In cultivating a Christian ethic of economic generosity, we tend to focus heavily on traditional acts of charity—donating our dollars, volunteering our time, and so on. Likewise, in heeding Jesus’ call in Matthew 25 to serve the “least of these,” we often think through the lens of one-way material transfers. Yet throughout the Biblical story, we also see generosity manifest in the context of relationship. Sacrifice is paired with partnership, with giving finding much of its meaning in the receiving....

(Feb. 12, 2020) Update: American Factory wins an Oscar for best feature documentary. In accepting the award, co-director Julia Reichert told attendees at the awards ceremony, “We believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite.” Where have we heard that before? Meanwhile, things are not getting better for the UAW. The Flint Journal reported yesterday that, “Former Flint UAW boss used bribes to buy homes, relative’s plastic surgery, feds say.” The newspaper cited a federal sentencing...

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...

On Monday, President Donald Trump released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. The proposal touches on every area of economic activity, from taxes to spending, to regulation and the value of work. While the budget is a e step toward reduced spending, lower regulation, and a growth-oriented dynamic economy, bolder reforms are needed to establish fiscal solvency and restore the government to its constitutional prerogatives. Here are the facts you need to know. Total spending and the national deficit:...

Central to the mission of the Acton Institute is educating people of faith about the connections that exist between religious life and economic thinking. Abraham Kuyper helped lay the groundwork for this mission by establishing why it’s important for Christians to be involved in the public square. Kuyper was a Dutch politician and a Reformed theologian during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During his career, he wrote many books about theology, culture, business, and so much more, and...

In the immediate aftermath of the historic vote for Brexit, many cheered Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, hailing it as a win for freedom, democracy, and subsidiarity. Yet others were quick to claim the move was driven only by populist fear and an inward-looking protectionism. In the years since, however, it has became readily apparent that possibilities for freer trade do, indeed, abound, with many of the country’s pro-Brexit leaders continuing to champion free and open global exchange....

One of the occupational hazards of being a librarian is that people are always asking you for book mendations. The truth is that mending books is more difficult than it seems. mendations are as much about the reader as the books themselves. Even the best book on a given subject is useless to the wrong reader. The first and best filter for mendations is reader interest. Even the most voracious mitted readers struggle to finish great works which simply bore...

In an increasingly polarized political environment, where purity of intention substitutes for successful results, some mentators have gone so far as to say that questioning the efficacy of raising the minimum wage to $15 a hour mocks God Himself. But this week’s Acton Commentary notes that those faithful to Catholic social teaching should accept wage flexibility, which reduces unemployment. In “Flexible wages are one path to a more humane market,” Michael Szpindor Watson, an assistant professor of economics at Belmont...

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...

On February 5, Pope Francis addressed a crowd of economists and finance ministers that had gathered together for a seminar on “New Forms of Solidarity Towards Fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation.” During his speech, the pope addressed the economy, sin, and finance, and he also called for wealth distribution in order to alleviate poverty. “The world is rich, and yet the poor increase around us,” he said. “If extreme poverty exists in the midst of wealth (also extreme), it is...