Acton Institute Powerblog

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Search results for "solzhenitsyn"
April 06, 2017

Intellectuals vs Freedom

[Review of From Benito Mussolini to Hugo Chavez: Intellectuals and a Century of Political Hero Worship by Paul Hollander, Cambridge University Press, 2016, 325 pp.] My former boss and current president of the Foundation for Economic Education, Lawrence Reed, used to begin seminars by asking members of the audience when they “caught the liberty bug.” Continue Reading...
February 21, 2017

When morality evaporates

When Tzvetan Todorov died on Feb. 7, the Bulgarian/French philosopher and literary critic was lamented only in certain intellectual ghettoes. To the men and women eulogizing Todorov in these circles, he was feted properly if not stingily, which is most unfortunate. Continue Reading...
December 28, 2016

The Year in Acton Commentary 2016

Every Wednesday we publish the Acton Commentary, a weekly article that covers topics related to Acton’s mission. As 2016 comes to a close we thought it would be worth highlighting the top ten commentaries produced by Acton Institute staffers and contributors over the past year. Continue Reading...
September 28, 2016

Utopias Denied: Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon at 75

“In the world of literature,” says Bruce Edward Walker in this week’s Acton Commentary, “perhaps only Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn did more to expose the lies and cruelty of 20th century totalitarianism.” What makes Darkness at Noon such an enduring artistic work is Koestler’s firsthand knowledge of his source material. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2015

Mahoney: New Václav Havel biography is ‘moving and intelligent’

Daniel J. Mahoney reviewed Michael Zantovsky’s 2014 book Havel: A Life in the City Journal last week, calling it “a remarkable book about a complex and genuinely admirable human being.” Václav Havel was a Czech writer, philosopher and dissident who served as the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia and then the first president of the Czech Republic. Continue Reading...
March 20, 2015

Putin’s Kleptocracy and Family Values

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T65SwzHAbes There will be some twists and turns here, so hold on. Earlier this month, the BBC highlighted what it called “YouTube sensation ‘I, Russian Occupier'” the hit propaganda film that “feels more like the opening sequence of a big budget Hollywood movie than a homemade political message.” Continue Reading...