Economic Freedom

June 24, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 7 of 12 — What have the capitalists ever done for Wendell Berry!

[Part 1 is here]. In Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the ring leader of a little band of first-century Jewish rebels asks, “What have the Romans ever done for us?” Continue Reading...

June 23, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 6 of 12 — The Distributist Alternative

Part 1 is here.] An economically free society doesn’t have to be hyper-utilitarian, materialistic and banal; and yet, here we are, living in a capitalist age marked by these very features. Continue Reading...

June 19, 2014

Fr. Raymond de Souza on the Unity of Liberties

Writing for Canada’s National Post, Acton University lecturer Fr. Raymond de Souza calls our attention to the 25th anniversary this year of the defeat of communism and observes that “there are new questions about the unity of liberties.” Continue Reading...

June 18, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 5 of 12 — Capitalism from Christendom

[Part 1 is here.] A common reading of Western history holds that the principles of the free economy grew out of the secular Enlightenment and had little to do with Christianity. Continue Reading...

June 17, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 4 of 12 — The Crunchy Con Critique

[Part 1 is here.] The free economy frees entrepreneurs to create new wealth for themselves and others, which brings us to the issue of consumption. In his book Crunchy Cons, conservative author Rod Dreher describes consumerism this way: “Consumerism fetishizes individual choice, and sees its expansion as unambiguous progress. Continue Reading...

June 16, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 3 of 12 — What Economic Freedom Is and Isn’t

[Part 1 is here.] Even a cursory look at the annual list of the freest and least free economies in the world suggests a strong correlation between economic freedom and the prosperity of its citizens, including its poorest citizens. Continue Reading...

June 16, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 2 of 12 — The Great Society

[Part 1 of 12 here] In the 1950s and ‘60s, blacks were winning the civil rights they should have had all along, but in the midst of this positive trend, increasingly aggressive minimum wage regulations and extensive welfare programs were beginning to displace a comparatively free market of labor and private charity. Continue Reading...

June 13, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 1 of 12

The West has made some remarkable steps forward culturally in the past several generations, as, for instance, in the areas of civil rights (the unborn being a notable exception), race relations, and cooperation among Christians of different traditions. Continue Reading...

June 12, 2014

Calvin Coolidge at Acton University

Next week at Acton University I am giving a lecture titled, “Calvin Coolidge and his Foundational Views on Government.” One of the great things about studying Coolidge is that he is extremely accessible. Continue Reading...

June 11, 2014

David Brat’s Views on God, Mammon, and Economics

Last night, economics professor David Brat surprised everyone in defeating House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) in a primary challenge for Virginia’s 7th congressional district. Predictably, the media is now a-buzz about Brat, rapidly catching up on his beliefs, his plans, and so on. Continue Reading...

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