Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Poverty

June 29, 2017

Are slums a sign of human creativity and potential?

As humans, we are made in the image of God. We are co-creators, fashioned to produce and create, contribute and collaborate, give and receive, trade and exchange. Yet far too often, in our approaches to fighting poverty, we subscribe to a fundamental distortion of this reality, treating humans as mere consumers and “drains” on wealth and resources. Continue Reading...
June 13, 2017

Why truly free trade is also truly fair

Throughout our political discourse, we continue to hear critiques of free trade from left and right, each of them ultimately aiming to prod us closer to an abstract notion of so-called “fair” or “fairer” trade. Continue Reading...
May 12, 2017

Free trade propaganda from … Communist China?

In the wake of the last presidential election, the American people appear to be fracturing and shifting on the long-held consensus about the benefits of free trade. Meanwhile, state-owned television in the People’s Republic of China is churning out pro-trade propaganda such as this (HT Pethokoukis): Yet the underlying irony is a bit overstated, I’d suspect. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2017

Taxes on unhealthy food do nothing but hurt the poor

Throughout history, societies have found peculiar ways to reinforce social hierarchies and class-based discrimination. A common way is to prohibit certain social classes from being able to purchase a good. These types of laws that regulate permitted consumption of particular goods and services are known as sumptuary laws. Continue Reading...
March 23, 2017

Venezuelans find a hero in big business

“Big business” has become a favorite target of public scorn and contempt in the United States, constantly decried for its impersonal forces, cronyist lobbying efforts, and supposed greed. In Venezuela, however, the country’s largest privately owned company has become a leading face of anti-government resistance. Continue Reading...