Washington Metro Objectivism Discussion (WMOD)

                           April 15, 1998 Meeting

                 HOW ATLAS IS REALLY GOING TO SHRUG
                                           
                         by Dr. Jack Wheeler

Ayn Rand would likely be amazed at how Atlas is really going to shrug.
"Atlas Shrugged" is an Industrial Age book.  The major technology
heroically portrayed is one from the 19th century: railroads. Airlines were
on the margin in Atlas, and of course computers are not there at all.  Yet
technology has political consequences.  The information technology of
the 80s doomed the Soviet Union.  The information technology of the 90s
will soon doom the IRS. A family of recent developments will render the
income tax uncollectable within the next 18 months.  Private digital
currencies are about to end governmental monopolies on the supply of
money.  The Black Net will make communications untraceable.  Offshore
encrypted transactions will enable anyone to launder money, not just
multinational companies and drug cartels. The IRS computer system is
so archaic it is about to crash and is fatally vulnerable to virus attacks.
All of this and more means that no form of taxation will soon be
available to sustain anywhere near the size of government we now have.  

As we exit the Industrial Age and enter the Information Age, the political
landscape is about to be utterly transformed.  Industrial Age political
structures are being replaced and rendered obsolete by cyberspace
non-national structures.  A new type of sovereignty is soon going to be
possible:  *Individual Sovereignty*. Atlas will shrug by becoming not
inter-national but *supra*-national.  Thus the goal of all Objectivists
should to be Sovereign Individuals -- a goal that is not fictional fantasy,
but will soon be achievable in reality.

Who is Dr. Jack Wheeler?

Jack Wheeler has been called the "real Indiana Jones" by the Wall St.
Journal, the "creator of the Reagan Doctrine" by the Washington Post,
and an "ideological gangster" by the Soviet press.  Wheeler has had
two parallel careers for many years, one in the field of adventure and
exploration as the owner of Jack Wheeler Expeditions, and the other
in the field of political and economic freedom as president of the
Freedom Research Foundation.

Wheeler has three "first contacts" with tribes never before contacted
by the outside world;  retraced Hannibal's route over the Alps with
elephants;  led numerous expeditions in Asia, Africa, and the Amazon;
and has been listed in The Guinness Book of World Records for the
first free fall sky-dive in history at the North Pole.  His 17th North Pole
expedition was the 1997 YPO New York University North Pole
 Academy.

Dr. Wheeler received his doctorate in philosophy from the University
of Southern California, where he lectured on Aristotelian ethics. In the
early '80s, he began a series of extensive visits to anti-Soviet guerrilla
insurgencies. The White House later adopted his strategy known as
the "Reagan Doctrine" for dismantling the Soviet Empire. He has
traveled to 187 countries and all seven continents, leads 3 to 4
expeditions a year, and is an advisor to a number of United States
Congressmen and Senators on geopolitics. His newsletter, Strategic
Intelligence, has an international following.

		March WMOD Meeting

Thanks again to Scott Bullock for his stimulating talk on "Making Ayn
Rand Swing" on March 18.  We had  about 30 folks at the Tavern, and
the discussion raged on till after 11pm.

                
         When and Where is the WMOD Meeting?

Join us on Wednesday April 15.  Anyone who is interested in rational
discussion of Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome. Note that we have a
NEW MEETING LOCATION that is Metro accessible.  You can either
join us for dinner at 7 pm and/or for the talk (free) at 8:15 pm at the
Lighthouse Tavern in Rosslyn, VA just across the Key Bridge
from Georgetown.  The street address is 1901 North Fort Myer
Drive, but the front door of the Tavern is actually on 19th Street.  
If you come by Metro, get off at the Rosslyn Metro Exit and the
Tavern is only a block away. Take the street
exit on N Moore Street (across street from Roy Rogers/Burger King),
go out of Metro and take left on block to the intersection of N Moore
and 19th Street, and the Tavern is directly across the street.  There
is a blue awning over the door and a sign for the lobster special on the
wall. If you drive, there is a Colonial Parking Garage on N. Moore that
offers free parking after 5:00 if you get your ticket validated at the
Tavern. WMOD has arranged for a $15 fixed price dinner (including
tax and tip).  Or you can order from the menu.  Please RSVP
to WMOD at (703) 820-7696 before noon Wednesday 4/15 so that
we can tell the restaurant how many tables to set up and how many
to expect for dinner.  For more information, call the Tavern at 
(703) 351-6100, or call David Saum at (703) 820-7696 (W) or (703)
671-5119 (H).  If you have transportation problems, give us a call.

                                   Future Meetings

WMOD meetings are generally held on the 3d Wednesday of each
month. We are always looking for new stimulating meeting topics 
related to Objectivism.  Please contact WMOD if you have suggestions
for meeting topics and locations, or if you can volunteer some time to
arrange meetings. 

                   Sense of Life Continues to play in DC

Michael Paxton's movie, Ayn Rand - A Sense of Life, which was
nominated for an Academy Award (documentary), has come to
Washington  DC.  It will be playing till at least Thursday April 12. The
film has a web site http://www.asenseoflife.com.  It is playing at
 
      Cineplex Odeon's Inner Circle 3
      2301 M Street
      Washington, DC
            
                     WMOD Contact Information

The WMOD newsletter is $10/yr,  email newsletter is free.

Contact: 
  Dave Saum
  WMOD
  PO Box 8007
  Falls Church, VA 22041
    Email: DSaum at infiltec.com
    Phone: (703) 820-7696
    Fax: (703) 671-9350
    Web: http://www.infiltec.com/wmod.htm

----------- "Sapere aude" (dare to know) -------------------