Almost all discussions about health policy focus on whether different systems of providing healthcare are more efficient, more equitable, or lead to better health es. These are, of course, important issues. Just like food, shelter, or education, healthcare does possess value in and of itself. But as St. John Henry Newman reminds us in the last chapter of The Idea of a University, which focuses on medical education, we should have deeper considerations in mind when judging healthcare systems....

As the story goes, when Martin Luther was asked what he would do if the world were to end tomorrow, he answered, “I would plant an apple tree today.” It’s a lovely anecdote, and it bears within it a kernel of truth about environmental stewardship. The lesson here, from my perspective, is that care of creation begins and ends with you and me. Most of what we hear in the media, and from too many environmental activists, is alarmism...

Pope Leo XIII’s prescient 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum delineated the perils of Marxist collectivism, especially the horrors that would follow in its wake. Drawing both from historical observations and his own projections, Pope Leo wrote: Hence, it is clear that the main tenet of munity of goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into...

Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero - The Tragic Life of Robert E. Lee’s Father | Ryan Cole | Regnery History | 2019 | 426 pgs Henry Lee III, besides being the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, may be best known for his masterful eulogy of George Washington: “To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” In Light-Horse Harry Lee,...

In his State of the Union address this year, President Donald Trump warned of the dangers of socialism. But is there any substance to that worry? Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a self-declared socialist, has made headlines with her Green New Deal proposal. And more recently, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who also identifies as a democratic socialist, has been considered one of the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for president. Perhaps we should not write off the president’s rhetoric as...

When 16-year-old Greta Thunberg stood before the UN Climate Action Summit, she “announced a sort of secular apocalypse,” writes Rev. Robert A. Sirico. This issue of Religion & Liberty focuses on the siren song of alarmism, and how people of faith should approach the very real environmental debate. The Acton Institute’s executive editor, Religion & Liberty, John Couretas, contributes the cover story on moving beyond the environmental apocalypse. “Regrettably, too many religious leaders have bought into the apocalyptic hysteria...

The life of President James Garfield, one of the nation’s forgotten presidents, exemplifies the transformational power of hard work, classical scholarship, and sound economics. James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. His father, Abram, died fighting a fire that threatened their farm when James was a toddler. Although Abram’s widow, Eliza, raised their children in poverty, James’ genius shone so early that she insisted he focus on his studies. Garfield paid for tuition...

Getting serious about climate and conservation. The apocalyptic, “end of the world” story is a staple of popular culture. There seems to be an unlimited appetite for the quasi-religious unveiling (ἡ ἀποκάλυψις in the Greek) of humanity’s inexorable doom and hellish end. Maybe part of that appeal is the mainstreaming of science fiction, once a pulp subgenre and available now wherever movies, videos, and books are digitally streamed. Or maybe the culture is just mired in childish fantasies. “The...

What differentiates a Christian view of the environment from a secular one? Too often, even confused Christians don’t know. Reading putatively faith-based attempts to address the environmental debate often leaves one none the wiser. Many writers simply recycle the same premises, and conclusions, as secularists, sometimes tacking on Bible verses which otherwise seem not to affect the substance of their thought. Others make a tentative start by basing their discussion of Christian environmental stewardship on a citation of the...