Populism

October 15, 2018

How the populist moment can become the liberty moment

Since the War of Independence, the American self-image has set individual liberty against oligarchic power. Abraham Lincoln encapsulated this when he described the American experiment as a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Continue Reading...

April 23, 2018

The decline of Western civilization, redux

A review of Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy by Jonah J. Goldberg, Crown Forum, 2018, 442 pp., $28. Suicide of the West is intended as a “serious” work, which it is indeed. Continue Reading...

November 03, 2017

Renewed covenant or populism? Rabbi Lord Sacks on the West’s alternatives

The deepest division running through the West is not between Right and Left, or liberty and collectivism. Western civilization must choose this day whether it is grounded in a covenant or a degraded and authoritarian form of populism, according to the former Chief Rabbi of the UK. Continue Reading...

July 11, 2017

How ordinary economic thinking helps constrain political chaos

In an age where chaos and cronyism seem to be the defining characteristics of our politics, and where the political system is increasingly decried as being “rigged” by populists from both the left and right, the time seems ripe for a renewed focus on political constraints. Continue Reading...

May 11, 2017

This Eastern European nation shows how foreign investment is patriotic

At a time when populist sentiments are on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic, the leader of one former Communist nation has affirmed that free markets open across borders are a blessing. Continue Reading...

April 25, 2017

Samuel Gregg on the fracturing of France

With the first round of the French election results in, and no major candidates even managing to get a quarter of the total votes, two candidates remain: Marine Le Pen of the National Front, a populist and nationalist party, and Emmanuel Macron, the center-Left candidate of the “En Marche!” Continue Reading...

March 21, 2017

Pope Francis and populism: How Christian leaders should respond to populism

In a recent article for the Federalist, Samuel Gregg discusses Pope Francis’s recent comments on populism. Pope Francis explicitly denounces populism saying: “Populism is evil and ends badly, as the past century shows.” Continue Reading...

January 31, 2017

Report: Populism and autocracy undermining U.S. and global freedom

Earlier today Freedom House released the 2017 edition of their flagship report, “Freedom in the World.” It was not positive. Titled “Populists and Autocrats: The Dual Threat to Global Democracy,” it shows much erosion in various freedoms throughout the world. Continue Reading...

November 23, 2016

Who did Democrats forget?

In this week’s Acton Commentary I weigh in with some reflections on the US presidential results: “Naming, Blaming, and Lessons Learned from the 2016 Election.” I focus on much of the reaction on the Democratic side, which has understandably had some soul-searching to do. Continue Reading...

October 26, 2016

Radio Free Acton: Benjamin Domenech On The Roots And Rise Of American Populism

On this edition of Radio Free Acton, Jordan Ballor – Acton Research Fellow, Director of Publishing, and Executive Editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality – talks with Benjamin Domenech, publisher of The Federalist, about the current populist moment in American politics, the roots of American populism, and what the possible outcomes of the current populist uprising may be for the United States. Continue Reading...

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