Political Culture

February 28, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Fighting socialism in the US today

Taking inspiration from a recent CNN town hall which featured Bernie Sanders, Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, offers some pointers in Forbes on how to argue against socialism. Such arguments can’t be reduced to slogans or simple black-and-white characterizations, and we should be wary of underestimating our opponents or demonizing their motives. Continue Reading...

February 20, 2019

Democrats proposed subsidies do not make the rent any less high

Democratic Senators and Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have both recently proposed legislation to address the issue of rising housing costs. Senator Harris’ bill ‘The Rent Relief Act’ and Senator Booker’s bill ‘Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity Act’ both focus on assisting people who pay more than 30% of their gross income on rent or, in the case of Senator Harris’s bill, rent and utilities. Continue Reading...

February 12, 2019

Democrats support Green New Deal while Thomas Piketty finds it problematic

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey’s proposed Green New Deal is getting a lot of attention these days. Democratic Presidential hopefuls Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren are all supporters, as is Senator Bernie Sanders. Continue Reading...

February 12, 2019

Is only some insensitivity wrong?

Fox News and the Washington Post reported that actor Rob Lowe came under fire last week for making a joke on Twitter that poked fun at Senator Elizabeth Warren and her claims of Native American ancestry. Continue Reading...

February 11, 2019

The false promise of an ‘ultramillionaire’ tax

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is running for president in 2020, and she has gained attention for proposing an “ultramillionaire” tax: a 2 percent tax on households with a net worth over $50 million and an additional 1 percent on households worth over $1 billion. Continue Reading...

February 06, 2019

The ideological appropriation of Winston Churchill

If you’ve never watched Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, please do so. This is one of the best films about World War II ever made. Nolan, known for such works as The Dark Knight and Interstellar, was able to seize all the intensity, despair, courage, and hope present in one of the most dramatic moments of that war and in all of modern British history. Continue Reading...

February 05, 2019

Murray Rothbard explains the Progressive roots of the deep state

More than 20 years after his death, Murray Rothbard continues to surprise us with his unique interpretations and insights that go far beyond the realm of economics. Rothbard’s The Progressive Era, (Mises Institute, 2017) is the latest example of this genial mind ranging over U.S. Continue Reading...

January 25, 2019