I highly recommend A New Textbook of Americanism. This collection of essays, edited by Jonathan Hoenig, is really a high-impact book that contains essays by leading Objectivist intellectuals on a variety of topics that are highly relevant to current political debates. The book also contains unpublished excerpts from AR’s political philosophy workshops, which contain brilliant insights into a variety of topics including rights of secession, one-world government, vaccine policy, and a great discussion of the idea of the “consent of the governed.”
Other essays that I found particularly valuable include: Greg Salmieri’s piece on the role of voting which adds a lot of content and context to the often-cited Objectivist principle that voting is of lesser importance to other aspects of government; Brad Thompson’s discussion of the concept of “Americanism”; Stuart Hayashi’s piece on the alt-right; and Yaron Brook’s excellent take on the current state of affairs.
The book also contains our moderator’s famous essay on why “buying American” is un-American (updated to include references to President Trump’s trade policies), excerpts from various Leonard Peikoff books, pieces by Amy Peikoff, Richard Salsman, Elan Journo, Don Watkins, Onkar Ghate, Andy Bernstein, and Jonathan Hoenig.
One particular aspect of the book that bears emphasis is the thoroughly anti-Trump position taken in the book, especially in Yaron Brook’s essay. This, to me, is very important as it unequivocally distances Trump’s polices from those of capitalism, individual rights, and liberty.
As Yaron Brook writes,
While America might not yet be ready for a true “blood and soil” nationalist, the election of Trump has brought us closer than ever to that day. To prevent nationalism’s dominance of America’s future, Rand’s insights are needed now more than ever.
/sb
