John Ridpath

Specialties: Intellectual history, American history, individual rights, capitalism, power of ideas in Western history

Dr. Ridpath, an associate professor of economics and intellectual history at York University in Toronto, Canada, writes and speaks on the history of ideas and their impact on social change. He has spoken at conferences about the central thinkers in Western history, the impact of their ideas on history, including the ideas influencing the Founding Fathers and early American history. As a specialist in Ayn Rand's system of ideas, articles by Dr. Ridpath have appeared in The Objectivist Forum, The Intellectual Activist and Essays on Ayn Rand's "We the Living." Widely recognized for his lecturing skills, as well as for his public speaking and debating in defense of capitalism, he is a recipient of the prestigious award given by the Ontario Council of University Faculty Associations for outstanding contribution to university teaching. Dr. Ridpath was also a York University nominee for Canadian Professor of the Year. Now retired, he continues to write and speak throughout Europe and North America.

Lectures:

• Ayn Rand vs. Friedrich Nietzsche: Who Is the True Individualist?
• Ayn Rand vs. Adam Smith: Who Is the True Founder of Capitalism?
• Ayn Rand and the History and Importance of the Concept of Individual Rights
• Rights—Reason—Reality: Ayn Rand's Answer to the Intellectual Crisis of Our Time
• The Morality of Capitalism

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