In our information age, armchair economists and epidemiologists are many. Society remains deeply divided—preoccupied with social media squabbles over the credibility of our leaders and the rightness or wrongness of their proposed solutions. Continue Reading...
Latest Posts
May 14, 2020
R.R. Reno, masks, and the vacuity of social media
First Things magazine is no stranger to controversy. In recent years, it has been increasingly critical of the market economy, made bizarre defenses of kidnapping in the guise of a book review, and become a clearing house of contrarian and moralistic perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading...
May 14, 2020
Rev. Sirico: How central planning created tunnel vision on COVID-19 response
Did central planning in health care and government make the COVID-19 pandemic worse by making the response more ineffective?
Rev. Robert Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, offers his thoughts on how centralization in health care and the economy has marginalized other perspectives and pushed aside notions of subsidiarity. Continue Reading...
May 13, 2020
Acton Line podcast: What is Christian humanism? A conversation with Bradley J. Birzer
Bradley J. Birzer, professor of history and the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, joins this episode of Acton Line to speak about his newest book, “Beyond Tenebrae: Christian Humanism in the Twilight of the West.” Continue Reading...
May 13, 2020
Rev. Robert Sirico: COVID-19 lockdown orders are the state-mandated ‘marginalization of religion’
Perhaps nowhere is the disconnect between private citizens’ views and those of the government clearer than when it comes to the role of religion in society. Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev. Continue Reading...
May 13, 2020
We must cure the global pandemic of loneliness
Millions of people within our country are experiencing extreme social isolation and loneliness. In a time defined by a pandemic and lockdowns, one would naturally expect people to feel this way, being cut off from family, friends, and neighbors. Continue Reading...
May 12, 2020
What’s behind COVID-19 racial health disparities?
Soon after COVID-19 infection rates began to skyrocket in New York City and other densely populated urban areas, progressives and Democrats demanded data on the racial disparities of testing, treatments, and deaths. Continue Reading...
May 12, 2020
The making and unmaking of European democracy
If there is anything that we have learned over the past five years of political turmoil in Western countries, it is that large numbers of people across the political spectrum are increasingly dissatisfied with the workings of modern democracy. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2020
DeVos’ Title IX regulations restore justice to campus
On May 6, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos unveiled new Title IX regulations concerning sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus. Despite outraged cries of “turning back the clock” that echo across both sides of the Atlantic, the 2,033-page code reasserts the moral, ethical and legal norms that formed the basis of Western society. Continue Reading...
May 08, 2020
COVID-19 dynamism? New study explores innovation amid crisis
Amid the economic pain and disruption of COVID-19, much public attention has focused on the growing assortment of government interventions—from ever-increasing rules and regulations, to direct economic relief, to a mix of price controls and “stimulus” programs. Continue Reading...