Many people attracted to Objectivist moral and political philosophy misinterpret them in subjectivist ways, while many detractors of Ayn Rand’s ideas mistakenly attribute the bad behaviour of public figures to the influence of those ideas.

This Future Freedom sheds light on the true meaning of objective self-interest and the correlative need for limited government.

Dr Tara Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas. Dr. Smith’s main interests concern the nature of values, virtues and the requirements of objective law.

Her most recent book is Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System (Cambridge, 2015). She is also the author of Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist; Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality; and Moral Rights and Political Freedom, as well as a number of articles in such venues as The Journal of Philosophy, American Philosophical Quarterly, Law and Philosophy and Social Philosophy and Policy.

Recent articles include “What Good Is Religious Freedom? Locke, Rand, and the Non-Religious Case for Respecting It” (Arkansas Law Review); “Religious Liberty or Religious License? Legal Schizophrenia and the Case Against Exemptions” (Virginia Journal of Law and Politics); and “Something to Behold: On the Spiritual Value of Art and Sport” (Fair Play: Journal of Philosophy, Ethics and Sports Law). Smith’s current research focuses on intellectual freedom.

Smith holds the BB&T Chair for the Study of Objectivism and also holds the Anthem Foundation Fellowship. Dr. Smith is a member of the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute.