Elise Hilton

Communications Specialist at Acton Institute. M.A. in World Religions.

Posts by Elise Hilton

September 11, 2012

Appreciating the Role of Subsidiarity

Subsidiarity, the idea that those closest to a problem should be the ones to solve it, plays a particular role in development. However, it can be an idea that is a bit “slippery”: who does what and when? Continue Reading...
September 05, 2012

Dalrymple: British aid to India only fuels corruption

You have to hand it to Theodore Dalrymple: he doesn’t mince words. In an August 2012 piece in The Telegraph, Dalrymple let it be known that British plans to continue international aid to India are a, well…bad idea: …our continued aid to India is nevertheless a manifestation of the national administrative, mental and ethical torpor, as well as incompetence and corruption, that is leading us inexorably to economic and social disaster. Continue Reading...
September 04, 2012

Are slums ever good?

It doesn’t seem that anyone would WANT to live in a slum. But that is not necessarily true, according to Charles Kenny of Foreign Policy. In fact, for many of the world’s poor, a slum can offer opportunities and services not available in rural areas.  Across the world today, thanks to vaccines and underground sewage systems, average life expectancies in big cities are considerably higher than those in the countryside; in sub-Saharan Africa, cities with a population over 1 million have had infant mortality rates one-third lower than those in rural areas. Continue Reading...
August 21, 2012

Equipping Our Country to Overcome Malaise: Review of ‘Defending the Free Market’

Rev. Robert Sirico’s book ‘Defending the Free Market’ has a review in today”s Washington Times. It notes the timely aspects of the book, given the upcoming presidential election: As the presidential race centers on America’s economic woes, President Obama and many of his supporters depict capitalism as a system that allows greedy CEOs and Wall Street insiders to profit atthe expense of the common good. Continue Reading...
August 20, 2012

Samuel Gregg: Why Religious Liberty (and Thomas Becket) Really Matters

Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg, has authored a review of the book, “Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel” by John Guy. In it, Gregg notes the continuing need for vigilance regarding religious liberty: And yet as Islam’s present traumas should remind us, a religion’s capacity to make distinctions between the spiritual and temporal realms makes a difference to the more general growth of freedom. Continue Reading...
August 20, 2012

What is a social entrepreneur and why do they matter?

There is a lot of talk today about “social entrepreneurs.” What is a social entrepreneur, and how does that differ from a business entrepreneur? Why do social entrepeneurs matter? According to the Ashoko website: Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. Continue Reading...
August 13, 2012

Irony of Ironies: Samuel Gregg on Vatican II and Modernity

Samuel Gregg, Acton’s Director of Research, has an article in Crisis Magazine entitled ‘Irony of Ironies: Vatican II Triumphs Over Moribund Modernity‘. Challenging the incoherence of modern thought, Gregg remarks Another characteristic of late-modernity is the manner in which moral arguments are increasingly “settled” by appeals to opinion-polls, choice for its own sake, or that ultimate first-year undergraduate trump-card: “Well, I just feel that X is right.” Continue Reading...
August 02, 2012

HHS Mandate Round-up

The Obamacare HHS provision went into effect yesterday. Here is a round-up of posts with reaction to that. The Day After the HHS Mandate Kicked In Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online Kolesar is a part owner of this family business established in 1961. Continue Reading...