Month: June 2016

June 30, 2016

Capitalism, cronyism, and socialism

“Having a heart for the poor isn’t hard. Having a mind for the poor…that’s the challenge.” –Poverty, Inc. This quote from the documentary Poverty, Inc. highlights the reason why so many people are willing to give their money to foreign aid, without necessarily understanding its harmful effects.  Continue Reading...
June 30, 2016

It’s All in Bastiat!

“It’s all in Plato, all in Plato: bless me, what do they teach them at these schools!” – Digory Kirke in C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle The way Professor Kirk feels about Plato is how I feel about Frederick Bastiat. Continue Reading...
June 30, 2016

The immorality of tariffs

The benefits of free trade are vast, and enjoyed throughout the world.  The alternative — trade restricted by protective tariffs and quotas — concentrates benefits to a protected few who profit due to less competition from foreign competitors. Continue Reading...
June 30, 2016

Why the Market Needs the Family

The Family & the Market, an Acton University lecture by Jennifer Roback Morse, uses Christian theology and logic to illustrate unique connections between seemingly unrelated aspects of society, at least to the secular world. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2016

C.S. Lewis and the root of power philosophy

C.S. Lewis is probably best known for his work in children’s literature and Christian apologetics. “Mere Christianity,” “The Problem of Pain” and “The Abolition of Man” are among his most popular works, but he has many more valuable essays regarding truth and Christianity which are not as widely read. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2016

New Acton Commentary: Economics not Great at Orthodox Council

Recently, The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church was held in Crete, culminating in a document titled “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World”.  In the most recent Acton Commentary, research fellow and managing editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality Dylan Pahman comments on the flaws in economic principles and guidelines espoused in the document. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2016

The unintended consequences of clothing donations

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal focuses on the market for the global clothing donation and recycling industry, centering on the trade from the United States to India. One of the most immediately striking elements of the piece are the photographs that accompany it, featuring piles and piles of used clothing on large trucks and people picking through the mountains of fabric taller than they are. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2016

The Costs of Jailing Teens

In early June 2016, Matthew Bergman, 15, allegedly admitted to police that he killed his aunt and stabbed his mother in Davidson County, Tennessee near Nashville. When teens commit crimes in the suburbs or in urban areas, experts are ambivalent about what to with them because of the long-term consequences of youth incarceration. Continue Reading...