Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Gregg: ‘Rome vs. Beijing: China’s Catch-22’

In an article appearing in the American Spectator, Samuel Gregg discusses the growth of religion in China, its system of crony capitalism, and its need to accept freedom. Opening the column, Gregg describes how the Catholic Church’s freedom from state control in China is at stake. Continue Reading...

Playing the Washington Blame Game

The blame game in Washington is heating up on skyrocketing gas prices. Republicans are criticized as being in the back pocket of the oil industry and partaking in crony capitalism. The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee is even cashing in by hosting a fundraiser that is based on what has been the House Republicans “decade long relationship of protecting Big Oil taxpayer giveaways, speculations and price gouging…” However blame is also placed on Democrats, with accusations of placing barriers to prohibit domestic drilling. Continue Reading...

Krista Tippett: Effective Compassion through Faith

Krista Tippett is the host of the radio program Speaking of Faith, broadcast weekly on NPR since 2003. In her conversations with people of all faiths and occupations, Christian and Hindu, novelist and physicist, Tippett aims to better understand the way that belief and spirituality affect our society, worldview, and personal well-being. Continue Reading...

Getting Back to a Mind-Centered Economy

If there is anything that makes people nervous about capitalism, it is surely the prospect of instability. Whether it is the boom-bust cycle or severe financial crises, the up-and-downs that seem to be part-and-parcel of life in market economies make us nervous. Continue Reading...

Czechs vote communists out of parliament

Since 1925, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia has had a seat at the table in Czech parliaments. While momentarily sidelined by the Nazi occupation during World War II, the party managed to centralize power rather quickly thereafter, working with Moscow to crush dissent and impose totalitarian control from 1948 until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Continue Reading...

No, Tucker Carlson: The U.S. is not, will not, and never should be like Hungary

Last month, Tucker Carlson replaced Rod Dreher as the latest conservative to take a pilgrimage to Hungary. Carlson praised Hungarian President Viktor Orbán’s pro-family policies, stricter immigration policies, and resistance to progressive views on gender, saying: “If you care about Western civilization and democracy and families and the ferocious assault on all three of those things by the leaders of our global institutions, you should know what is happening here right now.” Continue Reading...