economic freedom – Page 4 – Religion & Liberty Online

June 30, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 12 of 12 — Beyond Marxism

[Part 1 is here.] That most colossal blunder of Marxist experiments, the Soviet Union, collapsed more than twenty years ago, and yet Marxist thinking still penetrates the warp and woof of contemporary culture, so much so that it’s easy even for avowedly anti-Marxist conservatives to think from within the box of Marxism when considering the problem of cultural decay. Continue Reading...

June 27, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 11 of 12 — The Challenges

[Part 1 is here.] Economic freedom does generate certain challenges. The wealth that free economies are so effective at creating brings with it temptation. Wealth can tempt us to depend on our riches rather than on God. Continue Reading...

June 25, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 8 of 12 — Capitalism and Cronyism Confused

[Part 1 is here.] In his case against capitalism, Wendell Berry argues that the average person not only is anxious because he depends upon so many other people for his wellbeing (truckers, utility companies, etc.) Continue Reading...

June 24, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 7 of 12 — What have the capitalists ever done for Wendell Berry!

[Part 1 is here]. In Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the ring leader of a little band of first-century Jewish rebels asks, “What have the Romans ever done for us?” Continue Reading...

June 23, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 6 of 12 — The Distributist Alternative

Part 1 is here.] An economically free society doesn’t have to be hyper-utilitarian, materialistic and banal; and yet, here we are, living in a capitalist age marked by these very features. Continue Reading...

June 18, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 5 of 12 — Capitalism from Christendom

[Part 1 is here.] A common reading of Western history holds that the principles of the free economy grew out of the secular Enlightenment and had little to do with Christianity. Continue Reading...

June 17, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 4 of 12 — The Crunchy Con Critique

[Part 1 is here.] The free economy frees entrepreneurs to create new wealth for themselves and others, which brings us to the issue of consumption. In his book Crunchy Cons, conservative author Rod Dreher describes consumerism this way: “Consumerism fetishizes individual choice, and sees its expansion as unambiguous progress. Continue Reading...

June 16, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 3 of 12 — What Economic Freedom Is and Isn’t

[Part 1 is here.] Even a cursory look at the annual list of the freest and least free economies in the world suggests a strong correlation between economic freedom and the prosperity of its citizens, including its poorest citizens. Continue Reading...

May 01, 2014

Review – Faith, State, and the Economy: Perspectives from East and West

On Tuesday, April 29, the Acton Institute hosted the conference Faith, State, and the Economy: perspectives from East and West at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. This conference was the first in a five-part international conference series – One and Indivisible? Continue Reading...

April 19, 2014

Who Cares about Democracy in Hong Kong?

Not the Chinese government, which should come as no shock. But what about the United States? As this Weekly Standard blog post points out, two prominent Hong Kong democracy advocates recently visited Washington in an attempt to secure American support for political reform there, but to little avail. Continue Reading...

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