Month: November 2016

November 17, 2016

How Donald Trump’s chief strategist thinks about capitalism and Christianity

Soon after winning the election, President-elect Donald Trump created waves of controversy by naming Steve Bannon, his former campaign CEO, as chief strategist and Senior Counselor in the new administration. Yet while Bannon’s harsh and opportunistic brand of political combat and questionable role as a catalyst for the alt-right are well-documented and rightly critiqued, his personal worldview is a bit more blurry.  Continue Reading...
November 16, 2016

What is biblical stewardship?

Here on the Acton PowerBlog we frequently talk about stewardship. But what is stewardship? And what does it mean in a Christian context? As R.C. Sproul explains, stewardship is a concept in the New Testament that describes and defines what it means to be a servant before Christ: Economics and the ethical and emotional issues that surround it are frequent topics of discussion and front-page news items. Continue Reading...
November 16, 2016

Dakota access pipeline’s real moral problem

“Environmental protests that spring up around development projects on tribal lands point to an underlying systematic injustice,” says Rev. Gregory Jensen in this week’s Acton Commentary. “Native Americans often lack property rights to their traditional lands and waters. Continue Reading...
November 16, 2016

Gaining the world, keeping your soul

Recently, Ross Douthat gave a talk at St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto on the question, “Can You Be a Harvard Catholic?” The Harvard grad and New York Times columnist said he has always found religion to be a personal and professional asset to his career, not a hindrance. Continue Reading...
November 16, 2016

Radio Free Acton: Victoria Coates on the art of democracy

In this edition of Radio Free Acton, we speak with cultural historian and author Victoria Coates on the capacity of democracy to inspire great works of art. Coates is the author of David’s Sling: The History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art, and spoke on the topic as part of the 2016 Acton Lecture Series. Continue Reading...
November 15, 2016

Edmund Burke on economic freedom and the path to flourishing

Advocates of economic freedom have a peculiar habit of only promoting the merits of the free markets as they relate to innovation, poverty alleviation, and economic transformation. In response, critics are quick to lament a range of “disruptive” side effects, whether on local communities or human well-being. Continue Reading...
November 15, 2016

Understanding commodity taxes

Note: This is the tenth post in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. In this video Tyler Cowen covers commodity taxes, including who pays the tax and lost gains from trade, also called deadweight loss. Continue Reading...