Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Vocation

July 11, 2018

The future of the family shouldn’t be shaped by economic pessimism

Birthrates across the Western world are in free-fall, with more and more adults opting for fewer and fewer kids (if any at all), and making such decisions later and later in life. Continue Reading...

June 28, 2018

What conservatives and progressives get wrong about civil society

In the wake of modernity, we’ve seen in an increasing divide between individual and state—a simultaneous acceleration in both self-exultation and blind deference to the power and might of “collective action.” The result has been a cultural amnesia regarding the middle layers of civil society. Continue Reading...

June 21, 2018

The life of the mind in God’s economy of all things

In his latest book, Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker argues for a renewed dedication to science, reason, and humanism to guide us down the path to progress. Pinker’s philosophy of life has plenty to offer, as well as plenty to leave by the wayside. Continue Reading...

June 19, 2018

Is the gig economy really reshaping our work?

We continue to hear doomsday prophecies about the future of work, with much of the fear focused on the recent growth of the so-called “gig economy”—a swirling sphere of temporary, flexible, and increasingly independent work. Continue Reading...

June 18, 2018

Incredibles 2: Making superheroes great again

I saw Incredibles 2 over the Father’s Day weekend, and just like its predecessor, there’s a lot to ponder beneath the surface of this animated film. In the real world we’ve had to wait 14 years, but the sequel picks up basically where the original left off. Continue Reading...

June 14, 2018

If work is our ‘modern religion,’ leisure is not the cure

Americans are known for working longer hours and taking less vacation time than their counterparts in the industrialized world. In response, many are quick to decry this fact as evidence of age-old desperation and newfound decadence. Continue Reading...

June 08, 2018

The world is getting better, but the Enlightenment (alone) won’t save us

Global poverty is on the decline. Innovation and exploration continue to accelerate. Freedom and opportunity are expanding across the world. Meanwhile, political pundits and chin-stroking “experts” continue to preach of our impending doom. Continue Reading...

June 05, 2018

How eschatology transforms our economic action

As the church continues to navigate the challenges of the modern economy, we’ve seen a renewed recognition of the “earthiness” of our God-given callings—embracing the mundane and material aspects of our daily work and rejecting the “sacred-secular divide.” Yet in our earnest efforts to become more “earthly minded” for heavenly good, we face new temptations toward a different sort of lopsidedness. Continue Reading...

May 31, 2018

Want to ‘change the world’? Embrace the glories of economic scale

As the latest crop of college graduates enters the workforce, many are coming fully loaded with grandiose plans for “social transformation,” “giving back to their communities,” and “making a difference.” Unfortunately, such phrases have become slippery slogans based on a cultural imagination that is far too narrow in its basic assumptions. Continue Reading...

May 02, 2018

Beyond vocational hierarchies: Evangelism, social justice, and Christian mission

Throughout my conservative evangelical upbringing, I was routinely encouraged to follow the call of the “five-fold ministry,” whether from the pulpit in weekly church services or the prayer altars of summer youth camps. Continue Reading...

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