Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Search results for "Restoring all things"
November 23, 2022

Avalon Is Thanksgiving for America

Barry Levinson was one of the most successful directors in America around 1990, when he made Avalon, an immigrant Thanksgiving movie trying to sum up the transformation of the American family in the 20th century. Continue Reading...
September 07, 2022

Edmund Burke Can Still Inspire the American Right

It’s no secret that the modern American conservative movement is divided today. Issues like the role of government, the place of the nation-state, and the extent to which free markets should prevail in economic life have become major points of fracture across the right that seem unlikely to be resolved soon. Continue Reading...
February 24, 2022

Licorice Pizza is the L.A. fairy tale we didn’t know we needed

My series on cinematic nostalgia continues—after Wes Anderson’s Francophilia, Ridley Scott’s Italian farce, and Spielberg’s Puerto Rican fiasco, here’s a California story: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ninth feature film, Licorice Pizza, the only Hollywood movie made last year with some reason to be remembered. Continue Reading...
May 26, 2021

Why capitalism is worth conserving

Amid the waves of populism and protectionism sweeping across the American Right, capitalism has become a favorite target of many prominent conservatives, blamed for the decline of religion, the demise of the family, and the erosion of civil society. Continue Reading...
May 14, 2020

R.R. Reno, masks, and the vacuity of social media

First Things magazine is no stranger to controversy. In recent years, it has been increasingly critical­ of the market economy, made bizarre defenses of kidnapping in the guise of a book review, and become a clearing house of contrarian and moralistic perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading...
December 19, 2019

Christmas consumerism: Spending for the glory of God?

The Christmas shopping season is well underway—and with it, a peculiar blend of hyper-generosity and hyper-consumerism. Indeed, while many celebrate the social and spiritual glories of gift-giving and merriment, others are quick to warn about the steady creep of materialism and self-indulgence. Continue Reading...