Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'economics'

February 12, 2013

Pope Benedict: The Capitalist System is Virtuous

Reflecting on the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Philip Booth, professor at Cass Business School in London, says the pope was clear on his economic ideas. As he said in Caritas in Veritate: “Economy and finance, as instruments, can be used badly when those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends. Continue Reading...
February 08, 2013

A Rapidly Expanding ‘Sindustry’

As occurrences of preventable diseases increase and the debt deepens, some look to “sin taxes” as an easy to solution to both problems. Thirty-three states have even gone as far as to implement a soda tax in an attempt to curb obesity. Continue Reading...
February 08, 2013

Northern Ireland: Coming to America?

After decades of bloody turmoil between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, on March 26, 2007, Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams, sitting side-by-side at Stormont confirmed that power-sharing will return to Northern Ireland on May 8th of that same year. Continue Reading...
February 08, 2013

Economics Has Consequences

In this abridged version of the video series Economics for Everybody, R.C Sproul Jr. explains why it’s important for Christians to understand economics. Economics Has Consequences pulls together some of the key aspects of the original series into one film, including introductions to such basic principles of economics as stewardship, civil government, work, wealth, and entrepreneurism. Continue Reading...
February 01, 2013

Civil Society and Social Eco-System: Seeking Solutions Beyond Market and State

Over at Fieldnotes Magazine, Matthew Kaemingk offers a good reminder that in our social solutions-seeking we needn’t be limited to thinking only in terms of market and state. By boxing ourselves in as such, Kaemingk argues, Christians risk an overly simplistic, non-Biblical view of human needs and human destiny: When presented with almost any social problem (education, health care, poverty, family life, and so on), today’s leaders typically point to one of two possible solutions—a freer market or a stronger state. Continue Reading...
January 31, 2013

Departing in Peace: Economics and Liturgical Living

In the most recent issue of Theosis (1.6), Fr. Thomas Loya, a Byzantine Catholic priest, iconographer, and columnist, has an interesting contribution on the upcoming feast of the Presentation of Christ at the Temple (also known as Candlemas or the “Meeting of the Lord”). Continue Reading...
January 23, 2013

The economics of Downton Abbey

The wildly-popular BBC production, “Downton Abbey” has offices buzzing on Monday mornings. Like the “Upstairs, Downstairs” of old, “Downton” provides the viewer with two distinct lifestyles in one house: that of Lord and Lady of the manor and of the staff that runs the place. Continue Reading...
January 15, 2013

Acton University: An Invigorating Intellectual Experience

Registration is now open for Acton University, planned for June 18-21, 2013. Courses for this year’s conference (subject to change) include Theology of Work, Social Entrepreneurship, Rise and Fall of the European Social Market, Fertility’s Impact on the World Economy, and Islam, Markets and the Free Society. Continue Reading...