If you’re a young person in America, you’ve undoubtedly been bombarded by calls to“follow your passion,” “pursue your dreams,” or “do what you love and love what you do.” But do these sugary mantras truly represent the path to vocational clarity, economic abundance, personal fulfillment, and human flourishing? Not according to a new study by researchers from Stanford University and Yale-NUS College, which found that “following your passion” is likely to lead to overly limited pursuits, inflated expectations (career, economic,...

In an article for the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Kay Coles James, president of the Heritage Foundation, argues that “the health of a civil society is dependent on religious expression and liberty.” James is also the author of Transforming America from the Inside Out and has been featured by the Acton Institute before. Religion has always been a central aspect of civil society because it makes up a very significant portion of those cultural institutions that unite, inspire, and guide...

Over at Arc Digital today I take a look at Adam Smith’s moral teachings, particularly in light mercial society and Christian theology. This essay serves as a brief introduction to one of the Moral Markets projects I am working on, as well as a teaser for further exploration of the relationship between Christianity and classical political economy. As A.M.C. Waterman describes the developments following the publication of Smith’s Wealth of Nations (WN), “Whether Smith actually intended WN to be read...

On this episode of Radio Free Acton, host Caroline Roberts speaks with Mihail Neamtu, Romanian conservative author, on the Trump-Putin summit, Russia’s economy, and what Trump should have prioritized at his meeting with Putin. Then, on the Upstream segment, Bruce Edward Walker talks to Peter Meilaender, Professor of political science at Houghton College, on literary criticism and how to best read a book. Check out these additional resources on this week’s podcast topics: Read “The Trump-Putin summit: A missed opportunity...

The EU is considering a $12-billion peace plan that would supply weapons to war-torn western and central Africa, known as the Sahel region. But Ibrahim Anoba – who hails from Lagos, Nigeria – says trade and economic development, including lower EU tariffs, would go a long way toward bringing peace to the area. At Acton’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website, Anoba writes: [T]he recruitment strategy of [al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate] – like most terror organizations – focuses on exploiting munities already...

“Christian leaders are often guilty of ‘souping up, mon good,” says Noah Gould in this week’s Acton Commentary. “Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, is no exception. In his latest book, Reimagining Britain: Foundations for Hope, Welby sets out to create a new social and political vision for the United Kingdom based on mon good.” The most precise definition Welby offers is that mon good “looks not to averages but to the totality of flourishing in a group.” He uses the...

President Trump is known for public unveiling his inner thoughts on Twitter. But one of the most ments he’s ever made came recently in a private discussion with lawmakers about trade policy. According to Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., when senators visited the White Housethey told the president what farmers want is access to markets, not a payment from government. To this Trump replied, “I’m surprised, I’ve never heard of anybody who didn’t want a payment from government.” Unfortunately, the president...

Poland has an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population, a putatively pro-life government, and a popular initiative to protect the lives of children suffering from genetic conditions like Down syndrome – so, why has it gone nowhere? Politicians candidly admit allowing sick children to survive would cost the state-run health care system too much money. At Acton’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website, Polish author Marcin Rzegocki writes: A report from an official parliamentary body, the Bureau of Parliamentary Analysis, stated that “adoption...

Note: This is post #86 in a weekly video series on basic economics. As we’ve seen in recent entries in this series, ideas play a key role in economic advancement. If we can predict the future of ideas we can, in part, predict the future of economic growth. But how do we do that? To answer that question, economist Alex Tabarrok look at the “Idea Equation.” In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Tabarrok explain how Ideas = Population x...

Fifty years ago this week, Pope Paul VI released Humanae Vitae, an encyclical on marital love, responsible parenthood, and artificial contraception. Because contraception profoundly influences so many areas of life—from the family to national policies—this statement on human anthropology and sexuality has e a one of the most significant documents of Catholic social thought. In honor of the anniversary, here are 30 key quotes from the papal encyclical: The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which...