Month: October 2016

October 10, 2016

The moral consequences of economic growth

In 1820, America’s per capita income averaged $1,980, in today’s dollars. But by 2000, it had increased to $43,000. That economic growth has benefited the rich, of course. But it has also transformed the lives of the poor—and prevented many more from becoming or staying poor. Continue Reading...
October 10, 2016

Is taxation theft?

Last week, before the most recent news about Donald Trump and the current US presidential campaign burst onto the scene, Think Christian ran a short reflection of mine on the question of taxation. Continue Reading...
October 07, 2016

If Africa had 100 citizens

When we think about the places on the globe that continue to have the most consistent and seemingly intractable problems, we tend to think of Africa. While areas like East Asia and the Pacific continue to grow richer and more stable, many African countries remain mired in corruption and poverty. Continue Reading...
October 05, 2016

The fruit of toil

In an Acton Commentary two years ago, I wrote about the significance of toil: In the midst of the now-common Christian affirmation of all forms of work as God-given vocations, the image of Sisyphus, vainly pushing his boulder up a hill in Hades, only to watch it roll back down again, might serve to remind us of the reality of toil, the other side of the coin. Continue Reading...