Acton Commentary: Reading it Wrong – Again

Can you discern a nation’s spirit, even its economic genius, from the literature it produces? That’s long been a pastime of literary critics, including those who frequently see the “original sins” of Puritanism and capitalism in the stony heart of Americans. Continue Reading...

Health Care Rights, and Wrongs

A new commentary from Dr. Donald Condit. Also see the Acton Health Care resource page. +++++++++ Health Care Rights, and Wrongs By Dr. Donald P. Condit As Speaker Nancy Pelosi promoted passage of Sunday’s health care reform bill, she invoked Catholic support. Continue Reading...

Joseph E. Stiglitz: An Economist in Freefall

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I review a new book by economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. Text follows: A rare growth industry following the 2008 financial crisis has been financial crisis commentaries. Continue Reading...

Latin America: After the Left

This week’s Acton commentary: The left is in trouble in Latin America. Sebastián Piñera’s recent election as Chile’s first elected center-right president in decades owes much to the inability of the center-left coalition that governed Chile after 1990 to rejuvenate itself. Continue Reading...

Forgive us our deficits

This week’s Acton commentary: As 2010 unfolds, many countries are confronting a public deficit crisis of disturbing proportions. Since 2008, countless politicians have underscored that a cavalier attitude to debt on the part of Main St. Continue Reading...

Oh, Give Me Something To Remember You By

The Acton Institute’s film “The Birth of Freedom” is a treat to watch again and again. But there is a rather dramatic effect towards the end of the film when the relationship of The Cathedral at Notre Dame and the cubist Grand Arche, located in the Parisienne arrondissement La Defense but dedicated to humanitarian “ideals” rather than military victories, are contrasted with musical and cinematic styling that borders on being overdone. Continue Reading...