Month: February 2016

February 08, 2016

What Christians Should Know About Crony Capitalism

Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries in the series see this post. The Term: Crony capitalism (sometimes referred to as cronyism or corporatism) What it means: Crony capitalism is a general term for the range of activities in which particular individuals or businesses in a market economy receive government-granted privileges over their customers and/or competitors. Continue Reading...
February 05, 2016

Property Rights Vital for Empowering the Poor

On Jan. 27, Acton’s Rome office sponsored a presentation of The International Property Rights Index at the Dominican-run Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. The private seminar was a premier event in Rome for the index’s publisher, introducing data and case studies sampled from 129 industrialized and developing nations. Continue Reading...
February 04, 2016

No, Jesus was not a socialist

The resurgence of socialism in America, especially among the young, seems to be based on a widespread form of wishful thinking and historical ignorance. Most people who support Bernie Sanders, for instance, do not realize that most of his ideas have been tried already—and discarded as unworkable. Continue Reading...
February 04, 2016

Does capitalism reduce violence?

It’s been said before, but it’s certainly worth saying again. Not only does the free market lead to material wealth, but it reduces violence. On a recent episode of the podcast “Question of the Day,” co-host Stephen Dubner reads a question from a listener: Why haven’t humans evolved as a species away from aggression? Continue Reading...