Month: October 2015

October 27, 2015

The Nightmare of Living in the Past

Stories can convey, so much better than raw data can, the human effects of the increased living standards that market-driven innovation has provided us, says Steven Horwitz. He notes how the BBC and PBS series 1900 House shows what a nightmare it was to live at the turn of the twentieth century. Continue Reading...
October 27, 2015

How Religion is Redistributing the World’s Wealth

Dramatic religious shifts over the next few decades will change the distribution of wealth around the globe, according to a new study by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. During this period, notes the study, the number of people affiliated with a religion is expected to grow by 2.3 billion, from 5.8 billion in 2010 to 8.1 billion in 2050. Continue Reading...
October 26, 2015

Why Being Poor is Too Expensive

In the critically acclaimed, though rarely seen, movie Killer of Sheep (1978) there’s a scene that highlights why being poor can be so expensive. The film is about a black family living in the Watts section of Los Angeles in the 1970s. Continue Reading...
October 26, 2015

As You Sow’s Multi-Faith Scientism

This year is shaping up as an annus horribilus for those opposed to public and private policy climate-change “solutions” that would reverse decades of advancements in wealth creation and the obliteration of poverty. Continue Reading...
October 23, 2015

Are You Pro-Union or Pro-Minimum Wage?

During CNN’s Democratic debate, presidential candidate, senator from Vermont, and self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders promised that if elected he would work to “raise the [federal] minimum wage to $15 an hour.” Continue Reading...
October 22, 2015

The frontier spirit of ‘The Martian’

A new film set on Mars taps into the quintessential American story, says Dylan Pahman in this week’s Acton Commentary. After the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel to outer space in 1961, Nikita Khrushchev remarked, “Gagarin flew into space, but didn’t see any god there.” Continue Reading...
October 21, 2015

How Faithful Churches Create Economic Flourishing

What is the pastor’s role in affirming the various callings within his congregation? How might churches empower the people of God in pursuing vocational clarity and economic transformation? How can we better encourage, equip, and empower others in engaging their cultures and communities? Continue Reading...