Public Policy

December 27, 2013

Keep Calm and Christmas On

In this week’s commentary, I examine the link between delayed gratification and civilization. I use the image of children waking up on Christmas morning to a cornucopia of presents under the tree. Continue Reading...

December 27, 2013

Fr. Sirico on PovertyCure

Forbes contributor Jerry Bower recently interviewed Fr. Robert Sirico about the documentary film series PovertyCure: Jerry: “Let’s talk a little bit about PovertyCure. Where did this idea come from? What was the original conception of PovertyCure?” Continue Reading...

December 26, 2013

Utopia is a Relative Concept

Shannon Love reminds us that what great-great-grandparents would consider utopia is what we consider modern life: Star Trek is often used as a starting point for musing about this or that utopia because everything in Star Trek seems so wonderful. Continue Reading...

December 20, 2013

The Fountainhead of Bedford Falls

[Note: A version of this article ran last year around Christmastime. I’m posting it again because I love talking about Frank Capra and everyone else seems to love talking about Ayn Rand.] Continue Reading...

December 20, 2013

O Tannenbaum and Fair Trade

A couple of further points in reply to Micah Mattix’s response on buying Christmas trees, based on his original post here. 1) I think Mattix’s characterization of the buyer as “selfish” goes a bit too far, and is not an accurate characterization of a good deal of market activity. Continue Reading...

December 20, 2013

5 Minute Explainer: Competitive Federalism

Concepts you should know about explained in five minutes (or less). Leo Linbeck III, President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, provides an explanation of competitive federalism and how competition and governance relate in society. Continue Reading...

December 19, 2013

Now Available: Kuyper’s ‘Guidance for Christian Engagement in Government’

Christian’s Library Press has just released the first-ever English translation of Abraham Kuyper’s Our Program (Ons Program), under the title Guidance for Christian Engagement in Government. First published in 1879 with the goal of preparing citizens for participation in the general elections, Kuyper’s stated purpose was twofold, as summarized by translator and editor Harry Van Dyke: “to serve antirevolutionaries as a guide for promotional activities and to prepare them for the formal establishment of an Anti-Revolutionary Party.” Continue Reading...

December 19, 2013

How the KKK Got Its Way on Separation of Church and State

The phrase “Separation of Church and State” is not in the language of the First Amendment, and the concept was not favored by any influential framer at the time the Bill of Rights was drafted. Continue Reading...

December 16, 2013

This Christmas, Should You Give Cash or Cows?

During the Spanish Civil War, an American farmer named Dan West served as an aid worker on the front lines. His mission was to provide relief to weary soldiers, but all he was allotted to give them was a single cup of milk. Continue Reading...

December 16, 2013

Are Right to Work Laws a Form of Slavery?

Right to Work laws are state laws that guarantee a person cannot be compelled to join or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment. Hearing that definition, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Right to work laws sound a lot like slavery.” Continue Reading...

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