Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Samuel Gregg on Pope Francis and radical capitalism

In a recent speech delivered to a gathering of the Roman round table of The Global Foundation at the Vatican, Pope Francis addressed economics. Specifically, he suggested that a capitalist ideology which is unconcerned about the marginalized has run rampant across the world.  Continue Reading...

Subsidies or tax breaks, both are cronyism

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump along with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is the current governor of Indiana, struck a deal with United Technologies, the parent company of Carrier, in order to save over 1,000 jobs from being sent from Indiana to Mexico.  Continue Reading...

How Donald Trump’s chief strategist thinks about capitalism and Christianity

Soon after winning the election, President-elect Donald Trump created waves of controversy by naming Steve Bannon, his former campaign CEO, as chief strategist and Senior Counselor in the new administration. Yet while Bannon’s harsh and opportunistic brand of political combat and questionable role as a catalyst for the alt-right are well-documented and rightly critiqued, his personal worldview is a bit more blurry.  Continue Reading...

Where Billionaire Crony Capitalists Live

It’s never easy becoming a billionaire, but the path to achieving a 10-figure level of wealth is smoother when you have the government as a business partner. Crony capitalism is a general term for the range of activities in which particular individuals or businesses in a market economy receive government-granted privileges over their customers or competitors. Continue Reading...