CONFERENCESCHEDULE
**Schedule/TopicsSubjecttoChange**
Thursday, June 5th
● 6:00–8:00 PM: Registration, Cocktails & Networking Featuring Opening Remarks from Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman and The Rational Challenge: Objectivist Trivia
Friday, June 6th
● 8:30–9:25 AM: Breakfast
● 9:15–9:25 AM: Welcome Remarks from Board of Directors Chairman Jay Lapeyre
● 9:30–10:15 AM: The Global Culture Clash: Objectivist Reflections by Atlas Society Scholars – Rob Tracinski, Richard Salsman, Ph.D., Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.
● 10:15–10:30 AM: Break
● 10:30–11:15 AM: Democracy vs. Capitalism: Guarding Against Mob Rule – Atlas Society Senior Scholar, Economist, and Professor Richard Salsman, Ph.D.
○ The American system is supposed to be a constitutionally limited, rights-respecting federal republic. A “demos” is merely “the people,” and political rule by even a majority of them, if ill-informed and envious, is morally improper to the extent it violates individual rights (including property rights).
● 11:15–11:30 AM: Break
● 11:30 AM–12:15 PM: Murmurations: The Art of Living an Integrated Life –Economist, Bestselling Author & Composer, Matt Cook, Ph.D.
○ What do magic, music, mathematics, and murmurations the breathtaking flocks of starling birds that dance across the sky have in common? Dive into the threadwork between these seemingly distant fields, uncover stunning relationships between them, and see how all knowledge is connected and why that matters to live an integrated life.
Friday, June 6th (cont’d)
● 1:15–2:00 PM: Workshops
○ Workshop #1: The Objectivist Perspective on Corporate Governance: Shareholder vs. Stakeholder Capitalism – Richard Salsman, Ph.D.
○ Workshop #2: The Political Spectrum(s) – Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.
■ Big political labels are used and abused: “Left” and “Right,” “Liberal” and “Conservative,” “Fascist,” “Socialist,” “Tribalist,” “Statist,” and more. In this introductory discussion, Stephen Hicks will ask: What are the fundamental dimensions of political analysis, and what labels capture packages of positions along those dimensions?
○ Workshop #3: TBA
○ Workshop #4: TBA
○ Workshop #5: Spanish Language Session hosted by Antonella Marty
● 2:00–2:15 PM: Break
● 2:15–3:00 PM: Breakout Sessions
○ Breakout session #1: Bitcoin, Freedom, and the Fate of Fiat: A Discussion on Sound Money – CEO of Swan Bitcoin Cory Klippsten and Richard Salsman, Ph.D.
■ What is the fate of the U.S. dollar? Are we destined for a future of central bank digital currencies? Can Bitcoin achieve stability and save the free market? Political Economist Richard Salsman, Ph.D. and CEO of Swan Bitcoin Cory Klippsten discuss these and other questions related to the future of the global economy.
○ Breakout session #2: The Ethics of Compromise: How to Maintain Integrity –Atlas Society Founder David Kelley, Ph.D.
■ Does compromise have a role to play in a principled life? If so, what principles apply to the choice of whether to compromise or not on a decision or action in politics, business, and personal life? David Kelley will discuss those principles based on Ayn Rand’s article “The Anatomy of Compromise” (Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal).
● 3:00–3:15 PM: Break
● 3:15–4:15 PM: Speed Networking
● 4:15–5:30 PM: Break before dinner
● 5:30–6:30 PM: Meet & Greet with Atlas Society Scholars & Cocktail reception
● 6:30–8:30 PM: Keynote Dinner - Featuring Guillaume Verdon
● 8:30–10:00 PM: Karaoke
Saturday, June 7th
● 9:00–10:00 AM: Breakfast
● 10:00–10:45 AM: Mentorship Roundtables
● We invite students and young adults to join scholars, business leaders, and innovators across multiple fields for interactive mentorship opportunities.
● 10:45–11:00 AM: Break
● 11:00–11:45 AM: Nobody Wants to Be the Mommy: Individualism, Gender Roles, and the Decline of Parenthood – BASEDPolitics Co-Founder Hannah Cox
○ As birth rates plummet and traditional gender roles are challenged, the pressures placed on women to conform to societal expectations of motherhood reveal a conflict with individual rights and happiness. This talk explores how Objectivist principles of rational self-interest and personal choice can provide a path forward in rejecting collectivist demands for traditional family structures.
● 11:45 AM–12:30 PM: Lunch
● 12:45–1:30 PM: The LEGO Theory of Life: Objectivism Applied To Lifestyle, Gender, and “The Crisis of Meaning” – Rob Tracinski
● 1:30–1:45 PM: Break
● 1:45–2:30 PM: Breakout Sessions
○ Breakout #1: Objectivist Perspectives on The Future of AGI Technologies –Engineer, Scientist, and Inventor Peter Voss and Atlas Society Founder David Kelley, Ph.D.
○ Breakout #2: TBA
● 2:30–3:00 PM: Break
● 3:00–4:00 PM: Strange Bedfellows: On the Islamist-Postmodern-Woke Strategic Connections – Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.
○ Why are Western protests so frequently made up of pre-modern Islamists marching arm-in-arm with post-modern Wokists? The ideology of the former seeks to execute gays, subordinate women, and spread theocracy while the ideology of the latter celebrates alternative sexualities, is officially feminist, and is usually agnostic or atheist. So, we must unpack a combination of factors philosophical, strategic, and ‘useful idiot” dynamics.
● 4:00–4:30 PM: Closing Remarks
● 6:30–9:00 PM: Closing Reception at Coopers BBQ Featuring Western Music and Line Dancing!