Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'America'

November 26, 2012

A Conservative Case for Walmart

Every year Black Friday marks the official beginning of two modern American traditions: Christmas shopping and criticizing Walmart. Critics on both the left and the right have found a common enemy in Walmart. Continue Reading...
November 12, 2012

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...
September 24, 2012

More on Constitutions and Culture

As noted already at the PowerBlog today, Sam Gregg has a fine piece on the complex relationship between law and morality, or constitutions and culture, over at Public Discourse. As a follow-up (read the piece first), I’d like to point to an interesting aspect of James Buchanan’s advocacy of a balanced-budget amendment. Continue Reading...
August 23, 2012

Demographic Winter is Coming

I was a guest on today’s Coffee & Markets podcast, where we discussed the complex challenges facing America as reflected in recent demographic trends. What do declining birthrates across the developed world indicate? Continue Reading...
July 04, 2012

Liberty: A Delicate Fruit

Today is Independence Day in the United States, and the Christian Post asked me to weigh in on the question, “What Does American Freedom Mean to A Christian?” Lord Acton observed that liberty is “the delicate fruit of a mature civilization.” Continue Reading...
March 22, 2012

Willingness and Ability to Serve in the Armed Forces

I saw the fine film Act of Valor last month, and I was struck by the level of sacrifice displayed in the lives of the service members featured. I have wondered in the meantime whether the scale of the sacrifice that’s been required of American service persons over the last two decades is sustainable. Continue Reading...
March 02, 2012

Samuel Gregg: The American Left’s European Nightmare

On The American Spectator, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg observes that, “as evidence for the European social model’s severe dysfunctionality continues to mount before our eyes, the American left is acutely aware how much it discredits its decades-old effort to take America down the same economic path.” Continue Reading...
February 23, 2012

Happiness is Subjective

One of the conclusions from last week’s commentary was that the government shouldn’t be in the business of promoting a particular vision of the good life in America. That’s not to say that the government doesn’t have some role in promoting the common good or making some normative judgments about the good life. Continue Reading...