Rev. Ben Johnson

Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.

Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson

December 04, 2019

‘Democratic socialist’ policies made the poor poorer: Study

Christians who oppose government intervention are often accused of harboring indifference, or antipathy, for the poor. But an abundance of evidence from two continents shows that welfare state policies actually reduce the wealth of the poor and raise prices, while benefiting the upper-middle class and well-connected corporations at taxpayers’ expense. Continue Reading...
November 26, 2019

Samuel Gregg: Marco Rubio’s ‘soft corporatism won’t help workers’

Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL, touched off a debate about the values of capitalism with his remarks on “common-good capitalism” on November 5 at the Catholic University of America. Today, Acton Institute Director of Research Samuel Gregg offers his assessment at Law & Liberty, where he traces Rubio’s thought to one of the most influential political philosophies in postwar Western European history. Continue Reading...
November 25, 2019

Wealth inequality is a First World problem

As the West has become progressively more interventionist, concern with “income inequality” has been eclipsed by “wealth inequality.” However, that focus betrays a certain blindness to a vital economic reality. Measures of equality and inequality tell us nothing about what really matters: a society’s prosperity or poverty. Continue Reading...
November 25, 2019

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...