2007 Acton Lecture Series: The Irresponsibility of Corporate Social Responsibility

February 15, 2007 • by Marc Vander Maas

2007 Acton Lecture Series: The Irresponsibility of Corporate Social Responsibility

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February 15, 2007

Managing manure

One of the stories told in the Acton’s forthcoming documentary, “The Call of the Entrepreneur,” (trailer available here) is that of Brad Morgan, a Michigan dairy farmer, who bucked the odds and the naysayers and turned the problem posed by the disposal of his herd’s manure into a profitable business venture. Continue Reading...
February 14, 2007

A lottery sell-off is a sell-out

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I examine the most recent buzz-worthy trend in the lottery industry: privatization. While most critics of these moves have pointed to the foolhardiness of selling off a long-term income stream for a lump sum jackpot, I argue that privatization by itself does nothing to address the underlying problems afflicting the lottery business. Continue Reading...
February 14, 2007

Friends in low places

PARADE Magazine has published its annual list of “The World’s Worst Dictators.” Topping the list is the man overseeing the genocide in Darfur, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir. At least three of the top twenty are important friends and allies of the United States in the war on terror: #5 King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia; #9 Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya; #15 Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan. Continue Reading...
February 13, 2007

The business and politics of spiritual journeys

Over the weekend the Grand Rapids Press published an article by Mary Radigan that examines one booming trend in the travel industry, “Spiritual journeys take off in travel industry.” “The market for religious travel has grown into an $18 billion industry worldwide,” writes Radigan. Continue Reading...
February 12, 2007

I’m so ashamed

Well, it’s happened. Ellen Goodman, writing last week in the Boston Globe, effectively ended the debate over climate change by invoking the most dreaded comparison of all: I would like to say we’re at a point where global warming is impossible to deny. Continue Reading...
February 12, 2007

Government pay and performance

Travis Sinquefield at Disorganizational Behavior examines this Washington Post article on new parts of an annual survey given to government workers. Among the new statements the employees were asked to evaluate was this: “Pay raises depend on how well employees perform their jobs.” Continue Reading...
February 12, 2007

Faith in higher ed

Most of our talk at Acton about educational choice addresses K-12 programs, i.e., the public schools. There already exists a great deal of choice at the levels of higher ed, and so they are not of the most immediate concern. Continue Reading...