Politicians have given us many occasions to be critical of their actions. Politics, like all sausage making, is rarely palatable.
Nevertheless, Aristotle observed that man is by nature a political animal, drawn into association with others in order to satisfy inherently social needs. Continue Reading...
Proposals for “economic stimulus”, the use of monetary or fiscal policy to stimulate the economy, have become a permanent fixture of our politics.
President Joe Biden recently proposed $1.8 trillion dollars in additional “economic stimulus” in the form of the American Families Plan. Continue Reading...
Recently in Grand Rapids an old idea served as a catalyst for a new community event, the “Really Really Free Market.” This “market” was open to guests where they are free to give and take a range of goods provided by community members and organizations free of charge:
Organizer MC Camp said the community-building event feels too good to be true to many, but represents local generosity. Continue Reading...
Ideas are inherently social. Teaching and learning, talking and listening, and all forms of salutary social change are cooperative. As the prophets teach, “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” Continue Reading...
On Monday, a grim milestone was passed: 500,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in just over a year since the arrival of the pandemic in the United States. President Joe Biden has ordered the American flag to be flown at half-staff on public buildings and grounds until sunset on Friday. Continue Reading...
Imagine a world where you log into your social media account and find pictures of babies, discussion of ideas, notifications from community groups with which you are involved, updates from family and friends, and cat memes. Continue Reading...
On Monday, the automaker Tesla Inc. announced that it had acquired $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and may accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment in the near future. The business intelligence software company MicroStrategy began purchasing large amounts of Bitcoin last August. Continue Reading...
Sunday January 10, 2021, is Lord Acton’s 187th birthday. This difficult era of a global pandemic, a crisis in institutions, and civil unrest seem strange times indeed to look back on the life and legacy of a Victorian historian of ideas – but, as Lord Acton himself remarked, “if the Past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and surest emancipation.” Continue Reading...
The Acton Institute’s Mini-Grants on Free Market Economics: Research & Teaching program continues for the upcoming 2021 academic year, and the application is now live. This grant program is intended to enhance the effectiveness of research and teaching about market economics for faculty at colleges, universities, and seminaries in the United States and Canada. Continue Reading...
Much of our national debate around the COVID-19 pandemic and the appropriate government response to it has been framed as opposition between those who say they follow “science” and those who do not. Continue Reading...
