Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'capitalism'

February 24, 2010

Joseph E. Stiglitz: An Economist in Freefall

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I review a new book by economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. Text follows: A rare growth industry following the 2008 financial crisis has been financial crisis commentaries. Continue Reading...
February 24, 2010

Acton Media Alert: Sirico on the BBC

On Monday, Acton Founder and President Rev. Robert A. Sirico took to the airwaves of the BBC and squared off against Oliver Kamm of the London Times in a spirited debate over the merits of Michael Moore’s latest “documentary,” Capitalism: A Love Story. Continue Reading...
February 09, 2010

Acton Lecture Series: Does Capitalism Destroy Culture?

Topic: Does Capitalism Destroy Culture? A talk by Michael Miller. When: Thursday, February 18, 2010. 11:45 a.m. Registration; 12:00 p.m. — 1:30 p.m. Lunch & Lecture Cost: $15 Admission $5 Students (including lunch) Where: Water’s Building — 161 Ottawa Ave, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Map it. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2009

Bernanke Versus the Austrians

My essay in today’s American Spectator Online looks at why Ben Bernanke should not be confirmed to a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve: Two planks in Bernanke’s recovery strategy: Expand the money supply like a banana republic dictator and throw sackfuls of cash at failed companies with a proven track record of mismanaging their assets. Continue Reading...
November 25, 2009

Socialism Flu Shots for Christmas

Got the socialism blues? Worried that a friend or maybe a teenage son or daughter may contract a nasty case of it? Marvin Olasky at World magazine recommends former Acton research fellow Jay Richards’ 2009 HarperOne book, Money Greed and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and not the Problem: Among the myths Richards demolishes: The Nirvana Myth (contrasting capitalism with an unrealizable ideal rather than with its real alternatives), the Piety Myth (focusing on good intentions rather than results), and the Materialist and Zero-Sum Game Myths (believing that wealth is not created but simply transferred). Continue Reading...
November 23, 2009

Hell and Capitalism

Contrary to the belief of some, the two realities referred to in the title of this post are not identical. But the discussion around a recent Boston Globe article reminds me of the saying from Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, “Capitalism without the threat of bankruptcy is like Christianity without the threat of hell. Continue Reading...
November 06, 2009

Critiquing Fair Trade and Dead Aid

Cardus’ Robert Joustra rightly pillories “fair trade” along with the logic of foreign aid in a challenging article, “Fair Trade and Dead Aid: ‘My Voice Can’t Compete with an Electric Guitar.'” Continue Reading...
November 05, 2009

The Market, School of Virtue

This week’s Acton Commentary: Does the market inspire people to greater practical virtue, or does it eviscerate what little virtue any of us have? Far from draining moral goodness out of us—as many think—the free market serves as a “school of the practical virtues.” Continue Reading...