Ralph Hauenstein — Paris 1944 The Acton Institute lost a great friend and staunch supporter on Sunday with the passing of Ralph Hauenstein at the age of 103 years. In a truly remarkable life, Hauenstein was by turns a journalist, a war hero, an entrepreneur, and a major philanthropist. I recall interviewing him at a sold out Acton Lecture Series in 2007 about his history-making espionage experiences as General Dwight Eisenhower’s chief of the Intelligence Branch. He had recently published...

My parents should have been jailed for child neglect. At least that’s what would be their fate if I were growing up today. Fortunately for them (and for me), I was a child during the 1970s, a time when kids were (mostly) free to explore the world. At age seven I was allowed to wander a mile in each direction from my home. By age nine I was exploring the underground sewers and drainage system of Wichita Falls, Texas. When...

The English music artist David Bowie died of cancer last night at the age of 69. Because of his experimentation with fashion and musical styles, Bowie was considered by many to be one of the most innovative pop artists of his era. What is less well-known is that Bowie was also something of a financial innovator. In the mid-1990s, Bowie and a pair of his financial advisers developed a plan to generate present-day cash from the future-day sales of his...

Legal historian Sir Matthew Hale has been described as “one of the greatest jurists of the mon law.” Yet during his lifetime (1609-1676), he chose not to publish most of his legal writings, going so far as toprohibitsuch publication in his will. Against these wishes, many manuscripts were copied and circulated by other lawyers after his death. One such work, Of the Law of Nature, was written on multiple hand copies, and now, for the first time ever, it is...

When is a religious group not religious enough for the government? When it conflicts with the government’s agenda. After the launch of Obamacare, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had to determine which employers would get a religious exemptions to the their contraceptive mandate. Instead of relying on factors such as an employer’s religious character, they chose instead to rely on tax law. This was a rather peculiar decision since, as Carrie Severino notes, “Throughout the long history...

I have a can’t miss prediction: tonight, when President Obama gives his eighth State of the Union address, he will describe the state of the union as “strong.” (I’ve made this prediction on this blog the past three years, so I’m hoping for a quadfecta of prescience tonight.) Admittedly, predicting that the state of our union will be described as “strong” is about as safe a bet as you can make when es to politics. Over the last hundred years...

Our most recent issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality, vol. 18, no. 2, has now been published online and print issues are in the mail. In addition to our regular slate of articles examining the intersections between faith, freedom, markets, and morality, this issue contains the text of the Theology of Work Consultation symposium at the 2014 conference of the Evangelical Theological Society. The subject was “The Economics of the Theological Vocation.” The entire symposium, as well as...

The new Star Wars film embodies that ancient human striving for virtue and a higher spiritual order, says Dylan Pahman in this week’s Acton Commentary. The most recent installment in the Star Wars franchise, Episode VII “The Force Awakens” has blasted box-office records like the Death Star destroying Alderan, so far grossing over $1.7 billion. Clearly, the series has massively broad appeal. Much of the draw seems to be the allure of the Jedi, the mystical guardians of the Star...