Public Policy

January 17, 2020

The apocalyptic style in 21st century environmentalism

We’ve just put online the Fall 2020 issue of Religion & Liberty, which looks at environmental stewardship and current problems in conservation from a number of aspects (get over to Acton’s Facebook page to comment on the articles). Continue Reading...

December 10, 2019

Hugo Chavez and Jack London on why socialism kills

In an emotional story in the January 2020 issue of Reason, Jose Cordiero relays how “socialism killed my father” – through economic scarcity. His article highlights the life-and-death stakes of wealth creation. Continue Reading...

December 06, 2019

The uneasy conscience of fair trade fundamentalism

In The Christian Century, Rev. David Mesenbring provides an accounting of his experiences with fair trade. Mesenbring, who was an early advocate and adopter of fair trade practices and policies, thinks there’s good reason to doubt the efficacy of the movement as currently stands. Continue Reading...

December 04, 2019

Catholic social teaching is for all of life

Senator Marco Rubio’s interest in Catholic social teaching is exciting even if confused in its economic analysis and public policy recommendations. On the Acton Line Podcast released today I discuss with Fr. Continue Reading...

November 18, 2019

The myth of the young entrepreneur

Jeffrey Tucker wrote a good piece at The American Institute for Economic Research. It is an important reminder about how hard business is and how the idea that most entrepreneurs are young is a myth. Continue Reading...

November 14, 2019

The temptation of propaganda

Law & Liberty just published a talk I gave at the Philadelphia Society meeting earlier this year on conservatism and the future of truth. We live in an age of propaganda. Continue Reading...

November 13, 2019

The human person, economy, and state

In this week’s Acton Commentary I explore Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris’s proposal to federalize day care to align school and work schedules as, “an economic growth and child development strategy”: Economists, politicians, and even everyday people often talk of “the economy” as if it were a separate and distinct thing from the values, choices, and actions of everyday people. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2019

Turning African game poachers into conservationists

In a new video from the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, African hunting guide Mark Haldane explains how “habitat conservation depends on making wildlife economically competitive with other land uses.” Continue Reading...

September 30, 2019

6 ways to combat consumerism

The Gospel reading on Sunday was the story of Lazarus and the rich man. I often refer to this parable in discussions about poverty, because Augustine points out that it was not wealth that sent the rich man to hell, but his indifference. Continue Reading...

September 30, 2019

On mythical materialism

Secular materialists and atheists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris like to mock religious people for being superstitious and illogical: resorting to fanciful explanations of events by invoking the work of God or miracles. Continue Reading...

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