Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.
Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson
January 19, 2018
The government of Poland is part of the new surge of populism, openly defying the European Union on numerous policy fronts and rebuffing calls for an “ever-closer union.” So, why did its prime minister recently raise the possibility of adopting the euro?
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January 17, 2018
“On January 3, during his first press event of the new year, French President Emmanuel Macron presented a proposal intended to ‘protect the democratic life’ of France from ‘fake news,’” writes Marcin Rzegocki in this week’s Acton Commentary.
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January 16, 2018
For too long, the West’s policy toward Africa could be summed up in two words: foreign aid. Somehow, temporary funds transfers – many of which never reach their recipient country and end up in the pockets of well-connected Western professionals – would solve structural development issues.
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January 15, 2018
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, but the civil rights leader is a figure of worldwide significance. He learned the principles of non-violence from those resisting the British empire, received the Nobel Peace Prize in Stockholm, and is one of the “twentieth century martyrs” whose statue sits atop the great west door of Westminster Cathedral (alongside Maximilian Kolbe, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and others).
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January 12, 2018
While trying to teach the most consequential thoughts of West civilization to undergraduates, C. Ivan Spencer hit upon a unique idea: What if they were written in tweets instead of tomes?
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January 09, 2018
Intellectuals like Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk increasingly worry about an apocalyptic world awaiting in the not-too-distant future, when automation replaces all human work (and, in time, artificial intelligence displaces humanity).
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January 08, 2018
As they shiver through the season, this frosty winter reminds Americans and Europeans how much they have in common. However, more and more Europeans find themselves out in the cold thanks to environmentalist policies that have caused too many to be unable to afford adequate home heating this winter.
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January 05, 2018
For the first time in its history, the EU has invoked Article 7, a provision of its constitution intended to censure and punish a member nation for violating European values. Just before Christmas, the European Commission took the first step in the process against Poland over a series of laws taken by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) that it says threatens the independence of the judiciary.
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January 04, 2018
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard boasts that the protests that have blanketed the nation for the last week have died down – and, with them, at least 22 Iranians demanding better economic conditions and civil liberties.
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January 02, 2018
Every year’s end means that people of faith will be deluged with two things: wishes for a Happy New Year and appeals for charities of every conceivable variety. Americans gave $390 billion to charity in 2016, nearly one-third of it in the month of December.
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