Writing a biography of someone like General Augusto Pinochet is fraught with potential pitfalls. Does it e an exercise in whitewashing someone whose regime oversaw a brutal repression which included the “disappearing” of approximately 2,228 people? Or does a biographer unquestionably accept the left’s narrative about Pinochet, one which downplays the abyss to which the much-romanticized Marxist, Salvador Allende, led Chile during his short presidency? In a new well-researched biography, Augusto Pinochet (2020), the French journalist Michel Faure navigates these...

I was a guest on the Working Man podcast this week, discussing the connections between the Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper and Pope Leo XIII. In 1891 both Leo and Kuyper published important documents providing Christian reflection on the “social question.” On the 125th anniversary of those publications, the Acton Institute produced an edition of these landmark contributions to the foundations of modern Christian social thought. The Working Man podcast is a production of Harmel Academy of the Trades,...

When I first moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1986, the city was an alien place to me. I had grown up on the eastern side of the state, in the I-75 manufacturing corridor that runs from Toledo to Bay City. Soon, I came to realize that in Grand Rapids, I wasn’t just living in a different region of Michigan: I was living in a different state, a different culture. It was shocking to hear people in West Michigan crow...

On May 25, George Floyd was murdered on the streets of Minneapolis, killed by “asphyxiation from sustained pressure” after his neck was pressed for over eight minutes under the knee of a police officer—a supposed public servant who was sworn to “serve and protect.” It’s a tragic example of the moral and institutional rot that pervades society, particularly as it relates to the enduring threats of racism, white supremacy, and over-criminalization among minorities and the poor. As if this injustice...

The nation has reached a baffling moment in our history: looting and torching minority-owned businesses for racial equality. The weeklong pandemic of mob violence following the death of George Floyd has destroyed minority business owners’ dreams, denied young minorities jobs, and left neighborhoods depleted, depressed, and alone. While ideologues like 1619 Project leader Nikole Hannah-Jones dismiss concerns over “destroying property,” the looters’ victims make clear the damage goes well beyond bricks and mortar. “We’re here for God. This is our...

As U.S. cities seek to rebuild from chaos, Hong Kong continues to resist the imposition of order—a draconian order emanating from Beijing that will crush freedom of thought and expression. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has intervened with an historic proposal: He would allow nearly half the citizens of Hong Kong to immigrate to the UK. The es after the National People’s Congress approved a security law that would allow thePeople’s Republic of China to establish security teams in Hong...

The tragic and disturbing footage of George Floyd’s unjust death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers has been circulating for over a week.Floyd’s death on May 25 has sparked protests across the country and even the world, but it’s also sparked many violent riots in which people have been brutally killed munities decimated. How can we helpfully approach policing reform and how should we respond to the current widespread rioting? Anthony Bradley, professor of religion, theology and ethics at...

George Floyd was laid to rest in a private burial ceremony earlier this week in Houston, following a massive funeral at the Fountain of Praise Church. The soul-searching that followed his tragic death has made the nation restless. Many police departments throughout the United States have already begun instituting reforms in an effort to prevent further tragic deaths and restore public trust, which is essential for police to munities in keeping the peace. The widespread failure of our institutions to...

The cost of the nine days of rioting following George Floyd’s death has already exceeded $100 million. Yet some economists believe that damage actually benefits our country. In the epicenter of the riots, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has appealed to the federal and state governments to foot the bill for the destruction, which stands at a preliminary estimate of $55 million. Much of that property damage followed Frey’s stand down order for police to largely turn a blind eye to...

In 18th century France, the most-read book after the Bible was a work on political philosophy written by the Roman Catholic archbishop François Fénelon. Unfortunately, Fénelon’s writings on economics, politics, and theology have largely been forgotten, as only a fraction of his work has been translated into English. Fénelon was an important voice in France; during the Enlightenment, he fought for the reform of France’s political and economic institutions. His works are a critical resource for those interested in economics,...