Ayn Rand and Phil Donahue. [more inside]
posted by absalom on Jan 21, 2009 - 150 comments

Postcards from Our Awesome Future. [via] An art exhibition stemming from the minds of Packard Jennings (whose illustrations have appeared in Adbusters) and Steve Lambert (of Anti-Advertising Agency fame); using San Francisco's infrastructure as a model for improvement, the duo answered the siren call of Objectivism through an arcology devoid of “...budgets, beauracracy [sic], politics, or physics”. [more inside]
posted by Smart Dalek on Jan 8, 2008 - 11 comments

Atlas Shrugged is again in the pipeline to be made into a movie. BACK in the 1970s Albert S. Ruddy, the producer of “The Godfather,” first approached Ayn Rand to make a movie of her novel “Atlas Shrugged.” But Rand, who had fled the Soviet Union and gone on to inspire capitalists and egoists everywhere, worried aloud, apparently in all seriousness, that the Soviets might try to take over Paramount to block the project.
posted by Brian B. on Jan 20, 2007 - 142 comments

50 Books for Thinking About the Future Human Condition, a list by the RAND corporation.
posted by stbalbach on Jan 26, 2006 - 25 comments

A Long Look Ahead: NGO’s, Networks, and Future Social Evolution

The information revolution favors the rise of network forms of organization, so much so that a coming age of networks will transform how societies are structured and interact. ...In the years ahead, the [environmental] movement's strength (and sometimes its weakness) will continue to be asserted through social network-based wars against unresponsive, misbehaving, or misguided corporate and governmental actors. …Ageing contentions that “the government” or “the market” is the solution to environmental or other particular public policy issues will give way to new ideas that “the network” is the optimal solution. The rise of network form of organization and strategy will drive long-range social evolution in radical new directions.

David Ronfelt’s explorations of information and society are based on a framework of societal evolution involving tribes, institutions, markets and networks. Modes of conflict with participants networked (as opposed to hierarchically structured) are called netwars. Many of the recent domestic and international terrorism conflicts are being fought as netwars. The civil society approach to politics and diplomacy in the network age may hinge on noopolitik, a strategy of information.
posted by warbaby on Jun 22, 2005 - 8 comments

What Can Art Do for You? We’ve all heard that Art enriches our communities, makes our children smarter, and brings in money and jobs. In response to the recently released RAND study (PDF) which critiqued the arguments made by arts organizations for the funding of the arts, Doug McLennan of ArtsJournal.com invited “11 prominent arts people” to discuss if there is a better way to advocate for the arts. Why do we need to market the arts? Shouldn’t Art advocate for itself? Are there different ways to sell the benefits of the arts in this day and age?
posted by geryon on Mar 14, 2005 - 6 comments

Why the 9/11 Fund was a Mistake. The final numbers for the 9/11 fund are in. Controversy remains. As does litigation. The settlement was attacked as "corporate welfare." The price tag has grown. RAND wonders "What Have We Learned About Compensating Victims of Terrorism?"
posted by trharlan on Sep 26, 2004 - 35 comments

Obesity Harder on Health Than Smoking according to a RAND study of 10,000 adults released today. "The study found that obesity -- linked to health complications including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, strokes and certain cancers -- raises a person's healthcare costs by 36 percent and medication costs by 77 percent. [...] In terms of dollar amounts, the study found that obesity raised healthcare costs by an average of $395 a year, while smoking increased costs by $230 and heavy drinking is associated with a $150 annual increase."
posted by NortonDC on Mar 12, 2002 - 48 comments