Some Notes on Critical Race Theory (CRT)

by Nicholas Dykes

I must state immediately that I have not read a formal presentation of this theory by one of its advocates – for the simple reason that when I come across ideas which appear misconceived to the point of absurdity I feel no desire or need to pursue them further. However, when I learned that CRT was apparently being taught to young children in the USA as fact I was so appalled that I immediately wrote to warn my Member of Parliament here in the UK lest this poisonous nonsense cross the Atlantic and take root, as other absurd concoctions have already done, such as the intentionally divisive, explicitly racist, neo-Marxist regurgitation calling itself Black Lives Matter.

Linz writes with his usual well-directed passion about the threat of totalitarianism growing steadily in New Zealand, a probability foreseen by George Orwell in 1948, as Linz notes, though naturally enough without NZ particularly in mind.

Tragically, the same is happening the world over, as Orwell foretold it might, except in China, where it is already a fait accompli. Totalitarianism has reigned there since the late 1940s; although, having discovered during two decades or more of mass starvation and tens of millions of deaths that a socialist or communist economy simply does not work, the regime has reinvented itself under a capitalist cloak. Behind this smiling, silky deception, of course, the CCP remains what it always was, a State, an institution created by force for the exploitation of subject peoples, and one which is carrying out its self-appointed mission ruthlessly.

THE TOTAL PASSION FOR THE TOTAL HEIGHT

Reviewed by Nicholas Dykes

An excellent book. I do enjoy having something to praise for once. I’d give it a five star rating any day.

Nathan, a Tribute

Lindsay Perigo has told me ‘due diligence’ requires that I read James S. Valliant’s 2005 book, The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics, a lengthy critical review of Barbara Branden’s 1986 biography, The Passion of Ayn Rand. Valliant’s critique was largely based on previously unpublished segments of Ayn Rand’s private journals to which Leonard Peikoff, Rand’s legal heir and the journals’ owner, had given Valliant unprecedented access – with rather obvious intent. On the basis of Valliant’s book, Linz claims Nathaniel Branden was a fraud and a charlatan.

Alyssa – a Tribute (amended)

Nicholas Dykes

I'm seventy-seven years old, the age at which Ayn Rand died – on March 6, 1982. Six years ago, on November 24, 2013, I suffered a near-fatal stroke, a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage, but was saved by the quick thinking of my wife, Rachel – who didn't panic, just got me into hospital as fast as possible – and by some brilliant modern surgery (I believe developed in the USA) carried out by Professor Stefan Zigmunt at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, assisted by neuroradiologist Dr Swarupsinh Chavda. The operation involved inserting a tiny camera and miniscule stents through my veins to seal the ruptured arteries. Professor Zigmunt did the insertion, Dr Chavda guided him to the ruptures.

Alyssa – a Tribute

Nicholas Dykes

I'm seventy-seven years old, the age at which Ayn Rand died – on March 6, 1982. Six years ago, on November 24, 2013, I suffered a near-fatal stroke, a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage, but was saved by the quick thinking of my wife, Rachel – who didn't panic, just got me into hospital as fast as possible – and by some brilliant modern surgery (I believe developed in the USA) carried out by Professor Stefan Zigmunt at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, assisted by neuroradiologist Dr Swarupsinh Chavda. The operation involved inserting a tiny camera and miniscule stents through my veins to seal the ruptured arteries. Professor Zigmunt did the insertion, Dr Chavda guided him to the ruptures.

Sent to Telegraph and Mail:

Sir,

The majority of the members of the EU have submitted to dictatorship in the recent past.

Hello Soloists!

Sorry to have been silent for so long. I've been busy!

William Thomas on Rights & Government

By Nicholas Dykes

In an article this year, William (Will) Thomas, Director of Programs at The Atlas Society (formerly The Objectivist Centre and before that The Institute for Objectivist Studies), stated that the normative basis for individual rights is social:

I have been meaning for some time to respond to Robert Bidinotto’s short essay “Getting Rights Right” (SoloHQ, 17 April 2005) but other preoccupations have prevented me from doing so. I apologise for the long delay.