Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'detroit'

August 23, 2013

Beyond Gardening and Governance: Cities Need Business

[This post was co-authored with Chris Horst, director of development at HOPE International. He is a This is Our City fanboy and is grateful that Christianity Today has given him freedom to write about manufacturers, mattress sellers, and solar product designers, all working for the common good in Denver, where he lives with his family. Continue Reading...
August 19, 2013

Detroit, Urban Development, and D.G. Hart

Darryl Hart has a bit of a go at “the hyperventilation that goes on in some neo-Calvinist circles when folks talk about the power of the gospel to redeem all of life,” using the woes of the city of Detroit as a trump card. Continue Reading...
August 12, 2013

Barbarians at the Gates of the DIA

The travails of Detroit’s bankruptcy and the implications for the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) continue to garner speculation about the place of art in society and the value of the DIA to the city, both now and in the future. Continue Reading...
August 06, 2013

Detroit’s Civil Society and the DIA

Photo Credit: Patrick Hoesly via Compfight cc Following up on last week’s proposal and discussion about the future of the Detroit Institute of Arts in the midst of the city of Detroit’s ongoing budgetary woes, arts commentator Terry Teachout penned a piece for the WSJ about the need for Detroit’s leaders to step up: “Protecting Detroit’s Artwork Is a Job for Detroit.” Continue Reading...
July 31, 2013

The DIA, Public Art, and the Common Good

In today’s Acton Commentary, “It’s Time to Privatize the Detroit Institute of Arts,” I look at the case of the DIA in the context of Detroit’s bankruptcy proceedings. One of my basic points is that it is not necessary for art to be owned by the government in order for art to serve the public. Continue Reading...
July 29, 2013

The Death Of Detroit’s Middle Class

Detroit is bankrupt. The city government can’t pay its bills. Scores of empty houses and garbage-strewn lots greet anyone who drives down once-bustling streets. There is a lot of finger-pointing, and no easy answers. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2013

Detroit: A Collapse of Real Integrity

Douglas Wilson has an interesting take on Detroit’s bankruptcy: “like a drunk trying to make it to the next lamp post.” Why this analogy? Wilson says we first have to understand that Detroit is inevitably in a defaulting situation; the question now is what kind of default. Continue Reading...
July 19, 2013

Jayabalan on Detroit Bankruptcy

In an interview with Vatican Radio, Acton Rome office director Kishore Jayabalan offers perspective on the bankruptcy filing yesterday by the city of Detroit. Jayabalan told the network that Detroit is “really a city that’s on its knees.” Continue Reading...