Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'philosophy'

The Rationality of Procreation

Birthrates across the globe are going down even as life expectancy increases. The former trend is marked particularly in developed nations. There are lots of reasons for people to have kids or not have kids. Continue Reading...

5 Principles for Spiritual Discernment in the Economic Order

If there’s one area of the faith-work conversation that’s lacking in exploration and introspection, it’s the role of spiritual discernment in the day-to-day decisions of economic life. It’s one thing to orient one’s heart and mind around the big picture of vocation and stewardship — no small feat, to be sure — but if economics is about the intersection of knowledge and human action, what does it mean to serve a God whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts?  Continue Reading...

Sloth: When We Reject What God Wants Us To Be

“If we’re not heaven bent on doing more, we’re hell bent on trying to escape all the stuff we have to do.” In Evan Koons’ concluding vlog on the Economy of Wonder, he tackles the difference between sloth and what Josef Pieper has called “virtuous idleness.” Continue Reading...

Audio: Samuel Gregg on Relevant Radio

Acton Institute Director of Research Samuel Gregg has a busy calendar of media appearances these days; late last week, he joined host Sheila Liaugminas on Relevant Radio’s A Closer Look for a full broadcast hour to discuss the upcoming year in politics and wider society. Continue Reading...

Cuba and The Buena Vista Social Club

The eyes of many in the world have turned to Cuba over the last day or so. A great deal has been made of the historic changes in the relationship between the US and Cuba and whether such changes fundamentally alter the situation of the political leaders and the elites in the island nation. Continue Reading...

On Inequity and Inequality

I would like to clarify that inequity and inequality are overlapping (and related) but not identical sets. Here’s a diagram that might be helpful. The way these terms often get used makes it seem like this distinction could provide some clarity. Continue Reading...

Moral Capital and the Rule of Law

“If we want to be coherent when addressing poverty,” writes Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg at Public Discourse, “our concerns can’t be rooted in emotivist or relativistic accounts of who human beings are. Continue Reading...

Social Ethics in a Season of Suffering

In a review by Micah Watson of Get Your Hands Dirty: Essays on Christian Social Thought (and Action) earlier this year at The Gospel Coalition, Watson described the book as “akin to a social event with heavy hors d’oevres served throughout the evening.” Continue Reading...