Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Hungary Is Not Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán, the controversial prime minister of Hungary, has no shortage of critics or defenders. For the critics, he is an authoritarian villain, a sinister leading voice in the global populist movement. Continue Reading...

The Best Econ Books for Your Summer Reading

The best way to start summer is to stock up on the newest book releases and to revisit the classics. Whether you’re concerned about growing populism among the right and left, how to think through humanitarian aid within your church, or the more significant questions of human flourishing, there is something for everyone. Continue Reading...

The Success of Avatar Is Nothing to Celebrate

The biggest box office success in cinema history, strictly in dollars taken in, is Avatar, the 2009 movie that made 3D a technology audiences would finally flock to. The movie made some $785 million in America, more than another $2 billion in the rest of the world, adding up to about $2.9 billion. Continue Reading...

The Next American Economy Is Cause for Hope

Let me start with my summary judgement of The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World: Samuel Gregg has written an outstanding contribution to the theory and practice of political economy for our times. Continue Reading...

Free Enterprise Is Saving African Lives

For years, Africa has dominated the podium in the “bad healthcare” Olympics. For reference, the average cost for an established patient and Medicare recipient to make one visit to a family practice in Pennsylvania (where I live) is approximately $88—the cost of less than a week’s worth of groceries. Continue Reading...

The Djokovic affair proves our elites no longer believe in fair play

Fair play and the rule of law are essential conditions of our civilization, regulating private and public life. We would be ashamed to look for success, prosperity, victory without them. People whom we suspect of unfair dealings or illegality stand to lose everything concerning their reputation, to say nothing of what authorities might do to them. Continue Reading...