In Dierdre McCloskey’s latest book, Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World, she builds on her ongoing thesis that our newfound prosperity is not due tosystems, tools, or materials, but the ideas, virtues, and rhetoric behind them. Much has been made of herargument as it relates to the (ir)relevance of thosematerial features as causes: “coal or thrift or capital or exports or exploitation or imperialism or good property rights or even good science.” Butless has been...

On Tuesday, President Obama declared this week Captive Nations Week. The first Captive Nations Week was in 1959, proclaimed by President Eisenhower to call attention to the oppression of several countries in the Soviet Bloc and to encourage Americans to support fight for democracy and liberty worldwide. Enjoy the six quotes below as we observe a week dedicated to the beauty of freedom and decrying the continued existence of tyranny: Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or...

Vox recently published an article claiming that Charles Koch is right and Bernie Sanders is wrong about how the economy is rigged. Both agree that there are laws that unfairly favor some financially over others. Sanders often claimed during his campaign that the rich have used their money to lobby for laws that favor their interests over those of everyone else. Meanwhile, Charles Koch has condemned excessive regulation and restrictions on economic freedom that allow the few to bend laws...

“Both economic and religious freedom tend to exist together in the same societies,” says Jay Richards in this week’s Acton Commentary, “they are both based on the same principles; they tend to reinforce each other; and over the long haul, they arguably stand or fall together.” By economic freedom, I refer to the social condition in which individuals, families, and associations enjoy the rule of law, respect for their rights, limited government, a vibrant civil society outside the jurisdiction of...

Last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan sat down with NPR to discuss, among other things, poverty. As the highest ranking member of the House, Ryan has a crucial opportunity to change the way the government addresses poverty. In his plans to confront this issue, Ryan munity efforts and local solutions central. During the last four years, Ryan made visits to several poverty-stricken areas munity organizer Bob Woodson in order to better understand the challenges these munities face. Through these visits,...

On July 17, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a proclamation declaring the third week of July “Captive Nations Week” for that year and every year “until such time as freedom and independence shall have been achieved for all the captive nations of the world.” At the time, Eisenhower was condemning the unjust and oppressive Soviet regime and lending a voice to those countries trapped under Soviet rule. The threat of the Soviet Union no longer exists today. Still, we...

What is the biggest economic problem that the U.S. is currently facing? Depends who you ask. Some social justice warriors would tell you that capitalism is ruining our economy, yet many who have studied and understand economics would argue the opposite. Capitalism is not to blame, but rather cronyism and protectionist policies are the ones wreaking havoc on the economy. In a previous post, I discussed how occupational licensing as a form of cronyism is trapping people in poverty. However,...

In a new piece written for Public Discourse, Samuel Gregg revisits crucial points made by Adam Smith in his classic “Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” in which Smith argues for an embrace of international trade. Unfortunately, many of Smith’s ideas have today been cast aside for stronger cries for economic nationalism. bats some misconceptions of free, global trade by revealing the dangerous results which would occur if nations chose to only implement ‘neo-mercantilism’ in...

A solid case could be made that the most powerful natural law in the universe is the “law of unintended consequences.” It’s definitely the dominant force when es to public policy. For example, in 2007 Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was designed to encourage young workers to seek government and nonprofit jobs that pay far less than what they’d get in the private sector. The program forgives the remaining balance on direct loans after a borrower...

As church attendance continues to decline across the West, many have lamented the spiritual and social side effects, namely a weakening of civil society and the fabric munity life. What’s less discussed, however, is the economic impact of such a decline. In a new study published by Cardus, Dr. Michael Wood Daly of the University of Toronto explores this very thing, researching the “economic value” of ten Toronto congregations, and finding “a cumulative estimated economic impact of approximately $45 million,”...