Yesterday was Abraham Kuyper’s birthday, and tomorrow is Reformation Day, so it seems appropriate to note once again in this space that we have launched a new 12 volume series of Kuyper’s works. The title of the series is Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology, and the goal is to bring more of the primary source materials from this virtuoso theologian and statesman into circulation in the Anglophone world. Mel Flikkema and I are serving as general editors of...

Margaret Thatcher famously said the problem with socialist governments is that, “They always run out of other people’s money.” Unfortunately, that’s true for almost all governments. Even more unfortunate, though, is that some people refuse to believe that government can ever run out of other people’s money. Some people claim, for instance, that the government can continue to borrow and spend (and should do more of both since interest rates are currently low) since the national debt is not a...

The BBC reported today that China is ending its one-child policy, providing the following overview: Introduced in 1979, the policy meant that many Chinese citizens – around a third, China claimed in 2007 – could not have a second child without incurring a fineIn rural areas, families were allowed to have two children if the first was a girlOther exceptions included ethnic minorities and – since 2013 – couples where at least one was a single childCampaigners say the policy...

Abraham Kuyper A major new series is now available: Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology. A website from the series publisher, , went live today, where you can learn more about Abraham Kuyper, stay up to date on the latest from the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society, and order English translations of his work. This series is the capstone project of the work of the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society. Never before available in English, these works will introduce a new...

Stories can convey, so much better than raw data can, the human effects of the increased living standards that market-driven innovation has provided us, says Steven Horwitz. He notes how theBBC and PBS series 1900 Houseshows what a nightmare it was to live at the turn of the twentieth century. Mothers in particular had it especially rough: She has to get up early to make sure the range is warm enough to make breakfast, and by the time she is...

Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, an annual day to put special emphasis on praying for the persecuted Church. In preparation for the observance, here are five facts you should know about Christian persecution around the globe: 1. Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide. An average of 180 Christians around the world are killed each month for their faith. 2. According to the U.S. Department of State, in more than 60 countries Christians...

Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries inthe series seethis post. The Term: Consumption What it means: Consumption is the use of goods and services by households. Why it Matters: Consumption is an ugly word for a beautiful concept. Since the Middle Ages, the word “consumption” has referred to wasting diseases, such as tuberculosis, which “consume” the body. More recently, consumption has often been confused with consumerism,...

On October 21st, the Acton Institute celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a dinner at DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The keynote address for the evening was delivered by Acton President and Co-Founder Rev. Robert A. Sirico, who reflected on how the world has changed in the quarter century since he and Kris Mauren founded the Institute, and on what challenges those of mitted to a free and virtuous society face as Acton embarks upon its next twenty-five...

A television celebrity with no political experience beat out a former first lady to win the presidential election. No, this isn’t a prediction from the future Trump-Clinton presidential race. This really happened—in Guatemala. Jimmy Morales, who appeared in edy sketch show for 14 years, recently received 67.4 percent of the vote while Sandra Torres, who divorced her husband while he was still in office, received only 32.6 percent. Despite the landslide victory, though, the voters aren’t necessarily enthusiastic about Morales...

The global economy is ever-growing in plexity and interconnectedness, leading to a range of positive and transformative effects. Yet even as this web of human relationships expands and intensifies, many of the latest innovations are prodding us back to the simple and personal. Whether we look to the various offspring of the “sharing economy” (e.g. Uber, Airbnb) or the range of bottom-up trading tools and crowdfunding platforms (Craigslist, Kickstarter), we see an eager appetite for simple and direct exchange. In...