Central to the mission of the Acton Institute is educating people of faith about the connections that exist between religious life and economic thinking. Abraham Kuyper helped lay the groundwork for this mission by establishing why it’s important for Christians to be involved in the public square. Kuyper was a Dutch politician and a Reformed theologian during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During his career, he wrote many books about theology, culture, business, and so much more, and...

On Monday, President Donald Trump released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. The proposal touches on every area of economic activity, from taxes to spending, to regulation and the value of work. While the budget is a e step toward reduced spending, lower regulation, and a growth-oriented dynamic economy, bolder reforms are needed to establish fiscal solvency and restore the government to its constitutional prerogatives. Here are the facts you need to know. Total spending and the national deficit:...

In an increasingly polarized political environment, where purity of intention substitutes for successful results, some mentators have gone so far as to say that questioning the efficacy of raising the minimum wage to $15 a hour mocks God Himself. But this week’s Acton Commentary notes that those faithful to Catholic social teaching should accept wage flexibility, which reduces unemployment. In “Flexible wages are one path to a more humane market,” Michael Szpindor Watson, an assistant professor of economics at Belmont...

It’s hardly news to say that Argentina is in deep economic trouble. With only a few exceptions, that has been a given for decades. But recent developments underscore just how much it is the responsibility of Argentine populist politicians and, to be blunt, those who persist in voting for them. This dynamic was recently well-summarized by Fergus Hodgson writing in the Epoch Times. He begins by outlining the dire economic challenges facing the country: Argentina enters 2020 with $332 billion...

One of the occupational hazards of being a librarian is that people are always asking you for book mendations. The truth is that mending books is more difficult than it seems. mendations are as much about the reader as the books themselves. Even the best book on a given subject is useless to the wrong reader. The first and best filter for mendations is reader interest. Even the most voracious mitted readers struggle to finish great works which simply bore...

(Feb. 12, 2020) Update: American Factory wins an Oscar for best feature documentary. In accepting the award, co-director Julia Reichert told attendees at the awards ceremony, “We believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite.” Where have we heard that before? Meanwhile, things are not getting better for the UAW. The Flint Journal reported yesterday that, “Former Flint UAW boss used bribes to buy homes, relative’s plastic surgery, feds say.” The newspaper cited a federal sentencing...

Joaquin Phoenix has been rightly lambasted for his acceptance speech at the 2020 Academy Awards, in which he lent the weight of his celebrity to stamping out the grave evil of domesticating cattle. However, Phoenix made a vital, if less noticed, point that deserves our appreciation. It’s worth noting at the outset that this is not to say that the condemnation of Phoenix, who accepted an Oscar for his leading role in Joker, came undeserved. After rehearsing the usual bromides,...

A new chapter of the state’s oppression of religion in the Balkans began last December, when the socialist government of Montenegro passed a law allowing the government to strip a longstanding, recognized church of its property and potentially transfer it to another sect under more amenable leadership. In the wee hours of the morning shortly after Christmas, politicians in Montenegro passed the Law on Religious Freedom. The Balkans have known no shortage of religious repression – collectively under Communism, and...

On February 5, Pope Francis addressed a crowd of economists and finance ministers that had gathered together for a seminar on “New Forms of Solidarity Towards Fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation.” During his speech, the pope addressed the economy, sin, and finance, and he also called for wealth distribution in order to alleviate poverty. “The world is rich, and yet the poor increase around us,” he said. “If extreme poverty exists in the midst of wealth (also extreme), it is...

In the immediate aftermath of the historic vote for Brexit, many cheered Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, hailing it as a win for freedom, democracy, and subsidiarity. Yet others were quick to claim the move was driven only by populist fear and an inward-looking protectionism. In the years since, however, it has became readily apparent that possibilities for freer trade do, indeed, abound, with many of the country’s pro-Brexit leaders continuing to champion free and open global exchange....