What We Owe the Real Defenders of America
Date:
Nov 11, 2020
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss what it means to honor a nation’s soldiers and veterans. They argue that the decision to go to war is a serious moral issue and has to take seriously the lives of its soldiers in battle.
Among other topics, they cover:
- How the purpose of a proper government (the protection of its citizens’ individual rights) sets the bounds for the proper use of the military;
- Ayn Rand’s perspective on what justifies war, and how it differs from libertarian and conservative views;
- Why regarding military service as a sacrifice for the “common good” is a mistake and an insult to soldiers and veterans;
- What Rand thought of American wars of her time, especially Vietnam, and how America’s foreign policy from World War I on has too often betrayed American soldiers;
- Why Ayn Rand opposed the draft on moral grounds.
politicscultureforeign policy
Parts:
1
Handout:
none
Publications: