Following the recent discovery of new species and a reports of a “lost world,” a primitive pristine paradise on the Indonesian island of Papua, I thought I’d pass along some thoughts of F. W. J. Schelling, the 19th century philosopher and contemporary of G. W. F. Hegel and Friedrich Schleiermacher, who was one of the last great German idealists. German idealism in general, and Schelling’s philosophy in particular, have exercised great influence down into contemporary theology, having effected, among others,...

What might a big city Wal-Mart look like? Until now, such a question was only answerable through some imaginative speculation. Wal-Mart has announced plans to open the first store within Chicago’s city limits in the Austin neighborhood this summer. The 145,000-square-foot facility will also be the first to have what is called a “green roof,” 67,000 square foot “covered like a rug with flowering, cactus-like plants that live in cold weather.” The roof is designed by Roof-scapes, Inc. of Philadelphia...

In this season of taxation, it is refreshing to consider strategies for lowering taxes and making governments more efficient. London’s Institute of Economic Affairs recently published a fascinating monograph by Richard Teather, The Benefits of Tax Competition. It’s available for download here. Teather examines from various angles the issue of petition among nations—that is, the practice of national governments’ lowering taxes for the purpose of attracting panies and fostering and retaining domestic ones. He reviews the relevant existing research, analyzes...

After much whispering and pre-publicity, a group of 86 evangelical leaders has announced their support for what The New York Times calls “a major initiative to fight global warming.” As part of the “Evangelical Climate Initiative,” they are calling for “federal legislation that would require reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through ‘cost-effective, market-based mechanisms.'” (For a response from another group of evangelical leaders, go to the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance.) I have great respect for the supporters of this initiative, and...

Acton is wrapping up a three-month project that had print advertisements running in several publications: WORLD, Crisis and the Michigan Catholic. The idea is to get people thinking about the economic consequences of trade policies and the power of entrepreneurial creativity. We’ve received a lot of feedback on this project, most of which was highly positive — with a few critical zingers. (Thanks to those of you who allowed us to use your names in ments.) If you haven’t had...

With the publication of Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI is warning that an passing government would be unable to provide the one thing that people really need — loving, personal concern. Sam Gregg sees parallels between Benedict’s new encyclical and Tocqueville’s 19th century understanding of the autonomous, social associations that gave America its dynamic character and limited government power. Read the mentary here. ...

Following Michael Miller’s recent Acton Commentary, “Why Johnny Can’t Compete with Sanjay”, and the ments, two of America’s best mentators have also weighed in on the subject. First there’s Charles Krauthammer’s Time article, arguing that America is doing fine, partly as a result of less dependence on government-funded research. Then Michael ments on Krauthammer’s argument, along with a request for more information on the role of the private sector in research. Any takers? ...

Here’s a convincing op-ed piece by William Romanowski, who teaches film studies at Calvin College, “Missing the big picture.” He writes in USAToday about the ambivalent impact of the upswing of religiously-oriented ing from Hollywood. “Were more evangelicals to think about movies in terms of their faith beliefs, they would actually have an opportunity to not only buy tickets, but also to begin to shape the entertainment industry,” he writes. But how evangelicals (broadly defined) attempt to shape the industry...

Writing in Canada’s Macleans magazine, Mark Steyn modifies a famous saying of our namesake: As Lord Acton almost said, all power corrupts but Liberal power corrupts very liberally. Since it’s a Canadian publication, the capital “L” refers to the party that was booted out of power in the recent elections. The whole piece is an interesting look at the legacy of the British empire and can be read here. ...

One aspect of the evangelical involvement in debates over global warming and climate change that has intriqued me has been what I deem to be a rather large blind spot about the relation of religious conservatives to science. By this I mean that if there is any group of people who ought to understand the rigidity of scientific dogma, it should be evangelical Christians. Given the treatment of their views in debates about evolution and more recently “intelligent design,” it...