Despite a series of setbacks on the most important political issues of his day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson still envisions a free, innovative future that links the transatlantic sphere in prosperity. He recently outlined his vision of a post-Brexit future that will unleash the creativity and wealth-creating powers of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic. Johnson made surprisingly forward-looking and optimistic remarks shortly after the Supreme Court of the UK ruled his decision to prorogue Parliament “unlawful.” The...

As the leader of a Christian think tank in Sweden, Per Ewert watched Greta Thunberg’s global crusade unfold earlier than most of the world. But when he saw her demonstrating outside parliament with her school strike movement, he got a jolt: The book Greta was reading was co-written by … him. In a new essay for the Acton Institute’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website, Ewert writes: When I think of the school book Greta was reading when it all began,...

To Adrian Vermeule, the theory at the core of liberalism is Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” the name Smith gave to the process through which participants in the market indirectly benefit from the collective actions of self-interested individuals. Likewise, Vermeule argues, “Liberalism as a concrete sociopolitical order rests upon a series of invisible hand systems: petition in explicit economic markets, petition in the marketplace of ideas, petition among branches of government, and so on.” But using the invisible hand to define...

In recent years, Uber and other ride-sharing services have caused a lot of turmoil in urban transportation markets that have long been dominated by traditional panies. And with the arrival of a disruptive force in a market, many questions arise: who benefits from the disruptions caused by new technologies? How do those technologies and services fit into markets that have traditionally been heavily regulated? And what level of regulation is appropriate for the new styles of services? Angela Dills, Professor...

Senator Bernie Sanders announced his new “Tax on Extreme Wealth” proposal by tweeting, “Billionaires should not exist.” Under his wealth tax plan, far fewer would. Billionaires should not exist. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 24, 2019 There should be no billionaires. We are going to tax their extreme wealth and invest in working people. Read the plan: — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 24, 2019 Here are the facts you need to know. What are the details of Sanders’ wealth tax?...

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy In America is renowned as one of the best examinations of early American society and politics, and remains one of the most mentaries ever written on the practice of democracy in the United States. In this edition of Acton Line, John Wilsey, Professor of History and Christian Apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, discusses Tocqueville’s masterwork and its continuing relevance for modern America. Wilsey also addresses the work of Tocqueville’s panion, Gustave de Beaumont, who wrote...

Much has been written about the unintended consequences of foreign aid flowing from the West to “developing” countries. Economists such as Dambisa Moyo, William Easterly, and Angus Deaton have mented on the downright pernicious effects of government to government aid. Not too long ago, a new voice was added to this chorus of foreign aid critics: Pope Francis. During his recent visit to the East African nation of Mozambique, Pope Francis made ments which suggested a link between foreign aid...

1917 was the year of socialist revolutions. In the United States, an abortive revolt took place in Oklahoma that August, fueled by revolutionaries twisting the Gospel. The “Green Corn Rebellion” took place August 2 and 3 in Seminole County, in the rural, central portion of the Sooner State. Two weeks earlier, the draft lottery had begun during World War I. Hundreds of members of the secretive Working Class Union – many of them under threat of violence from the WCU’s...

As human persons made in the image of a creative God, we are uniquely fashioned to produce and create, contribute and collaborate, give and receive, trade and exchange. Such a reality has a wide range of implications for our economic activity and institutions, whether in our daily work and mundane interactions or the pioneering of new products, services, and enterprises. Economists and policymakers have long had their eyes on such matters, of course—constantly observing and analyzing the role of creativity...

Like Americans today, St. Nikolai Velimirovic witnessed dizzying technological changes between his birth in 1881 and the day he died in 1956 in a rural Pennsylvanian monastery. The former bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who spent time in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, shared how Christians should view technology – something equally important in our day, as everyone from parents to legislators offers their own solutions. “The New Chrysostom,” as he was known, began with an eloquent turn-of-phrase:...