Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Technology

May 29, 2019

Aldi and the virtues of ‘brutal efficiency’

In recent years, we’ve witnessed a food revolution of sorts, leading to expansive consumer choice and an increasing emphasis on healthy or specialty foods that are locally and ethically sourced. In turn, a flurry of grocery chains have capitalized on such trends, with some stuffing their aisles with countless brands as others focus on “socially conscious” goods at luxury prices. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: The battle for 5G

Referencing Newt Gingrich’s recent report regarding 5G technology, Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, commented this morning in Forbes on the technology and its relation to free markets. Chafuen argues that a new, less centralized approach to wireless networking would be a source of great benefit both for individual consumers and for the United States on the world stage. Continue Reading...
April 10, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Think tanks and social media

Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, writes today in Forbes with his annual analysis of think tanks’ use of social media. While social media stats shouldn’t be our only or even primary measure of success, no one can deny the prevalence of social networks in today’s world, and many groups expend considerable energy in their efforts in this field. Continue Reading...
April 05, 2019

The reason women don’t enter STEM professions revealed

Conventional wisdom believes three things: Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); this is largely due to sexual discrimination; and the government must redress this imbalance. But multiple studies have discovered a much different reason behind the STEM gender gap. Continue Reading...
April 04, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Aquinas and Bitcoin

Yesterday in Forbes, Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, analyzed moral questions of cryptocurrency in light of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologiae. It is an application of centuries-old thought to a very recent phenomenon—but of course, as the article seeks to show, moral considerations are perennial even as their particular objects change. Continue Reading...
March 19, 2019

The EU’s self-defeating digital tax

In today’s global economy, a company that provides a successful product or service can earn billions of dollars a year. Governments steal a greedy glance and ask how they can get their “fair share” of this money. Continue Reading...
February 11, 2019

A rule of thumb for the Green New Deal

I have a couple rules of thumb that I hope help me cut through some of the noise around various policy proposals and political debates. One has to do with budgetary reform (a topic I covered at some length last week): If the plan doesn’t engage with entitlements, then it isn’t really a serious proposal. Continue Reading...
July 12, 2018

Can Bitcoin solve the classic problems of money?

The digital currency Bitcoin has not only attracted a lot of interest from investors, but it has raised some intriguing economic and financial questions. Economists and other theorists have long grappled with problems such as inflation, counterfeiting or money laundering. Continue Reading...