The Sanction of the Victims
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Shortly after Ayn Rand’s death, Dr. Leonard Peikoff presented her material that explores why contemporary businessmen are their own worst enemies because they sanction those who attack and undermine them. The lecture explores the nature of altruism and its connection to the sanction of the victim.
Study Guide
This material is designed to help you digest the lecture content. You can also download a printable PDF version below.
| What role do businessmen play relative to scientists? |
| What is the default position of the businessman regarding the value of his activities? |
| How is altruism incompatible with capitalism and business? |
| Why is mysticism one of the roots of altruism? |
| How does the appeasement of business affect the political sphere? |
| Why are the universities, and the money business gives them, so important? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 39:26 | Would you give us the update on Atlas Shrugged? |
| 44:29 | Would you say something about Miss Rand’s last weeks? |
| 49:54 | Will there be a transcript of this talk at some point? |
| 50:08 | There seems to be a contradiction in Ayn Rand’s support for the Ford Hall Forum—which has a series of intellectually divergent views presented on the same lectern—versus remarks made in the body of the speech about businessmen supporting the universities where there are a diversity of views. |
| 52:56 | What are Dr. Peikoff’s plans for the future? |
| 58:20 | How can college students today convince other college students that politics and philosophy are more than just intellectual games? |
| 1:00:34 | Are there any thoughts or plans of collecting Miss Rand’s speeches here at the Forum under one cover? |
| 1:01:43 | How might your new book [The Ominous Parallels] become a bestseller? |
| 1:03:13 | In a completely free society, is there any valid place for a central banking system such as the Federal Reserve system? |
| 1:04:55 | What is the procedure for bringing a taped lecture course to my town? |
| 1:06:12 | Could you tell us anything about the unpublished work of Ayn Rand, why it might be unpublished, and whether it will be published? |
| 1:07:51 | What do you think is going on right now with the Argentinians and the British? I’m particularly interested in the character of Mr. Haig in these negotiations. |
| 1:11:59 | Without sending your child to private schools, how do you penetrate the quagmire of public education in this day and age? |
| 1:13:43 | Is there a politician currently active with whom Miss Rand continually agreed? |
| 1:14:09 | Is it dishonorable to leave one’s life in disorder? How did you meet and become Miss Rand’s associate? |
| 1:17:40 | Will you be invited to speak at future Ford Hall Forums? |