This year marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. Yet, given how far it has drifted from its founding political ideals, is America still worth celebrating?
In his opening address at the 2026 Objectivist Summer Conference, “America at 250: What Do We Have to Celebrate?” Gregory Salmieri argues that the answer is yes. America’s founding made possible a distinctive way of life centered on independent judgment and productive achievement, one that endures and continues to benefit Americans today.
Drawing on history, Salmieri traces the emergence of this way of life and argues that Ayn Rand’s conception of the producer best captures the ideal implicit in it. He maintains that America is still “the country of the producer,” citing advances in artificial intelligence, energy, spaceflight, and supersonic flight. However, Salmieri stresses, the culture behind these achievements remains more felt than understood, leaving the country vulnerable. Celebrating America, he concludes, requires understanding and living up to the principles that made this way of life possible.
Among the topics covered:
America’s crisis of national self-esteem
The Enlightenment roots of America’s founding principles
The producer as the ideal implicit in the American way of life
The continuing vitality and vulnerability of America’s culture of production
Americanism as an achievement rather than a birthright
This talk was recorded live on June 26 in New Orleans as part of the 2026 Objectivist Summer Conference and is available on The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast stream. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here.
This is a good talk.