Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'limited government'

April 29, 2026

The Millennia-Long History of American Liberty

One of the first hurdles in designing a course is assigning readings. Digital databases, book scanning, and ebooks have empowered teachers to assemble any combination of chapters, journals, and primary sources, but having so many choices can be as paralyzing as it is liberating. Continue Reading...
March 25, 2026

Harvey Mansfield’s Rational Control

It’s difficult to avoid terms such as “legendary” and “distinguished” when referring to Harvey Mansfield’s long career at Harvard University. Of course, his reputation is based on more than his famous resistance to grade inflation or his barbed criticisms of Harvard. Continue Reading...
June 08, 2022

Boris Johnson: The great survivor?

The vote is in. Boris survived—or did he? The 359 members of the Parliamentary Conservative Party voted by 211 to 148 that they had confidence in Boris Johnson as the leader of the party and prime minister of the United Kingdom. Continue Reading...
October 23, 2018

Rev. Tim Keller on the myth of omnicompetence

One of the dangers of forming a modern identity around achievement is what Rev. Tim Keller calls “the success-failure whiplash.” Succeeding in one area can cause people to believe they have the skills and inner qualities to do anything, and everything, alone – that they are omnicompetent. Continue Reading...
July 21, 2015

The Greatest Country in the World: What is it to You?

I believe that greatness, if defined by power, economic and cultural influence, requires us to acknowledge that the United States of America was once the greatest country in the world. However, as it ceases to lead the world in these areas – as one survey after another shows – and other countries take its place, it can no longer be considered the greatest. Continue Reading...
August 13, 2014

The politicization of life and death and what it means

Many people once viewed politics merely as a form entertainment. We could all collectively laugh at the likes of Edwin Edwards even if he was notoriously corrupt. Many folks in Louisiana embraced the former governor for his antics and not merely for his ability to fix every problem in the state. Continue Reading...
June 12, 2014

Calvin Coolidge at Acton University

Next week at Acton University I am giving a lecture titled, “Calvin Coolidge and his Foundational Views on Government.” One of the great things about studying Coolidge is that he is extremely accessible. Continue Reading...
April 30, 2014

C.S. Lewis on the Progressive’s Regress

Over at Christianity Today Art Lindsley has a good piece on how C.S. Lewis’s support for true progress led him to oppose Progressivism: Some of Lewis’s most pointed criticisms of “progress” came when he wrote on economics and politics, even though he did not often comment on these topics. Continue Reading...