A significant fact lies buried inside MEP Richard Sulik’s report on how subsidiarity could save the European Union: EU programs are reinforcing the very Communist-era behaviors they are intended to eradicate. Taxpayer-funded grants from the European Union are fueling cronyism and corruption, especially in its newest and most vulnerable member states. EU funds inflict the worst corrupting of the political process in former Communist countries, Sulik, an MEP from Slovakia, writes: Despite the good intention, European funds have e the...

Today is World Environment Day, the United Nations’ “most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.” Though we may disagree on policy solutions, we here at the Acton Institute share the UN’s concern for the environment. In 2007 we published Environmental Stewardship in the Judeo-Christian Tradition as our primary source for religious thought on environmental stewardship. The following piled by Elise Hilton, gathers information from “A Biblical Perspective on Environmental Stewardship,” an essay...

Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...

Almost 90 years have passed since the beginning of the Great Depression and yet most of us are still unclear on what caused America’s greatest economic collapse. The causes and precursors plex, of course, but there are a few factors that we should know about. In this brief video, economist Alex Tabbarok provides one of the best overviews of what exactly occurred during this troubling period in economic history. (If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d...

KangZeLiu, Globalization, CC BY-SA 4.0 Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg recently spoke on the Library of Law and Liberty’s podcast Liberty Law Talk to answer the question, “Is globalization in retreat?” You can listen to the discussion here. For more from Acton on globalization, see other PowerBlog posts. ...

In Europe, the answer to one bad economic policy seems to be another bad economic policy. However, if such failures intersect in the right way, the problem goes from being a fiscal to a moral problem. Take the issue of“eurobonds,”a concept wholeheartedly supported by newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron. Think of eurobondsas the redistribution of debt. The mechanism essentiallypools the collective debt of itsremaining 27 members at the EU level. Eurobondswould allow nations like Greece to borrow more money...

Peter Augustine Lawler died last week at the age of 65. Lawler, who referred to himself as a “postmodern conservative”, was a distinguished political philosopher and public intellectual who frequently wrote about the role of virtue in the modern (or postmodern) world. In honor of his passing, here are six quotes by Lawler on virtue: On virtue and knowing: “Virtue is the action that flows from knowing: 1. Who we are. 2. What we’re supposed to do. Doing, as Aristotle...

The Acton Institute Mini-Grants on Free Market Economics program accepts proposals from faculty members at colleges, seminaries, and universities in the United States and Canada in order to promote the scholarship and teaching of market economics. This program allows for collaboration between faculty from different universities, as well as help future leaders to emerge, strengthen, and expand the existing network of scholars within economics. Entrants may submit proposals in two broad categories: course development and faculty scholarship. Here is plete...

Boys’ Latin students hard at work. Black and Latino young men from munities show statistically low high school graduation and attendance rates. One group of young men, however, is proving that that academic underperformance doesn’t have to be the norm. These e from a poor black neighborhood, but they’ve been taught a special skills most American students lack: learning the Latin language. They’re students at Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School where they’re required to study a language many would...

“The poor will always be with us, but such a sobering reality does not free us from an obligation to work to alleviate the ravages of poverty,” says Trey Dimsdale. “On the contrary, Jesus’ statement only serves to remind us that every generation will face the question of how best to fulfill our holy obligations to them.” It is clear that many in the present generation have taken notice of the plight of the poor and are moved by passion...