Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson
October 23, 2017
When disasters strike – as they have repeatedly across the transatlantic sphere this season – government exercises its most essential function: saving lives. Do these heroic actions validate the ongoing intervention of the federal government into local affairs? Continue Reading...
October 20, 2017
Christian influence over the common law, remembered at last
Christianity planted the seed that germinated into Western thought for two millennia. Yet the contributions of the faith, and its practitioners, remain unsung, underappreciated, and unheralded in an ever-secularizing west – a fact remedied in part by the book Great Christian Jurists in English History, edited by Hill and Helmholz. Continue Reading...
October 19, 2017
Trade and human flourishing: Insights from traditional Christian teaching
After the Brexit referendum, the UK stands at a crossroads. Free from the restrictions of Brussels, Great Britain is free to chart its own destiny. Some hope to use that freedom to undermine free markets, that leaving the EU will alleviate pressure for deregulation or privatization. Continue Reading...
October 17, 2017
A stamp for Che? Guevara ignored economics and human nature
At a minimum, one may see the West’s disconnect from economics reflected in Che Guevara’s immortalized visage, which adorns everything from college dorm rooms to a new stamp issued by the Republic of Ireland. Continue Reading...
October 13, 2017
Sin taxes: The ‘nudge’ that benefits terrorism
Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for describe how even small economic incentives can affect behavior. One of those nudges, high “sin taxes,” has helped finance terrorism and organized crime.
Sin taxes played some role in his winning the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences this week. Continue Reading...
October 11, 2017
The ‘nudge’ that separated families
Richard Thaler, the co-author of Nudge, has won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to behavioral economics. While he decides how best to spend his $1.1 million in prize money, less prosperous families are paying the price for government policies advancing economic paternalism. Continue Reading...
October 10, 2017
Who’s afraid of the robot revolution?
Forecasters disagree over whether the coming wave of robotic automation will usher in a utopia or a wasteland, but none questions a future where automotons increasingly put human beings out of work. Continue Reading...
October 09, 2017
How Christopher Columbus helped bring the School of Salamanca to the Americas
Every Columbus Day gives rise to endless debates and recriminations over the impact of Christopher Columbus’ expedition upon the indigenous peoples of the Americas. No honest observer can dismiss the injustices perpetrated after Columbus’ landing (nor before it), but one benefit of his voyage has been forgotten: It inadvertently exposed the Americas to the School of Salamanca. Continue Reading...
October 06, 2017
Religious liberty in employment marches forward across the Atlantic
On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued two interim rules rolling back the HHS mandate, which requires employers to furnish female employees with contraception, sterilization, and potentially abortifacient drugs for “free.” Continue Reading...
October 05, 2017
The international perils of corruption and cronyism
An international conference recently addressed the dangers of corruption to liberty, economic growth, and human flourishing. Many of these criticisms can be applied to cronyism, often the byproduct of formal corruption. Continue Reading...