Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'consumerism'

December 10, 2015

Consumerism and the Cardinal Virtues

Over at the blog of the Catholic University of America’s School of Business and Economics, Drs. Chad and Brian Engelland, authors of an article on consumerism and the cardinal virtues for an upcoming issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality, share their insights on the challenge of consumerism in a commercial society: Is consumerism an inevitable by-product of capitalism? Continue Reading...
June 18, 2015

Don’t Blame Markets, But Sin for Environmental Problems

Kishore Jayabalan, director of the Acton Insitute’s Rome office – Istituto Acton –  has issued the following statement today regarding Pope Francis’s much-awaited enviromental encyclical Laudato Si’. Among other things, Jayabalan notes: “[Francis] seems to blame markets, over-consumption and especially finance, rather than human sin, for all our environmental problems.” Continue Reading...
June 12, 2015

Are We Setting Up For A Cultural Implosion?

What does it meant to be happy, and is our culture getting that all wrong? Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, thinks that may be the case. A prolific author and speaker, Spitzer explores what happiness means in his latest book, Finding True Happiness: Satisfying Our Restless Hearts. Continue Reading...
May 14, 2015

How Capitalism Humanized the Family

Capitalism is routinely blamed for rampant materialism and consumerism, accused of setting society’s sights only on material needs and wants, and living little time, attention, or energy for much else. But what, if not basic food, shelter, and survival, was humanity so preoccupied with before the Industrial Revolution? Continue Reading...
December 16, 2014

Against Consumerism in Christian Higher Education

Over at The Gospel Coalition, Hunter Baker reviews Abraham Kuyper’s newly translated Scholarship, a compilation of two convocation addresses given to Vrije Universiteit (Free University). He offers a helpful glimpse into Kuyper’s views on Christian scholarship, as well as how today’s colleges and universities might benefit from heeding his counsel. Continue Reading...
November 27, 2014

Black Friday: A day of hyper generosity?

For many, Black Friday epitomizes everything nasty American hyper-consumerism. Stores everywhere are plagued with overly aggressive shoppers, each stuffed to the brim with carb-laden Thanksgiving chow and yet ever-more hungry for the next delicious deal. Continue Reading...