Rather than using their power and privilege to preserve freedom and diversity, America’s educated upper class has coalesced around all-or-nothing advocacy, hoping the state does the heavy lifting of social harmonization. Read More… In 2000, columnist David Brooks wrote Bobos in Paradise, hailing the dawn of a new phase in America’s longstanding story of meritocracy. The “bobos” were a peculiar breed — part bohemian, part bourgeoisie — blurring class divides in a way that would introduce a new form of...

Within the right ethical parameters, charging interest can be morally permissible and even beneficial. But we should always stay mindful of the real risk of exploitation. Read More… Interest-bearing loans monplace in today’s economy, but are a subject of great contention in many of the world’s great intellectual and religious traditions. The Mosaic Law dictates: “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge...

The amendments fall under Hong Kong’s Film Censorship Ordinance and require an official state-approved censor, who judges which movies endanger National Security. The law will also operate retroactively, and movies that were previously allowed to be screened could have the CCP’s approval revoked. Hong Kongers whose movies fall under the ban list could face up to three years in prison and a fine of HK$1 million ($128,400 USD). Read More… Hong Kong officials announced Aug. 24 plans to amend a...

Human beings are rational, free, social, creative, incarnate, and sacred. A proper understanding of human labor will take all of these facets into account. Read More… In the opening pages of Roald Dahl’s acclaimed children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we meet the Bucket family, which includes young Charlie, his parents, and his four grandparents. The book relates that “life was extremely fortable for them all,” which isn’t surprising given that Mr. Bucket, the sole breadwinner for the family,...

Lai mented notably munist government tactics, saying, “If they can induce fear in you, that’s the cheapest way to control you and the most effective way and they know it. The only way to defeat the way of intimidation is to face up to fear and don’t let it frighten you.” Read More… Lai Chee-Ying, also known as “Jimmy Lai,” is a successful Hong Kong entrepreneur, media mogul, and democratic activist who fled, young and penniless, to Hong Kong from...

Families benefit when the economy of their state or nation is robust and free, and economies also benefit when its participants embody civic and moral values. Read More… Families and free market economies: On the surface, they seem unrelated. We associate family with game nights, holiday traditions, and cute baby photos, while the economy is associated with the stock market, cold-hearted businessmen, and bloated corporations. What these stereotypes fail to recognize is that the health of the family, as a...

Empirical inquiry can provide evidence of existence, but it is greatly limited in its ability to explore meaning and purpose. Read More… Scientism, or the belief that all truth must be empirically verifiable, is growing in society. Given the philosophical and practical flaws inherent to this ideology, it is important to understand how it manifests in modern life. Adherents to scientism in the modern world can be classified into two categories: zealots and agnostics. The zealots are the apostles of...

A sustainable government and flourishing society can only be built under the right conditions. Acknowledging the dignity of the human person, the importance of subsidiary social institutions, mitment to the rule of law and an embrace of mercial society are necessary, but they were absent in Afghanistan, largely because of Afghanistan’s violent modern history. Read More… I deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Eleven years later, I watched the Taliban devastate all the progress we fought for. Afghanistan’s chaos and the...

In restricting land purchases by environmentalists, conservatives undermine the power of property rights as a path to conservation. It shouldn’t be that way. Read More… Some sects of environmentalists are well known for disrupting and interrupting land transactions for the cause of conservation, using whatever legal and regulatory means necessary to control, coerce, or prevent concerted human development. It’s bative legacy that has left many of their critics wondering: If land conservation is of such utmost importance, why not just...

China’s National Security Law was implemented in June 2020, and bans what the CCP deems as secession, subversion, or terrorism. More than 100 activists have been arrested, countless others have fled, civil and/or political groups have disbanded, and businesses have been forced to shut down because of this policy. Read More… The Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, tightened its grip on public dissent Aug. 25 when party leadership announced its investigation into a leading pro-democracy group in Hong Kong. The...