Latest Posts

July 26, 2017

The one virtue personified by all good fathers and entrepreneurs

  It has become passe to accuse defenders of the free market of selfishness and atomization. Even Pope Francis recently denounced “libertarian individualism.” But Mihail Neamtu, in a new essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic, argues that open markets rely on one specific virtue, best exemplified by fathers and entrepreneurs, which requires them to care for others: Over nearly half a century, secular academia, pop culture, and the managerial welfare State have undermined an important moral quality of the West: individual responsibility, rooted in inherent human dignity. Continue Reading...
July 26, 2017

Finding ‘the lost tools of learning’

“If you were to read Dorothy Sayers’ The Lost Tools of Learning and thereafter read the curriculum of Veritas Classical Academy,” says Elizabeth Yeh in this week’s Acton Commentary, “you would find that the “lost tools” have been found in the small town of Marietta, Ohio.” Continue Reading...
July 26, 2017

Radio Free Acton: Jim McGann on the world of think tanks; Upstream on Spiderman: Homecoming

This week on Radio Free Acton, we talk with Jim McGann (senior lecturer of International Studies at the Lauder Institute, director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program and senior fellow, Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania) about the world of think tanks – what they are, what they do well, and where they can improve their effectiveness. Continue Reading...
July 26, 2017

The political implications of bitcoin

Prior to the publication of John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, balanced budgets reflected the received wisdom for governments. By making the case for debt spending in times of recession (and the virtually ignored case for restricting spending in times of growth), Keynes gave political leaders a license to abandon the requirement of balance. Continue Reading...
July 25, 2017

Brexit: From poultry to prosperity

An unusual debate – over chlorinated chickens, of all things – is showing how Brexit and free markets can lead the UK and the developing world to greater flourishing. The debate has been brewing for years. Continue Reading...
July 25, 2017

Evaluating Trump’s tax reforms

In April, the Trump administration provided a broad outline of proposed reforms, including simplifying tax brackets, eliminating the marriage penalty, and creating child care deductions. The National Catholic Register recently published an article on the reforms, focusing on its effect on the family. Continue Reading...
July 25, 2017

New teaching program aims to revive Catholic education

For the past decade, Catholic education has been on the decline. Data from the 2016-2017 National Catholic Education Association Report shows that since 2006, the number of Catholic schools has decreased by 14 percent and the number of students attending Catholic school has decreased by 17.6 percent. Continue Reading...