Peter Schwartz

Peter Schwartz is the author of IN DEFENSE OF SELFISHNESS: Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice Is Unjust and Destructive (St. Martin's Press, 2015). This book has been re-issued, in softcover, with the new title of THE TYRANNY OF NEED: Examining the Code of Self-Sacrifice--and the Alternative of Rational, Non-Predatory Self-Interest (Ayn Rand Institute Press, 2021). He is a former Chairman of the Board, and currently a Distinguished Fellow, of the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, CA. He is a frequent speaker at educational conferences and at campus events. He writes and lectures extensively on topics ranging from ethics and political philosophy to environmentalism and multiculturalism. Schwartz is the author of The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America (ARI Press), Libertarianism: The Perversion of Liberty (ARI Press) and The Battle for Laissez-Faire Capitalism (Intellectual Activist). He was the founding editor and publisher of The Intellectual Activist (1979-1991), a periodical that covered political/social issues from a pro-individual rights orientation. From 1987-2003 he was president and editor-in-chief of Second Renaissance Books, a publisher and distributor of titles promoting the value of reason, individualism, science, technology and capitalism. In addition, he is the editor and contributing author of Ayn Rand's Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution (Meridian); the editor of The Ayn Rand Column (ARI Press); and the co-editor of Objectively Speaking: Ayn Rand Interviewed (Lexington Books). He wrote the Introduction to Ayn Rand's The Art of Nonfiction (Plume), and has had chapters included in Israel: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press) and Racism: Current Controversies (Greenhaven Press). His articles have been published in the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Hartford Courant, ForbesOnline and Huffington Post. He has had numerous interviews on radio and TV by such personalities as Geraldo Rivera and Thom Hartmann. For more information about Peter Schwartz's writings and talks, and to read his blogs, please visit: www.PeterSchwartz.com and follow him on Twitter: @PSchwartzIDS.