Unirule Saloon for Young Scholars (VI) was held on the evening of September 14th in at Unirule Office in Beijing. This session was proud to present Mr. Yaron Brook, Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, and his new book Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand’s Ideas Can End Big Government. This saloon was also joined by Professor FENG Xingyuan, Deputy Director of Unirule, and Ms. LIU Yan, Editor of Caijing Magazine. This saloon was hosted by Mr. ZHANG Lin, Project Researcher of Unirule. Mr. Brook spoke on the idea of “selfishness as a virtue”. He pointed out that individuals had to be responsible for themselves, and the idea of altruism would bring about disasters. He also mentioned that transactions were the source of wealth creation. Therefore, we need to change people’s mind and advocate for the idea of free market in order to fundamentally eradicate the damage of economic freedom by state power. 
Professor FENG XIngyuan shared his understanding of Ayn Rand’s thoughts and he celebrated her for her insights in the importance of free transaction and rationality. He also thought Chinese scholars should learn more about her thoughts in order to deepen their understanding of the boundaries of government, market and society. 
Ms. LIU Yan pointed out that Ayn Rand’s thoughts were not only about human self-interest, but also about morality which included “love”. And this was also something special about Ayn Rand, the respect of “indivisuals”. 
“Unirule Saloon for Young Scholars from the East and the West” is an open and free platform for academic discussion; it encompasses a wide range of social, economic, political and cultural topics; held once a month, the working language of the saloon is English. We believe that discussion will bring about the light of thoughts, and we hope in free discussion, young scholars from both China and the west will harvest inspiration, thoughts, and wisdom. We look forward to having young scholars from home and abroad join us. Please check our website for the upcoming events.  |