Monthly Archives: February 2013

Flying from Arcadia

  By Alexander R. Cohen | February 26, 2013 - 11:56 pm |
Leave a comment

So the government is after you, trying to wreck your life in order to intimidate others into accepting a novel theory of tax law.

You jump into an airplane and fly right out of the IRS’s grasp.

Here’s the music for that: Flying from Arcadia, by the Objectivist composer Michael Gordon Shapiro, from the movie The F-Zone.

Warning: The F-Zone contains very bad constitutional theory. But that doesn’t affect its score.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

  By Alexander R. Cohen | February 26, 2013 - 4:55 am |
Leave a comment

Boublil, Schoenberg & Kretzmer, Do You Hear the People Sing? from Les Miserables (Tenth Anniversary Concert)

“The emphasis [Victor Hugo] projects is not: ‘What great values men are fighting for!’ but: ‘What greatness men are capable of, when they fight for their values!” –Ayn Rand, “Introduction to Ninety-Three.”

The heroes of Les Miserables — and most of the characters are heroes, even Javert — strive for such different values that one of its overarching themes is simply heroism. It affirms that one can pursue values and try to live up to principles under any circumstances, and it honors those who do. Les Miserables is for everyone who recognizes that there is evil in the world and wants to fight it. That’s why it was my favorite musical and one of my favorite novels before I became a libertarian — and that’s why it still is.

One of the things I like about this particular video is the combination of anger and joy on Enjolras’s face. He is doing the work he loves — the work of (on his misunderstanding of freedom) freeing his country. We should all be so angry at what’s wrong, and take such joy in trying to make it right.