virtue

November 20, 2019

The perfect lap

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I take a look at Ford v Ferrari, the new feature film that captures the story (it’s a true thrill ride) animating the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continue Reading...

October 22, 2019

Adam Smith and a life well-lived

Over at Law & Liberty I had the pleasure of reviewing Ryan Patrick Hanley’s new book, Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life. I highly recommend it: Ryan Patrick Hanley’s latest book offers an accessible, erudite, and concise introduction to Adam Smith in full, the moral philosopher of wisdom and prudence. Continue Reading...

October 21, 2019

Wealth creation and the Reformed confessional tradition

I have been working as part of the Moral Markets project for the past couple of years, and as the formal end of the project looms, some of the outputs of the project are coming to fruition. Continue Reading...

October 01, 2019

Freedom, virtue and redemption: what have we been saved from?

“We have a sense that, actually, we do not have to be redeemed by Christianity but, rather, from Christianity,” wrote Pope Benedict XVI in an outstanding essay first published in English last year with the title Salvation: More Than a Cliché? Continue Reading...

June 28, 2019

New Issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality (Vol. 22, No. 1)

The newest issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality has been published both in print and online here. Scholarly contributions range from a study of joy and labor in Ecclesiastes, virtue and vice in the American founding, whistleblowing, and the economics and ethics of education, including a Controversy debating the merits and demerits of the tenure system. Continue Reading...

May 22, 2019

Adam Smith shows how sympathy makes life more satisfying

The eighteenth century British economist Adam Smith helps with moral challenges, especially in work and employment, says Daniel B. Klein of the American Enterprise Institute. Smith inspires the individual to make a useful and satisfying place for himself in society by contributing. Continue Reading...

January 09, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Michelin short business (and personal) guide

Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, describes in Forbes how a good businessman ought to be first a good man. The principles that guided François Michelin apply not only in business but also in personal life. Continue Reading...

August 30, 2017

How economic enterprise can revitalize rural churches

Churches in America are closing at an alarming rate, with an estimated 3,400 to 4,000 singing their final hymns and closing their doors each year. The majority of these churches are almost certainly in rural areas that are seeing unprecedented declines in population. Continue Reading...

August 22, 2017

The cramped morality of trade protectionism

“If a product is seen only as the opportunity for work, it is certain that the anxieties of protectionists are well founded.” –Frédéric Bastiat, Economic Sophisms Drawing inspiration from a 1847 essay by the inimitable Frédéric Bastiat, economist Donald Boudreaux tackles a popular argument from today’s trade protectionists: namely, “that protectionism is justified if enough consumers or voters are willing to pay higher prices in order to help workers.” Continue Reading...

August 15, 2017

Value investing: Restoring ownership and ethics to investment

In today’s global economy, it can be easy to feel like robotic worker bees or petty consumer fleas in a big, blurry economic order. The feeling is understandable. Value creation, even at its largest margins, is increasingly difficult to spot. Continue Reading...

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