Liberty Maven

I knew there was a reason I banked with BB&T. The BB&T foundation is giving gifts to colleges with the stipulation that the schools develop a program studying the philosophy of objectivism.

The gift agreement stipulates that WCU’s College of Business will use the money—plus another $500,000 in matching funds it hopes to obtain from the state Legislature—to create a new “BB&T Distinguished Professorship in Capitalism” and develop a program exploring “the moral and ethical foundation of capitalism,” according to the school’s Nov. 17 announcement. While the new program will encompass “all points of view,” the agreement specifically focuses on just one, “the philosophy of objectivism as portrayed by Ayn Rand in her classic novel Atlas Shrugged and in her essays,” the announcement states.

There are some who believe this is dangerous territory for colleges to tread upon saying that corporations should not have this kind of influence on what gets taught in the classroom. I believe we need more of this, not less. In essence this is free market capitalism at work.

If a college doesn’t want to abide by the stipulations accompanying any monetary gift then they can refrain from accepting the gift. According to the article some already have.

It is stories like these that give me hope that capitalism isn’t quite dead yet.

(Thanks to Tim Peck for pointing us to the article)