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Charles Koch’s Metaphysics of Business

We e guest writer Stephen Schmalhofer to the PowerBlog with this review of Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World’s Most Successful Companies by Charles Koch (Crown Business, 2015). Schmalhofer writes from New York City, where he works in technology and venture capital. He is a graduate of Yale University. Charles Koch’s Metaphysics of Business By Stephen Schmalhofer Adam Smith, that venerable a supporter of free enterprise, held businessmen in low regard, alleging that their...

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RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE

AU08 day 1 blogging

A number of bloggers have begun posting their summaries, thoughts, and reactions to the first day of sessions at Acton University 2008. Below is a list, which will be updated periodically throughout the day. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf at WDTPRS,“Acton University: Day 1.” As usual there is a very, ah, lively conversation going on in Fr. ment boxes.Tex at Mere Orthodoxy,“Anthropology, the Economists’ Foundation.”“The Economic Way of Thinking.”“Difference: The Opportunity for Love.”“The Danger of Misplaced Pity.” Tex is living up to...

AU08 day 2 blogging

Acton University 2008 is in full gear as we proceed with the second full day of classes. Our staff is working hard at capturing audio from the conference, which you can keep abreast of here. And our attendees are continuing their excellent work in mitments to attend each session and bring critically thoughtful engagement with the topics. Highlights of the blogging from Day 2 include: Hunter Baker, blogging at the American Spectator blog and Southern Appeal,“The Next Big Center-Right Think...

Victory for government tinkering?

The WSJ reports, to the relief of the White House and Capitol Hill, no doubt: “U.S. retail sales increased in May, rising double the rate expected in a sign consumers were using stimulus payments and that the economy might not be as weak as feared.” Whether or not this is really evidence of the “success” of the government stimulus package, you can be sure that it will be proclaimed as such from on high over the next days and weeks....

It might seem like ancient political history to younger readers, but once upon a time there was a Republican Speaker of the House named Newt Gingrich and a Democratic President named Bill Clinton. A new book by Steven Gillon, The Pact, claims that the two ostensibly bitter enemies made a promising but ultimately abortive attempt to reform Social Security and Medicare. As one who has contributed modestly to that quixotic quest (here, most recently), I was fascinated by this interview...

Acton U. this week in Grand Rapids

“ … what is virtue if not the free choice of what is good?” — Alexis de Tocqueville Acton University, the four-day exploration of the intellectual foundations of a free society, opens today in Grand Rapids. This event has grown rapidly since its inception in 2005. This year’s AU, which will integrate course instruction in philosophy, Christian theology and economics, is drawing nearly 400 attendees from 51 countries. The schedule features more than 57 courses and 20 discussion and networking...

A statue of ‘Liberty’ for India

The BBC is reporting that the Indian state of Maharashtra plans to construct a statue on an artificial island off the coast of Bombay (HT: Zondervan>To the Point). “The statue will be of the Maratha warrior king Shivaji, considered a hero in Maharashtra for his defiance of Mughal and British forces.” The officials apparently have in mind a rival for the American Statue of Liberty: “Vishal Dhage, a state government official, said the statue would be about the same height...

Confusing capitalism with consumerism

Rebecca Hagelin of the Heritage Foundation picks up on my thoughts on consumerism and capitalism and expands on them helpfully in a column. We should all take her observations about stewardship to heart. I have been a student and a leader of Crown Financial Ministries curriculum, and during my time at Calvin Seminary was even part of a study group to suggest revisions of the curriculum to better reflect Reformed theological sensitivities. I’ve also recently gone through one of Dave...

RELIGION & LIBERTY

'Money, Greed, and God'

The belief that the essence of capitalism is greed is perhaps the biggest myth Jay W. Richards tackles in his new book, Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and not the Problem. One reason for confronting this challenge is that many free market advocates subscribe to the thought that capitalism produces greed, and for them that’s not necessarily a negative. But for those with a faith perspective, greed and covetousness are, of course, serious moral flaws....

The leaky bucket: Why conservatives need to learn the art of story

In his biography of St. Thomas Aquinas, G. K. Chesterton said that “most men must have a revealed religion, because they have not time to argue.” The same might be true for political philosophy. In the Age of Information, most men do not have time to sift critically through the barrage of information es their way. So if most people do not have time to reason out their own political philosophy, how do they decide which to adopt as...

Ideology vs. reality

If one es aware that the original moral argument for socialism is wrong—that capitalism is actually benefiting people and serving mon good—why would one hold on to the ideology rather than abandon it? Clearly, it is difficult to abandon a lifelong ideology, especially if one considers the only available alternative to be tainted with evil. Thus socialism was for generations of socialists simply an entrenched dogma. It was possible for them to argue the finer points, but not to...

In this issue of Religion & Liberty we meet a giant of the Twentieth century: Alexander Solzhenitsyn of Russia. He has been both widely celebrated and widely reviled. His courage is admirable-—risking his life and suffering the torment of the Soviet gulag. Now in his old age, his place is secure as a hero in the history of liberty. For those unfamiliar with the great Russian, Acton’s own John Couretas provides an excellent introduction to Solzhenitsyn in his review...

Lester DeKoster

“God is a free enterpriser because he expects a return on His investments.” At once a father, professor, librarian, editor, publisher, and author, Lester DeKoster leaves a powerful legacy that resonates far beyond the borders of his school and denomination. In 1951 DeKoster became director of the library at Calvin College and Seminary, affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During his tenure at the college, DeKoster was influential in expanding the holdings of what would...

Double-edged sword: The power of the Word - Matthew 6:1–4

Matthew 6:1–4 “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them otherwise, you will have no pense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let you left hand know what your right...

This issue of Religion & Liberty in many ways personifies Christ in culture. The lead interview is an analysis of the faith at work movement from one of its leaders, David W. Miller. Miller reminds us of how the Church has lagged behind in integrating faith with work, and quite often many pastoral and church leaders have failed in articulating a strong theology of work. As you will see, some of these reasons are ideological, while some may simply...

How the Byzantines saved Europe

Ask the average college student to identify the 1,100 year old empire that was, at various points in its history, the mercial, artistic, and ecclesiastical center of Europe and, indeed, was responsible for the very survival and flourishing of what we know today as Europe, and you’re not likely to get the correct answer: Byzantium. The reasons for this are manifold but not least is that as Western Europe came into its own in the later Middle Ages and...

Our lead interview with author Amity Shlaes about the Great Depression and its various interpreters has obvious parallels to the often heated debate about what has caused the financial crisis of 2008-09. In The Forgotten Man, a superb examination of the history of the Depression and the mythologies that have grown up around it, Shlaes makes important connections for us. In speaking of the “forgotten man” she says, “Our own children and grandchildren are forgotten men because they will...

Theology at work: Faithful living in the marketplace -- An interview with David Miller

Your book, God at Work, was published last year. Tell us about the faith-at-work movement, and what are some of the reasons for its rise in society? Broadly speaking, it’s a loosely networked collection of individuals and groups throughout the country who are all seeking to integrate faith and work. Some of the groups prised of people from a pany e together in the cafeteria or in someone’s conference room and have a half hour of prayer and Bible...

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