Should Charities Replace the Welfare State?

by David Rovick

The Russian philopsopher, Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand was a Russian Philosopher born in 1905. She is probably most famous for writing the novel ‘When Atlas Shrugged’ and developing a philosophy called Objectivism, a philosophy supposedly based on reason, self-esteem or selfishness, and fundamental human rights among other things. I am a huge fan of Ayn Rand and her ideas, but enough about her for now at least.

I will first attempt to answer the question: should charities replace the welfare state, using objectivist reasoning. First of all I will derive the answer to why welfare states are morally wrong almost all of the time.

To do this I will derive a philosophy using nothing but reason and logic, starting with a ‘clean slate’ of thought, and first ask what the purpose of philosophy, or moral code, or morality (I will use the terms interchangeably) should fulfil. I think we can all agree that the purpose of a human being should be to further and maintain human life, and therefore human life is the highest moral standard. Animals do it in nature, acting consistently in a way that will sustain and further life, indeed it is necessary for their survival, for their life. In the same way, a human’s morality must be what allows him to further and sustain his own life, so that he can live as joyful and fulfilling a life as possible and this is to be the purpose of our morality. What’s more, man’s morality must fulfil its purpose when applied consistently, for what good is a morality if it can only achieve its purpose when inconsistently applied, or even worse (and more commonly unfortunately when not applied at all?

Next I will make the observation that we are each observable individuals; that is we own our bodies, our minds and ourselves insofar as we are the ultimate deciders of our own thoughts and actions. This is evident in the fact that humans have free will, which is the ability to act and think independently, thusly the ability to use reason if we choose too in acting and thinking independently. And because we have given ourselves the purpose of using reason in order to further and sustain human life, it is morally right to use it, and morally wrong to not.

A Guide to the Syrian Uprising

by Hannah Gent


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13855203

This is a very simplistic guide to what is happening currently in Syria. The 'Syria Crisis' started with protests earlier in 2011 when protesters asked for the release of political prisoners. The protests have then continued and the violence has escalated. The overall aim of the protesters was to gain democracy and 'greater freedom'. The BBC news link shows what the protesters wanted in more detail and how President Assad has responded.

Syria is an important country in the Middle-East. This means that the chaos here could cause problems in near-by countries such as Israel and Lebanon. Furthermore, even without the violence, Syria still needs a large amount of time to recover from the economic impact of the instability of the country. One of the main reasons why Syria is facing economic problems is because of the lack of tourists and therefore business. Moreover, places like Lebanon and Jordan have had to take in thousands of Syrian refugees. Jordan, which is already struggling against a large national deficit and high unemployment rates, is also facing a decline in the number of tourists. This means that Syria is inflicting these economic stresses onto other neighbouring countries which may cause unrest between countries in the Middle East and lead to further violence in the near future.

What do you think will happen with the current situation in Syria?

Obama on Same-Sex Marriage

by Clemency Flitter

It has been a highly contentious issue in American politics for some years now, with many politicians using clever words and neat quotes to scurry around the topic but now President Obama has spoken outright that same-sex marriage should be legalised in America. Obama has himself seemingly been avoiding making a clear statement for some time; instead describing himself as “evolving” on the issue. This turn of events is sure to bring hope to supporters of same-sex marriage across America and in the wider world. However, this comes just a day after the state of North Caroline voted to ban same-sex marriages and similar amendments have taken place in roughly 30 other states, so is the issue any closer to being solved?