Why is there so little content on the Libertarianism, Branden, and Kelley pages, but several pages about Diana Hsieh?
Answer
First, we do not think that there is “so little content” on the other topics. On the contrary, we think that there is a far greater density of content in the reference links on those pages, than we could provide in personal commentary.
We consider the topics of Libertarianism, the Brandens, and David Kelley to be “finished business.” That is to say that those topics have been addressed and the cases against them fully established. We consider the linked references, provided on those pages, to be the “ultimate,” “conclusive” treatments and refutations on those topics and that it would be an act of extreme presumptuousness (if not complete pomposity) to attempt our own rehashing. We do have some prospective plans for additional commentary on those pages, but it will be of the “personal anecdote” variety, not the “proving the case” variety.
We also chose not to link to any of the works or statements by the subjects of those topics, such as Kelley’s writings, specifically because we consider it “finished business.” The linked references include, within their own content, references to such sources. CheckingPremises refuses to sanction those works by linking them to our site. We are not here to present a platform for the ideas of the likes of the Brandens or David Kelley to be disseminated.
Diana Hsieh, on the other hand, is a different matter. This is not “finished business.” There is no “Fact and Value,” “The Passion of Ayn Rand’s Critics,” or other content-dense articles, essays, or books that we can point to and say: “Read this. All the issues and principles are expertly considered and explained herein.”
On the contrary, we are not suggesting that the matter of Dr. Hsieh’s relationship to Objectivism is in any way fully established, nor have all the principles involved been publicly considered in full. There has been very little public debate and consideration. That is why it is a “current controversy.” There is a substantial and growing number of Objectivists who are beginning to “smell smoke” with regard to Dr. Hsieh’s public commentary. What we hope to do, at CheckingPremises.org, is to bring these issues to a greater level of awareness within the Objectivist community so that there can be an open discussion and debate about them.
With this goal in mind, we have created topic pages within “current controversies.” We have, thus far, presented only a brief remark about each topic, which includes a statement of why we consider it an issue that needs to be considered, and linked to the original, relevant public statements made by Diana Hsieh herself, as well as any other relevant links, such as the appropriate podcasts by Dr. Peikoff, etc, that a serious student or proponent of Objectivism may need to consider the issue and form a first-hand judgment. That is not to say that we have no intention of making our own arguments and presenting our own assessments. We do and we will.