Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Economics

July 11, 2013

Global Economy Stinks: Is Anyone Paying Attention?

It’s no secret that the economy of the European Union is, ahem, struggling. But Vikas Bajaj says the global economy is worse than anyone seems to want to acknowledge: In a new report released on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund says that China, India, Brazil, Mexico and other developing countries are growing more slowly than previously thought. Continue Reading...
July 10, 2013

Made to Give and to Receive

In this week’s commentary, “Made to Trade,” I explore the natural dispositions that human beings have to produce, exchange, consume, and distribute material goods. If you’ve ever noticed that a sandwich made by someone else tastes better than one you make yourself, you’ll know what I’m getting at: “Recognizing the satisfaction that comes from such a gift of service from another person illustrates an other-directed disposition that is a deep and constitutive part of human nature.” Continue Reading...
July 10, 2013

What is a Baptist Political Economy?

How should Protestant Christians think about faith, work, and economics? To help answer that question, the Acton Institute commissioned a series of primers about political economy and the church from four faith traditions: Baptist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, and Reformed (forthcoming). Continue Reading...
July 09, 2013

Sobornost and Subsidiarity in Orthodox Christian Social Thought

Today at Ethika Politika I offer an assessment of the phenomenon of globalization from the perspective of Orthodox Christian anthropology. In particular, I focus on the concept of sobornost in the thought of the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, writing, Solovyov’s account of the moral progress of humanity through globalization is rooted in the Russian idea of sobornost’, which Christopher Marsh and Daniel P. Continue Reading...
July 03, 2013

A Job-Killing Obamacare Mandate Gets Delayed

Both the working poor and small businesses got some welcome, albeit temporary, news yesterday: the Treasury Department announced it is delaying what’s called the “employer mandate” under the Affordable Care Act until January of 2015. Continue Reading...
June 28, 2013

The Source of Future Wealth: Babies

Would your life be better off if only half as many people had lived before you? That’s the intriguing question Ramez Naam asks in his new book, The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet. Continue Reading...
June 27, 2013

Why Superman is Bad for the Economy

In the new movie Man of Steel, Superman engages in a fight with his fellow aliens from Krypton that causes significant damage to Metropolis. Disaster expert Charles Watson estimates the costs of the physical damage done to the city to be about $2 trillion. Continue Reading...
June 26, 2013

When It Comes To Messaging, The Left Gets It (And We Don’t)

The passage of Obamacare in 2010 remains one of the most contentious legislative battles in recent memory. It was such an “attractive” bill that in order to garner the final few votes needed for its victory President Obama had to promise certain senators that their states would be exempt from its regulatory measures. Continue Reading...