Dylan Pahman

Dylan Pahman is a research fellow at the Acton Institute, where he serves as executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality. He earned his MTS in historical theology from Calvin Theological Seminary. In addition to his work as an editor, Dylan has authored several peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, essays, and one book: Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society (Acton Institute, 2017). He has also lectured on a wide variety of topics, including Orthodox Christian social thought, the history of Christian monastic enterprise, the Reformed statesman and theologian Abraham Kuyper, and academic publishing, among others.

Posts by Dylan Pahman

November 15, 2012

Is the Bail System Inherently Unjust?

Prepping for the joint Acton/Liberty Fund sponsored conference that begins tonight: Religion & Liberty: Acton and Tocqueville, part of Acton’s Liberty and Markets program, I came across the following thought-provoking quote from Alexis de Tocqueville: The civil and criminal legislation of the Americans knows only two means of action: prison or bail. Continue Reading...
November 05, 2012

Wisdom & Wonder & Interdisciplinary Studies

I was recently invited to write an essay on the importance of interdisciplinary studies for the Calvin Seminary student publication Kerux. In my essay “The Truth is One,” I reflect on the famous quote of Abraham Kuyper, [N]o single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: “Mine!” Continue Reading...
October 22, 2012

On Thrift and Generosity

Recently at Big Questions Online, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead answers the question, “Does a culture of thrift cultivate generosity?” with a solid yes, documenting the history of thrift and generosity in the United States and their subsequent and unfortunate decline in recent years: By the 1960s, however, the coalition of national organizations promoting thrift ceased their activities. Continue Reading...
October 19, 2012

ResearchLinks – 10.19.12

Working Paper: “The Eurozone Debt Crisis — The Options Now” Buchheit, Lee C. and Gulati, G. Mitu SSRN Working Papers, October 8, 2012 The Eurozone debt crisis is entering its third year. Continue Reading...
October 17, 2012

The Market Outlook for the Facts of the Matter

With two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate already behind us, fact-checkers across the nation must be pulling their hair out. A brief survey of factcheck.org sheds some important light on the many claims and figures that have been tossed around in the last two weeks, revealing little concern from either ticket for the facts of the matter. Continue Reading...
October 16, 2012

Are Protectionism and Patriotism Incompatible Principles?

This morning at Ethika Politika, I argue that “acting primarily for the sake of national interest in international affairs runs contrary to a nation’s highest ideals.” In particular, I draw on the thought of Vladimir Solovyov, who argued that, morally speaking, national interest alone cannot be the supreme standard of international action since the highest aspirations of each nation (e.g. Continue Reading...
October 01, 2012

Counting the Profit of a Third Party Choice

Joe Carter recently highlighted the discussion at Ethika Politika, the journal of the Center for Morality in Public Life, about the value of (not) voting, particularly the suggestion by Andrew Haines that in some cases there is a moral duty not to vote. Continue Reading...
September 26, 2012

Societal Development and the Kalamazoo Promise

In a recent New York Times article (here), Ted C. Fishman offers and in-depth feature on the Kalamazoo Promise: Back in November 2005, when this year’s graduates were in sixth grade, the superintendent of Kalamazoo’s public schools, Janice M. Continue Reading...
September 14, 2012

ResearchLinks – 09.14.12

Working Paper: “Top Ten Myths of Medicare” Richard L. Kaplan (University of Illinois College of Law), Illinois Program in Law, Behavior and Social Science Paper No. LBSS13-02; Illinois Public Law Research Paper No. Continue Reading...