What should Westerners make of Vladimir Putin? Some view the Russian president as a type of Western democratic politician while others think he is shaped by Chekism, the idea that the secret political police control (or should control) everything in society. But John R. Schindler, an Orthodox Christian, thinks the West may be underestimating the influence of militant Russian Orthodoxy on Putin’s worldview: In his fire-breathing speech to the Duma in March when he announced Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Putin...

In an interview on Christian distance education, Dylan Pahman, the assistant editor for Acton’s Journal of Markets & Morality, talks about the education bubble, rising costs of higher education, and whether Christian worldview integration in a distance education program is worth a premium: Luke Morgan: As a blogger for the Acton Institute, you have written about the education bubble, the textbook bubble, and other items regarding what education costs, and how those things should work in a free market. Could...

In this edition of Radio Free Acton, Paul Edwards speaks with Luba Markewycz of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago, Illinois about the Holodomor – the Great Famine of the 1930s inflicted on Ukraine by Josef Stalin’s Soviet Government that killed millions of Ukrainians through starvation. They discuss the Holodomor itself, and the process undertaken by Markewycz to create an exhibition of art by young Ukrainians memorate the event. You can listen to the podcast using the audio...

January 1, for Catholics, is celebrated as the World Day of Peace. For January 1, 2015, Pope Francis’ message is a reflection on the horror of human trafficking. Entitled No Longer Slaves But Brothers And Sisters, the pope’s message calls trafficking an “abominable phenomenon” which cheapens human life and denies basic human rights to those enslaved. Taking his theme from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon, Pope Francis reflects on human dignity and true fraternity among all peoples. Pope Francis prayerfully...

Lord Acton famously said that, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Joseph Pearce finds fort can play a similar role in our lives and that fort corrupts absolutely.” That is why we tend to numb ourselves with distractions, from mood-altering drugs to social media: Shortly after Odysseus and his men leave Troy, heading home after the interminable siege and ultimate destruction of that City, they land on the island of the Lotus-Eaters. After the horrors of war,...

To end the 2014 on an incredibly dehumanizing note, CBS aired an episode of Undercover Boss that stirred up protests from all walks of life. Undercover Boss is usually a wonderful program that allows CEOs to see what is happening on the ground in panies and reward hard workers accordingly. However, this particular episode profiled Doug Guller, the CEO of Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill, who fired a bartender after she decided not to dehumanize herself by wearing a T-shirt...

“If economics is the dismal science,” says Hans Noel, an associate professor at Georgetown University, “then political science is the dismissed science.” Most Americans—from pundits to voters—don’t think that political science has much to say about political life. But there are some things, notes Noel, that “political scientists know that it seems many practitioners, pundits, journalists, and otherwise informed citizens do not.” Here are excerpts from Noel’s list of ten things political scientists know that you don’t: #1. It’s The...

For the past three decades China has been the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10 percent a year for 30 years. As Brian J. Grim, founder and president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, notes, there are many reasons for the growth, such as market mechanisms, modern technology and Western management practices. But one factor that is often overlooked is the role of Christianity: A study by Purdue University’s Fenggang Yang (cited recently in the Economist)...

“Black lives matter.’ ‘All lives matter. These slogans may forever summarize the deep tensions in American life in 2014,’ says Anthony Bradley in this week’s Acton Commentary. “We can loudly protest that “Black lives matter” but it will mean nothing in the long run if we cannot explain why black lives matter.” Black lives matter because black people are persons. One of the greatest tragedies in American history was the myth that America could flourish without blacks flourishing as persons....

Every Wednesday we publish the Acton Commentary, a weekly article that covers topics related to Acton’s mission. As es to a close I thought it would be worth highlighting the mentaries that have been produced by Acton Institute staffers over the past year. Rev. Robert A. Sirico A Dangerous Moment with Promise The Holy War on Corporate Politicking Pope Francis, without the politics The Holy War on Corporate Politicking Pope Francis, without the politics Samuel Gregg Poverty, the Rule of...