Moral Values Without Religion

I think that Peter Schwartz is far and away the best editorial-writer of all the Objectivist authors, and this editorial helps confirm my belief. The piece is excellent on several levels.

First, rather than just condemning some current outrage, it reaches out to those who are actively searching for something good and moral, and offers them a new and positive alternative. In my opinion, the bulk of editorials should be aimed at showing that the positions espoused by the two dominant philosophies today do not span the full spectrum of possibilities, and that to achieve the proper goals that many people already have, necessitates stepping back and fighting for something completely revolutionary. (E.g. that was my goal in this piece, but it will take a lot of practice for me to write at the level Peter does.)

Second, Peter manages to tie-in topics ranging from welfare to the moral standing of the UN to stem cells,without leaving a million loose ends (which would undoubtedly be the case were I to try to write something of this scope in this length).

I recently received Peter's taped lecture course on non-fiction writing, and given my admiration for his writing ability, I'm really looking forward to listening to, and learning from, it.