Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'socialism'

Latin America’s Messengers for Recycled Marxism

An assortment of radical socialist chums gathered in Caracas, Venezuela for a lively discussion on the issue, “United States: A possible revolution.” The event was part of the third annual Venezuela International Book Fair on November 9-18, and featured the usual campus radicals, anti-American crusaders, and Marxist activists. Continue Reading...

Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Social Crisis

Readings in Social Ethics: Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Social Crisis.References below are to page numbers. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first publication of Christianity and the Social Crisis, and a new centenary edition has been released this month by HarperSanFrancisco and includes responses to each chapter from figures such as Jim Wallis, Tony Camplo, Cornel West, Richard Rorty, Stanley Hauerwas, and others. Continue Reading...

Socialism is the American Way in Krugman’s America

There are a number of problems with Paul Krugman’s NYT piece earlier this week, “A Socialist Plot.” Krugman compares the American educational system to its healthcare system, arguing that because Americans aren’t inclined to disparage the former as a socialist threat, we likewise shouldn’t consider universal healthcare as a “socialist plot.” Continue Reading...

Kuyper, The Problem of Poverty

Readings in Social Ethics: Abraham Kuyper, The Problem of Poverty. References below are to page numbers. With next week’s reading of Rauschenbusch in view, here’s how Kuyper evaluates Christian socialists: “Socialists constantly invoke Christ in support of their utopias, and continually hold before us important texts from the Holy Word. Continue Reading...

Jewish theology and economic theory

Pick up the new monograph, Judaism, Markets, and Capitalism: Separating Myth from Reality, from the all-new Acton Bookshoppe today! How does one account for the widespread distaste among Jews for a free market political agenda? Continue Reading...

Where You Stand Politically

Three timewasters that will help you gauge where your affinities lie on the political spectrum. The varied results will show you just how much the formation of the questions affects how you are categorized. Continue Reading...

Budziszewski on subsidiarity

Following up on yesterday’s entry about Ronald Aronson’s call for a renewed socialism in American politics, I offer this paragraph from J. Budziszewski’s book, What We Can’t Not Know. Discussing the principle of subsidiarity as first explicitly articulated by Pius XI in the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, Budziszewski writes, As Pius explained, what pushed the principle of subsidiarity to the forefront was the crisis in civil society brought about by the industrial revolution. Continue Reading...

Socialism redivivus

Ronald Aronson argues that the political left in America needs to get back to its true socialist roots in order to become a coherent and clear alternative in this article from The Nation, “The Left Needs More Socialism.” Continue Reading...

Moral posturing on Africa

Over the weekend, the Daily Telegraph’s Charles Moore asked, “Why should the Left win the scramble for Africa?” : [T]he trouble with this subject – perhaps this is why the Left dominates it – is that it attracts posturing. Continue Reading...