Note: This is post #70 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. There are numerous variables that determine the price of goods and services—including your willingness to pay the price. Because we have choices in what we buy, the price is relative to other goods. For example, one pizza may cost the equivalent to two cups of coffee so we have to make tradeoffs between goods. We also have budget constraints, which are a crucial variable in helping you...

On this episode of Radio Free Acton, Marc Vander Maas, audio/visual manager at Acton, speaks with Yuval Levin, Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, on finding solidarity in the “Age of Trump,” what it means, how it came about, and then touch on the history of political polarization in America. On the Upstream segment, Caroline Roberts has a discussion with Julian Chambliss, professor of history at Rollins College, on Marvel’s new hit movie, “Black Panther.” Check out...

Soon after Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door at Wittenberg (if he even did), Protestants began to be blamed for unleashing many of the destructive influences of Western Civilization. As a Baptist, I thinkthe criticisms are overstated (and thatthe good of the Reformation far outweighs the bad) but they aren’t wholly without merit. There is more than a grain of truth that anunintended effect of the Protestant Reformation was to increase the rapid expansion of secularization....

Last night, Coco joined the elite group of animated films to win a “grand slam”: the Golden Globe, BAFTA, theAnnie Award,andan Oscar. Neither of the victories at last night’s 90th annual Academy Awards came as a surprise – fans have dubbed the Best Animated Feature Film category “the Pixar award” – but the blockbuster’s plot touches on how the free market rewards or rebuffs unethical practices, how technological progress brings justice, and the eternal significance of vocation and memory. The...

You probably haven’t even heard about it, but yesterday there was an exchange in the Supreme Court that future generations will regard as one of the most significant revelations of our political era. The case of Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky concerns a Minnesota statute that broadly bans all political apparel at the polling place. When Andrew Cilek went to vote in 2010, he wore a shirt bearing the image of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag and a button...

Today The Instituto Juan de Mariana has awarded the “Premio Juan de Mariana” to Acton’s Director of International Outreach Alex Chafuen. This award recognizes an exemplary career in the defense of freedom and liberty. The Juan de Mariana Prize is presented at the Freedom Dinner as a part of Freedom Week. Chafuen was recognized especially for his work at the Atlas Network. During 26 years with Chafuen in a leading role, Atlas brought together more than 450 institutions from almost...

Many of us thought it was empty rhetoric or that an advisor who had read an economics textbook would talk him out of it. But yesterday President Trump announced he’ll keep his campaign promise to start a trade war by slapping tariffs of 25 percent on foreign-made steel and 10 percent on aluminum. On Twitter, the president followed up with the bafflingly, ment that, When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country...

For much of his life, Pete Ochs was a successful investment banker in Wichita, Kansas. Yet having started his own business and created significant wealth through a series of investments, he struggled to see the value and purpose of it all. When the market took a turn for the worse, he realized that something needed to change. “After 9/11, our business dropped 50%, and I looked at God and said, ‘don’t you understand what I’ve done for you?’” he explains....

In a recent Acton lecture, Greg Forster highlights the work of Whittaker Chambers, the former Soviet spy who converted to Christianity and became one of the most influential public voices in the fight against Communism. Chambers’ most famous and enduring work, Witness, is an astounding personal memoir and a literary treasure. It transcends genres, mixing the thrills of espionage and political intrigue with quiet spiritual reflections and jaw-dropping forays into moral philosophy, all in the service of a simple but...

As the UK beds down for the night, it is blanketed with government alerts that traveling out into the snow-covered landscape might prove deadly – as it already has for 10 people ranging in age from seven to 75. The snowfall may total more than 19 inches, as Storm Emma collides with the “Beast from the East.” Subzero temperatures also strained energy supplies on Thursday, triggering the largest spike in consumer demand in eight years. While far from perfect, the...