Dylan Pahman

Dylan Pahman, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Acton Institute and founder and president of the St. Nicholas Cabasilas Institute. He is author of The Kingdom of God and the Common Good: Orthodox Social Thought (Ancient Faith, 2025) and Foundations of a Free Society & Virtuous Society (Acton, 2017). With John Pinheiro, he is also coeditor of The Christian Roots of American Liberty (Acton, forthcoming in 2026), a sourcebook charting the prehistory of American founding principles through the ancient, medieval, and early modern worlds.

Posts by Dylan Pahman

March 04, 2019

Don’t write off young ‘socialists’

In his State of the Union address this year, president Trump warned of the dangers of socialism. But is there any substance to that worry? Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a self-declared socialist, has made headlines with her Green New Deal proposal. Continue Reading...
February 18, 2019

Who are ‘our poor’ in the immigration debate?

At First Things last week, in his essay “Our Poor,” economist Andrew M. Yuengert reflected upon his 2004 Acton monograph Inhabiting the Land, questioning whether his economic analysis (that immigration is a net gain for both immigrants and natives) needs more nuance in the light of our current political climate: Continue Reading...
February 11, 2019

The false promise of an ‘ultramillionaire’ tax

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is running for president in 2020, and she has gained attention for proposing an “ultramillionaire” tax: a 2 percent tax on households with a net worth over $50 million and an additional 1 percent on households worth over $1 billion. Continue Reading...
August 29, 2018

Harry Potter: Venture capitalist

I recently read the first Harry Potter novel to my six-year-old son Brendan, then watched the film with him. It was all the fun I hoped it would be: he is just the right age for it — excitedly asking what is going to happen next and jumping and cheering at the end. Continue Reading...
August 02, 2018

New Issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality (Vol. 21, No. 1)

The newest issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality has been published online and print copies are forthcoming. This issue is a theme issue on “The Role of Religion in a Free Society,” with guest editors Richard Epstein and Mario Rizzo of New York University School of Law, and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School. Continue Reading...
May 07, 2018

Don’t save Barnes & Noble!

First it happened to Toys ‘R’ Us, but we did nothing (except complain). Now it may be happening to Barnes & Noble, and we will do nothing again. (Nothing except complain, that is. Continue Reading...