work – Acton Institute PowerBlog

May 27, 2020

Acton Line podcast: Is it time for a universal basic income?

For over two years, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang campaigned across the country, building a coalition along the political spectrum. The main promise driving Yang’s campaign was his “freedom dividend,” a guaranteed income of $1,000 per month for every American citizen. Continue Reading...

April 21, 2020

COVID-19 reminds us of the humanizing aspect of work

With “shelter-in-place” orders across the country during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, most employees are not allowed to enter their work places unless their work is considered “essential” by their state and local governments. Continue Reading...

April 10, 2020

COVID-19 reminds us work is not just about money

We’re starting to have serious discussions about how and when to get our economy moving again. But like the medical response to the COVID-19 virus, the prospective economic cures are tentative, often conflicting and invariably contentious. Continue Reading...

October 07, 2019

Does God hate Mondays?

Garfield became one of the most beloved cartoon characters of his time by saying what so many Americans felt: “I hate Mondays.” Indeed, there is biblical evidence that God did not view Mondays as “good” … and Jewish commentators say this has insights about our work, participating in God’s creation, and even our nation’s economic system. Continue Reading...

September 30, 2019

Giuseppe Franco to Deliver the 2019 Calihan Lecture: ‘Religion, Society, and the Market’

Mark your calendar! As announced earlier this year, Professor Giuseppe Franco is the recipient of the 2019 Novak Award. In the upcoming 19th annual Calihan Lecture, Franco will examine the social philosophy and economic ethics of Wilhelm Röpke, 19th century economist said to be one of the spiritual fathers of the social market economy. Continue Reading...

September 04, 2019

A more robust vision of labor and solidarity

In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Your work is more than your job,” I try to provide a broader perspective on the dynamics of a proper “work-life balance.” My main point, as the title indicates, is that our paid work is just a part–an important part no doubt, but just a part–of our “work,” understood as the service that we are called to do for others. Continue Reading...

June 28, 2019

Economics and the social nature of the person

At the center of the economy are human persons. Economics must first be a human discipline before it can be a technical one. One of the essential characteristics of the human person is that we are social beings. Continue Reading...

August 30, 2017

Toward an economics of neighborly love

As a child growing up in rural poverty, Tom Nelson was constantly confronted by material lack and the social shame that sometimes comes with it, instilling an acute sense that economics mattered. Continue Reading...

August 10, 2017

Brains and brawn: Does manual labor belong in the modern economy?

As economic prosperity continues to spread, and as the American economy completes its transition into the age of information, manual labor is increasingly cast down in the popular imagination. When our youth navigate and graduate from high school, they receive a range of pressures to attend four-year colleges and pursue various “white-collar” careers, whether in finance or law or tech or the academy. Continue Reading...

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