrified the insurrectionists into submission. This article should be objective and not a PR job. --Tsunami Butler 15:42, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it's dishonest in context; we have quotations about the Institute's approach to the War on Terror in general just above the section about their views on the Iraq War. LaszloWalrus 05:55, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Every time someone adds anything that makes the article that is factually accurate but presents the actions of ari, negatively, even though they are often negative, you remove it. I am wondering why you are removing well documented material, which wikipedia value are you promoting in this case? --Buridan 12:16, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
He had reliable sources in other articles, deleted that too. would a copy of the original video be sufficient to add this material to the article? it is clear, in this case, that the material in question is actually reliable, because, in fact it is true and happened. ari is just as reliable as any other source on this matter. --Buridan 14:06, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
The burden to demonstrate that ARIWatch is a reliable source is pretty low, as discussed in other sections on this talk page. As of yet, no one has met that (very low) threshold. All it will take is someone in the mainstream media describing ARIWatch and their views on ARI. In any event, the addition of links to ARIWatch should come from an editor in good standing, and not from Alienus — or his sockpuppets — since he is a banned editor who is not welcome at Wikipedia. Nandesuka 14:35, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

The original post in this section conflates two issues, namely what ARI says about the Iraq war as it is, and ARI's desired war against Totalitarian Islam. ARI had put out various op-eds supporting the war on Iraq, though the specific reasons often varied from writer to writer. For example, Tracinski supported it for reasons very similar to those given by President Bush, while Peikoff very reluctantly supported it on the grounds that going into Iraq was better than doing nothing. As it stands now, based on numerous essays published in The Objective Standard, the consensus is that the Iraq war was worse than doing nothing. The only hold out is Rob Tracinski, who has left ARI.

Articles concerning action against Iran are of a different kind. These types of articles address how various Objectivists think the war should be fought. For example, Peikoff advocated war on Iran only several weeks after Sept 11, 2001. He advocated being merciful to Afghanistan and instead concentrating on Iran.

As Mark of ARI watch would write this section, he fails to take into account the varying opinions on the war at ARI several years ago. He also underappreciates the rationale many Objectivists were giving at the time, namely that going into Iraq was better than doing nothing. And by neglecting this last point, he underappreciates why the opinion of most ARI writers (with Tracinski as the exception) have changed. Endlessmike 888 00:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

ARI boosters twist and squirm to evade the fact that every writer at ARI wrote an essay advocating the Iraq War during Bush’s deceitful run-up to that war. Every one. “Most” would be generous to the ARI boosters, but let’s say “most” in case an ARI writer was in hospital or something and didn’t weigh in.
In short: ARI advocated the Iraq War. It yearned and hankered and ached for the Iraq War.
The question is: Why are ARI boosters in a state of denial and evasion about it? We give them twenty quotes selected from about fifty on hand and they say: “How do I know these quotes are reliable?”
Answer: You go to the ARI website and check them! But ARI boosters pretend they can’t do that. ARI Watch simply must be unreliable. Yes, that’s it. ARI Watch is unreliable. Now they can say “some” instead of “all” or “most” – and erase that horrid reference to all those horrid ARI quotes.
This is their attitude – Dear God, let this be my prayer: Make those horrid quotes disappear.
I agree with Tsunami Butler and Buridan.
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