Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Deficit Denial, American-Style

A new commentary from Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg. Sign up here to get the latest opinion pieces delivered to your email inbox on Wednesday with the free weekly Acton News & Commentary. Continue Reading...

In the ‘pressure cooker’

Video: Hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police across central Athens on Wednesday, smashing cars and hurling gasoline bombs during a nationwide labour protest against the government’s latest austerity measures. The former Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis was attacked by protesters outside a luxury hotel. Continue Reading...

Benedict XVI: Christian Radical

This week’s Acton commentary from Research Director Samuel Gregg. Sign up for the free, weekly newsletter from Acton for the latest news and analysis. Benedict XVI: Christian Radical By Samuel Gregg As the condom-wars ignited by Benedict XVI’s Light of the World abate, some attention might finally be paid to the book’s broader themes and what they indicate about Benedict’s pontificate. Continue Reading...

What Would Röpke Do?

As America and Europe continue to wrestle with the question of how best to address their respective economic crises, many are looking back to the lessons of history and how they might be applicable to today. Continue Reading...

Humility in a Time of Recession

Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg contributed this piece to today’s Acton News & Commentary. Sign up here for the free, weekly email newsletter. +++++++++ Humility in a Time of Recession By Samuel Gregg Since 2008, there has been much discussion about the contribution of unethical behavior to our present economic circumstances. Continue Reading...

Deficits, Debt, and Self-Deception

This week’s Acton Commentary: Deficits, Debt, and Self-Deception By Samuel Gregg It passed almost unnoticed, but in late July the Obama Administration raised the Federal Government’s budget deficit forecast for fiscal year 2011 to $1.4 trillion. Continue Reading...

Do We Need Pro-Family Tax Policies?

Last month, in “Europe’s Choice: Populate or Perish,” Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg observed: At a deeper level … Europe’s declining birth-rate may also reflect a change in intellectual horizons. A cultural outlook focused upon the present and disinterested in the future is more likely to view children as a burden rather than a gift to be cared for in quite un-self-interested ways. Continue Reading...

Culture and Economic Decline

At MercatorNet, Sheila Liaugminas looks at the bank regulation push — enshrined in another 2,000 page document that few of the legislators behind this effort will actually read. In “Social Order on the Surface” she recalls an Acton conference where she heard this from Rev. Continue Reading...