Latest Posts

June 14, 2017

The cooperative magic of work

“When people work together,” says Dylan Pahman in this week’s Acton Commentary, “they are able to multiply the fruits of their labors far beyond what they could each do alone.” “Work,” wrote the Reformed theologian Lester DeKoster, “is the form in which we make ourselves useful to others.” Continue Reading...
June 14, 2017

Pierre Manent: Was the EU ever a good idea?

Recently the state and fate of the European Union have become topics of world-wide debate. The UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU last summer and the recent snap election, which called that vote into question, have ignited discussion about whether supranational organizations like the EU are even a good idea. Continue Reading...
June 14, 2017

Radio Free Acton: Wonder Woman’s heartfelt humanity; Samuel Gregg on the UK elections

We’re back with a fresh edition of Radio Free Acton! This week, we talk with Acton’s Director of Research Samuel Gregg for some perspective on the surprising outcome of the June 8 snap parliamentary elections in Great Britain, and what the resurgence of Labour and the loss of a conservative majority mean for Prime Minister Theresa May and the upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU. Continue Reading...
June 13, 2017

A Christian defense of capitalism

Humanity knows just two theoretical forms of organizing public interactions, says Alex Tokarev. All real socio-economic systems that have evolved through the centuries are a mix of the two opposite ideological concepts: One of the systems uses political coercion. Continue Reading...
June 13, 2017

Why truly free trade is also truly fair

Throughout our political discourse, we continue to hear critiques of free trade from left and right, each of them ultimately aiming to prod us closer to an abstract notion of so-called “fair” or “fairer” trade. Continue Reading...
June 13, 2017

What the flu can teach us about economics

Note: This is post #37 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What can the flu teach us about economics? In this video, Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution University explains how vaccines produce positive externalities that help people stay healthy. Continue Reading...