Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Public Policy

August 01, 2012

Chick-fil-A and Free Exchange

Former governor, pastor, and presidential candidate (and current radio host) Mike Huckabee has been a primary driving force in turning today, August 1, into an ad hoc appreciation day for the fast food company Chick-fil-A. Continue Reading...
July 31, 2012

Murray, Mariana, and Montaigne’s Fallacy

The folks over at the Comment magazine site have generously run an essay by me, “Business and the Development of Christian Social Thought.” This piece is a web-friendly version of my editorial from the current issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality, which highlights the call for papers for next spring’s issue on the theme “Integral Human Development.” Continue Reading...
July 30, 2012

What gave capitalism a bad name?

In his new book, Defending the Free Market: the Moral Case for a Free Economy, the Rev. Robert Sirico points out that capitalism has been given a bad name that it truly doesn’t deserve: Rightly understood, capitalism is the economic component of the natural order of liberty. Continue Reading...
July 27, 2012

When Politics Trump Economics

That seems to be the story, based on what Veronique de Rugy has written at National Review Online. Calling for tax increases in an economic downturn doesn’t make any sense, even under Keynesian theories. Continue Reading...
July 25, 2012

Samuel Gregg: The Economic Crisis and Europe’s Rule of Law Problem

Close attention to particular decisions by European institutions and governments, says Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg, suggests that many have significantly infringed the rule of law: Among the many non-economic factors shaping Europe’s current crisis, there is one which, despite its seriousness, has not yet received extensive attention: an emerging rule of law problem throughout the EU. Continue Reading...
July 25, 2012

Stopping the Young Business

A Holland, Mich., teenager is being stopped from opening a hotdog cart due to city zoning laws. It’s really disheartening when you consider the fact that this young person was trying to be responsible and work to help his family and build up savings for his future. Continue Reading...
July 20, 2012

How Does the U.S. Fare on Measures of the Rule of Law?

The free-market economist Milton Friedman used to argue that for a nation to prosper, all that was needed was to increase privatization and reduce the size of the state. But the collapse of the Soviet Union and other communist states made him realize that “Privatization is meaningless if you don’t have the rule of law.” Continue Reading...