Since 2015, I have spent more time than I could ever have imagined debating the issue of whether free markets are more optimal for the United States (or any other country) than the various policies usually grouped together under the phrase “economic nationalism.” It’s a discussion that touches on questions ranging from the place of economics in determining policy to issues of foreign policy (most particularly, America’s relationship with China) and the economic role of the state. It also has...

The late Sir Roger Scruton has been given many titles since his death on January 12. He’s been hailed as the “greatest conservative thinker of our age,” Britain’s “intellectual dissident” and beauty’s best modern defender. For Samuel Gregg, he will be forever remembered “as a gentle Knight of the Realm, but above all a fearless Knight of the West.” Writing at Law & Liberty, Gregg recalls Scruton’s fearlessness in the face of harassment endured for decades. Scruton was an unapologetic...

After a bitter, three-and-a-half year political battle, the UK will leave the European Union at 11 p.m. on Friday, January 31, 2020. Brexit returns control of British political institutions, immigration laws, regulatory standards, and free trade policies to its citizens. That is, Brexit empowers the British people to determine their own destiny. “Brexit was really about a fundamental desire of humanity: our thirst for liberty,” writes Rev. Richard Turnbull ina new analysisfor the Acton Institute’sReligion & Liberty Transatlanticwebsite. Rev. Turnbull,...

In an essay entitled “Passions, Politics and the Removal of a President: Lessons Learned from the Impeachment of President Clinton,” which appeared in Grove City College’s Journal of Law & Public Policy, former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty tried to share what he and other Republicans learned from President William Jefferson Clinton’s impeachment in the late 1990s. After we are done with President Donald John Trump’s impeachment, perhaps McNulty will have a follow-up article on “lessons not learned.” In case...

President Donald Trump delivered the 2020 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the ninety-seventh to be given in person and the third of his presidency. In addition to touting a booming economy and highlighting the heroism of the Tuskegee Airmen and other groundbreaking Americans, the president attacked socialism, in the U.S. and abroad, at least five times. Here are the ways President Trump opposed socialism or its premises during the 2020 State of the Union address: 1. “Socialism...

A presidential season is a time of policies, proposals, and promises. All will guarantee they will increase national wealth and well-being, but history and rational analysis show that some reforms will hurt the very voters who support them. The wealth tax is one such policy, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The organization released its analysis of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s “Ultra-Millionaires Tax” and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposal – and the results are distinctly dispiriting. A wealth tax would shrink GDP,...

In many countries, debates we had 40 years ago are starting to be rehashed: can one be both a Catholic and a classical liberal? It’s good to remember some of the arguments that liberal Catholics used then to justify their positions. The Spanish priest Enrique Menéndez Ureña, SJ (1939-2014) started to work on this topic in the late 70s and early 80s. His work culminated in the book The Myth of Socialist Christianity, first published in 1981 as El Mito...

Today is the Iowa caucuses. For Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), it may be a campaign-defining day. Her support has been waning in the polls in what should be one of her strongest states. If she doesn’t garner at least 15% support, she won’t get any Iowan delegates and likely won’t end up the Democratic party’s presidential nominee. The excitement and tension is palpable. Can’t you feel it? (No? Just me?) Well, I’m excited because Warren has run a unique campaign....

In early January, Samuel Gregg explained at Law & Liberty how economic policies driven by nationalist protectionism have, in many cases, eventually resulted in economic loss. Generally, protectionist policies are implemented in order to protect workers and industries, however, they also have the effect of throwing market incentives off balance. When a nation employing protectionist policies disincentivizes other countries from importing or exporting parative advantage in that nation’s industries is “dulled,” argues Gregg. “The more you protect the industry, the...

A report on the global impact of think tanks has ranked the Acton Institute among the world’s most influential thought leaders. The University of Pennsylvania released its “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report” last Friday. This year, the annual report – which was “designed to identify and recognize centers of excellence in all the major areas of public policy research” – opened the ratings to all 8,248 think tanks in its database. The report has recognized the Acton...