Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Samuel Gregg: Crony Capitalist Predators

Acton’s Director of Research, Sam Gregg, discusses crony capitalism in today’s issue of The American Spectator. Gregg says 2014 looks to be the year of “inequality” economically-speaking, and that we must not forget the threat of crony capitalism. Continue Reading...

Monks Triumph Over Cronyist Morticians

The morticians wanted the monks shut down—or even thrown in jail—for the crime the Benedictines were committing. Until 2005, the monks of St. Joseph Abbey in St. Benedict, Louisiana had relied on harvesting timber for income. Continue Reading...

Miller: ‘Does Capitalism Destroy Culture?’

Anyone who’s driven across the American landscape knows that there will be a familiar string of fast-food chains, gas stations and box stores along the expressways. You could virtually eat the same meal as you drive from one coastline of America to the other. Continue Reading...

Creeping Crony Corporatism

In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Corrupted Capitalism and the Housing Crisis,” I contend we need to add some categories to our thinking about political economy. In this case, the idea of “corporatism” helps understand a good deal of what we see in the American system today. Continue Reading...

A Lesson from Michigan: Time to End Crony Unionism

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I take a look at the prospects of “right-to-work” legislation in Michigan, “A Lesson from Michigan: Time to End Crony Unionism.” One of the things that disturbs me the most about what I call “crony unionism” is the hand-in-glove relationship between the labor unions and big government. Continue Reading...

Orban Is Running Out of Other People’s Money

There once was a time when foreign investors regarded Hungary as the tax haven of the European Union. Boasting a low corporate tax rate, a new flat tax, and most importantly for many investors massive subsidies from the Hungarian government to “create jobs,” this was Hungary’s claim to fame. Continue Reading...