I’m something of a cheapskate (or as I prefer to think of myself, prudentially frugal) and so I take special pleasure in finding a good deal. I’m also, by nature, rather grateful and so I frequently thank God for helping me to find goods and services at bargain prices. But sometimes I remember to step back and be grateful for the larger system God has created that makes such exchanges possible: the price system. As I’ve said before, a “price...

Fatherhood is a wild ride, yet in my own personal reflections on and around Father’s Day, I’m routinely reminded that amid and alongside all the adventure, the challenges of fatherhood mostly play out in the small and intimate moments of daily life. Those daily struggles and weekly rhythms are profound and important, but they can also feel excessively monotonous and mundane. Much like the challenges we face in in our daily work and economic action, finding flourishing in the family...

This morning, Queen Elizabeth II opened a new session of the UK Parliament by delivering her 64th “Queen’s Speech.” This event, which contains ceremonial elements dating back centuries, lays out the government’s vision for the ing legislative session. The 2017 Queen’s Speech focused primarily on Brexit and enhancing trade with the rest of the world, as well as terrorism, the Paris climate agreement, and NHS funding. This year’s speech differed from previous years in a number of ways, notably its...

Tim Farron, an evangelical Christian, stepped down under duress as theleader of the UK’s Liberal Democratic Party after admitting that he privately believes his church’s teachings about homosexuality and abortion. Like many politicians, he did not allow his ethical views to affect his public conduct. But the mere possibility that he privately held such retrogradebeliefs was enough to drivehim from his job – a fact that should concerneveryone who supports a free society, writesEd Westin his first essay for Religion&...

On this edition of Radio Free Acton,we talk with John Lauck—founding president of the Midwestern History Association, the associate editor and book review editor of the Middle West Review, and an adjunct professor of history and political science at the University of South Dakota—about his new book on the American Midwest, “From Warm Center to Ragged Edge.” Then Bruce Edward Walker shares his review of the latest work from former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters on our cultural segment, Upstream....

Technology has changed the wayswe work, but it’s also transformed the ways we play, creating more time for rest and relaxation, andinfusingthose hours with new diversions and distractions.Yet while we seem to express plenty of Luddite concernabout the impacts of technology on labor demand, there’s far less awareness about its effects onlabor supply. “The more attractive our leisure time, the less we’ll want to work, holding wages fixed,” writes economist Erik Hurst, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth...

Note: This is post #38 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What happened to the cleanliness of your clothes after the U.S. Department of Energy issued new washing machine requirements? The requirements — which require washers to use 21% less energy — mean that washers actually clean clothes less than they used to, says economist Alex Tabarrok. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Tabarrok considers whether mand and control” is an efficient way to achieve the desired...

Today is World Refugee Day, an annual observance created by the United Nations to memorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees.” Here are five facts you should know about refugees and refugee policy in the United States. 1. The U.S. government defines “refugee” as any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and...

Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries inthe series see this post. The Term: ‘The Economy’ (aka Gross National Product) What it Means: When people refer to “the economy” they are usually referring to a particular idea—Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—which is itself simply an economic metric. GDP is often used as a single number that “measures” the economy. Imagine you wanted to put a price tag on...

Tune in live tonight, Friday, June 23, at 7:00 PM Eastern to watch Rev. Robert Sirico’s keynote speech at Acton University. Visit Acton’s page for the live video. ...