International Affairs

July 26, 2017

The one virtue personified by all good fathers and entrepreneurs

  It has become passe to accuse defenders of the free market of selfishness and atomization. Even Pope Francis recently denounced “libertarian individualism.” But Mihail Neamtu, in a new essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic, argues that open markets rely on one specific virtue, best exemplified by fathers and entrepreneurs, which requires them to care for others: Over nearly half a century, secular academia, pop culture, and the managerial welfare State have undermined an important moral quality of the West: individual responsibility, rooted in inherent human dignity. Continue Reading...

July 25, 2017

Brexit: From poultry to prosperity

An unusual debate – over chlorinated chickens, of all things – is showing how Brexit and free markets can lead the UK and the developing world to greater flourishing. The debate has been brewing for years. Continue Reading...

July 24, 2017

The most effective way to reduce child poverty

A vital fact lies buried in the recent IFS study on income inequality: the most effective way to alleviate poverty. This was true even though the IFS study, and UK government statistics, don’t actually measure poverty but rather inequality. Continue Reading...

July 21, 2017

The kind of ‘tolerance’ the West needs

In the modern lexicon, “tolerance” stands alongside “equality” as an unquestioned and absolute good, a cornerstone of transatlantic values. True tolerance has brought the West unparalleled prosperity. But what kind of “tolerance” should we advance, and what other cultural concepts must support it? Continue Reading...

July 18, 2017

Why did medieval monks preserve pagan literature?

Many educated people – though perhaps not enough – know that it was medieval monks who preserved classical culture. Between their daily offices, the monks huddled in their cells by candlelight to copy the great cultural artifacts of Western civilization. Continue Reading...

July 17, 2017

The surprising, economic reason 157,000 British children were never born

Students of the free market say that economics is merely human action. Economists also understand that policies have unintended consequences – such as reducing the number of children born in a nation. Continue Reading...

July 14, 2017

Can Christ and Burke solve the ‘European intifada’?

  As Donald Trump stood alongside Emmanuel Macron at a parade on Friday, they commemorated more than Bastille Day. The presidents of the U.S. and France burst into applause as a marching band paid tribute to the 86 victims of last July 14th’s Nice terrorist attack. Continue Reading...

July 11, 2017

Macron’s African statement ignores human ingenuity

A French media outlet has captured an otherwise unnoticed comment from French President Emmanuel Macron that Africa is overpopulated. When asked about a possible “Marshall Plan for Africa,” Macron listed among the continent’s current problems the need for “demographic transition,” lamenting the fact that some African “countries still have seven to eight children per woman.” Continue Reading...

July 10, 2017

Pulling out of Paris agreement is a ‘market distortion’: European leader

The G20 summit in Hamburg has come to an end, and the dominant story remains America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. It’s been less reported that some European leaders have implied that the EU should take economic revenge on the U.S. Continue Reading...