Bastiat on My Mind

One night during either my sophomore or junior year of college, while delaying the doing of homework by walking around the upstairs of Taylor University’s library looking for embarrassing books I could hide in friends’ backpacks so the alarm would go off when we walked out together and they’d have to sheepishly present them at the front desk, I stumbled upon a little treatise called The Law by some French dude named Frederic Bastiat I had never heard of.  Continue Reading...

Dorothy Day and the US Bishops’ Conference 2012

I will not indulge in any sort of “what would Dorothy Day do” when it comes to thinking about the current US Catholic Bishops’ Conference taking place in Baltimore.  However, it is interesting to ponder this woman who exemplifies so much of 20th century Catholicism and the bishops’ agenda, especially as the bishops discuss cause for her canonization, while on the same day failing to pass a pastoral message on economics. Continue Reading...

Free Market Morality

In this entertaining video Walter Williams, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, explains why the free market is morally superior to other economic systems. My favorite part comes near the beginning when Williams explains that money is a form of “certificate of performance” that serves as proof of having served our neighbors. Continue Reading...

2013 AU Registration Opens Thursday Nov. 15

Registration for 2013 Acton University, scheduled for June 18-21 at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., will open Thursday November 15. Stay tuned to Acton’s homepage and the AU website for further news and announcements. Continue Reading...

At the Bleeding Edge of Marketplace Ministry

In the November issue of Christianity Today, Dr. Amy Sherman, senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute has published an article entitled “The Cutting Edge of Marketplace Ministries.” In this article Sherman describes “holistic ministry” being done by a variety of businesses. Continue Reading...

Envy Won’t Save the GOP—or America

After every electoral defeat—whether suffered by Republicans or Democrats—a period of hand-wringing and soul-searching inevitably develops in the days and weeks after the election. Journalists and politicians take to print to explain “What went wrong” and “Here’s what should be done differently.” Continue Reading...

Samuel Gregg: Are We All Europeans Now?

Writing on The Corner over at National Review Online, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg points to the election and, refreshingly, tells us that, “I’m not one of those who, in recent days, have seemed inclined to indulge their inner curmudgeon, apparently convinced that it’s more or less game-over for America and we’re doomed to Euro-serfdom.” Continue Reading...

PovertyCure DVD Series Now Available

PovertyCure’s six-episode DVD series on human flourishing is now available for purchase. This high-energy, 152-minute documentary-style series challenges conventional thinking, reframing the poverty debate around the creative capacity of the human person. Continue Reading...