In his magisterial work on the twentieth century, Modern Times, historian Paul Johnson highlights how in the 1920s Germany transformed from being “exceptionally law-abiding into an exceptionally violent society.” A key factor, according to Johnson, was an erosion of the rule of law and partisan acceptance of political violence against groups disdained by the State. Johnson notes that from 1912-1922, there were 354 murders by the Right (proto-Nazis) and 22 by the Left (Marxists). Those responsible for the every one...

A review of Rev. Robert Sirico’s Defending the Free Market is featured in the National Catholic Register, written by Fr. C. J. McCloskey. The National Catholic Register is reviewing a number of books, in an effort to help readers discern issues pertinent to the ing election. In Fr. McCloskey’s review of Defending the Free Market, he notes: Father Robert Sirico could not have written a timelier book than his latest, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free...

Forbes recently ran a profile of Christian billionaire and Hobby Lobby CEO David Green. According to Forbes,Green is “the largest evangelical benefactor in the world,” giving “at upwards of $500 million” over the course of his life, primarily to Christian ministries. Yet, for Green, his strong Christian beliefs don’t just apply to how he spends his wealth; they’re integral to how it’s createdin the first place: Hobby Lobby remains a pany in every sense. It runs ads on Christmas and...

The deadline to apply for a scholarship through the Calihan Academic Fellowship program is one month away! If you or anyone you know are looking for financial aid opportunities for next semester, I invite you to visit the Calihan Academic Fellowship page on Acton’s website for details about petitive scholarship program. This page is where you can: download the application form and obtain additional information about eligibility, conditions, the selection process, application requirements, and deadlines. To qualify for the ing...

Bill Gates, easily one of the richest men in the world, recently talked about his wealth and his children’s inheritance, philanthropy and taxes in an article in the the UK’s The Telegraph. He acknowledged that “[c]apitalism has worked phenomenally” and one need only look at North Korea vs. South Korea to see evidence of that. He also noted, “Capitalism has shortfalls. It doesn’t necessarily take care of the poor, and it underfunds innovation.” Gates made several remarks to the British...

Book Note: “As If God Existed” Maurizio Viroli. As if God Existed: Religion and Liberty in the History of Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Religion and liberty are often thought to be mutual enemies: if religion has a natural ally, it is authoritarianism–not republicanism or democracy. But in this book, Maurizio Viroli, a leading historian of republican political thought, challenges this conventional wisdom. He argues that political emancipation and the defense of political liberty have always required the self-sacrifice...

Writing in the American Spectator, Acton’s Director of Research Samuel Gregg says the “enlightened” Western mind can no longer think seriously or coherently about religion: Given the decidedly strange response of the Obama Administration and much of the mentariat to the violence sweeping the Islamic world, one temptation is to view their reaction as simple prehension in the face of the severe unreason that leads some people to riot and kill in a religion’s name. But while the Administration’s response...

Writing in National Review Online, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg weighs in on Mitt Romney’s remarks about the “47 percent”: Ever since the modern welfare state was founded (by none other than that great “champion” of freedom Otto von Bismarck as he sought, unsuccessfully, to persuade industrial workers to stop voting for the German Social Democrats), Western politicians have discovered that welfare programs and subsidies more generally are a marvelous way of creating constituencies of people who are likely to...

Tyler Cowen fielded an interesting topic on his blog last week, focusing on economists who are (or were) clergy. There’s an interesting list, including notables like the Salamancans, Paul Heyne, and Heinrich Pesch. I didn’t realize that Kirzner is a rabbi. Malthus is named first, but as the ment on Cowen’s post notes, anytime you mention Malthus you should mention Anders Chydenius in the following breath. How about Edmund Opitz of the Foundation for Economic Education, or even Rodger Charles,...

Writing in Public Discourse, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg notes that while Constitutional law has often been used to shape economies, there are limits to the law’s ability to influence economic culture: The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare sharply reminds us of constitutional law’s significance for economic life. NFIB v. Sebelius, however, is not the first or even the most controversial effort to use constitutional law to shape economies. Both America and European countries have a decades-long history of...