Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'John Dalberg-Acton 1st Baron Acton'

Today is Lord Acton’s 188th birthday. His philosophy should guide our next two centuries

Today, January 10, 2022, is Lord Acton’s 188th birthday. This difficult era of a global pandemic, a crisis in institutions, and civil unrest seems a strange time to look back on the life and legacy of a Victorian historian of ideas—but, as Lord Acton himself remarked, “if the Past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and surest emancipation.” Continue Reading...

Today is Lord Acton’s 187th birthday. His philosophy should guide our next two centuries

Sunday January 10, 2021, is Lord Acton’s 187th birthday. This difficult era of a global pandemic, a crisis in institutions, and civil unrest seem strange times indeed to look back on the life and legacy of a Victorian historian of ideas – but, as Lord Acton himself remarked, “if the Past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and surest emancipation.” Continue Reading...

Lord Acton, Sohrab Ahmari, and the fragility of faith

People have been making some drastic changes to their lives to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have taken this challenge as an opportunity to grow in wisdom. Others have been called to learn new skills, and still others are doing whatever they can to keep their bearings in a time of crisis. Continue Reading...

Coronavirus and spontaneous order

As the COVID-19 pandemic affects more and more people across the globe, there are many duties that become plain to us as individuals, communities, and citizens. Many workplaces have innovated in response to these challenges, and churches have looked to the past for inspiration to bring hope to our present. Continue Reading...

Hong Kong demands freedom in landslide election

The citizens of Hong Kong expanded their democratic revolution to the ballot box on Sunday, as pro-democracy parties won control of virtually every local government from pro-Beijing functionaries. Yesterday’s district council elections – the largest in history, with an estimated 71 percent of all registered voters (or 2.94 million of 4.13 million) participating – proved voters’ overwhelming support for the traditional rights enjoyed by the former British protectorate. Continue Reading...

The 101 greatest philosophers of liberty (and Lord Acton is #70)

The Acton Institute’s namesake, Lord Acton, finds himself honored in a new book about the philosophers who cultivated the intellectual seeds that blossomed into Western civilization. Lord John Dalberg-Acton ranks at number 70, not because he had less influence on liberty than 69 others, but because the new collection unfolds in chronological order. Continue Reading...

Why great men are almost always bad men

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is the most famous quote by the English Catholic historian Sir John Dalberg-Acton. But what exactly did he mean by it? That particular quote comes from a letter to Bishop Creighton in which Lord Acton explains that historians should condemn murder, theft, and violence whether committed by an individual, the state, or the Church. Continue Reading...