The faith and work movement has grown significantly over the past decade, yielding a range of researchers and institutions that seek to explore the intersections of work, economics, and the Christian life. Each year, Acton University offers a unique center of gravity for these intersecting voices, and now, in a new special report from the Washington Times, the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics has sponsored a similar symposium of thinkers, each tackling a unique angle on economic flourishing and...

The fabric of American society is tearingat the seams. Whether witnessed through the disruptive insurgenciesof Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders or the more mundane fissures of pop culture and daily consumerism, Americans are increasingly divided and diverse. Yet even in our rashattemptstodismantle Establishment X and Power Center Y, we do so with a peculiar nostalgia of the golden days of yore. You know, thosedays wheninstitutions mattered? This is particularly evident in the appeal of Mr. Trump, whose calls to burn...

From your writer’s experience covering religious shareholder activism the past few years, the phrase “enlightened engagement in the capital markets” is a trigger warning for a whole lotta hollow slogans to follow. Therefore it wasn’t a surprise to read on the website of Arjuna Capital that the aforementioned “enlightened engagement” is about “sustainability” and “social equity” – euphemistic buzzwords for an agenda that typically threatens hundreds of thousands of pany and shareholder profitability, and drives up costs for consumers. Such...

[Note: This is the secondin an occasional series evaluating the remaining presidential candidates and their views on economics and liberty. You can find the first article here.] In the previous article in this seriesI explained that the key to understanding Donald Trump’s economic policies is the recognition that, for him, policy and principle are secondary to process. The overriding concern for Trump is not money or wealth but deal-making. “I don’t do it for the money . . . I...

Does your boss require you to be pleasant and cheerful? Do they expect you to maintain a positive workplace environment? Are you being asked to conduct yourself in a manner that is conducive to effective working relationships? If so, pany may be violating your rights. In their employee handbook its employee on “Workplace Conduct”, the wireless carrier T-Mobile included the clause: Employees are expected to maintain a positive work environment municating in a manner that is conducive to effective working...

“Good work…does not disassociate life and work, or pleasure and work, or love and work.” These words, written by Wendell Berry, pulse throughout the work of Laremy De Vries, owner and chef of The Fruited Plain Café, a sandwich and coffee shop in Sioux Center, Iowa. For De Vries, our work unites general revelation with special revelation, yielding an opportunity for “valuing the created world not only insofar as it belongs to God in a sphere sovereignty sense, but also...

If we forget finance’s indispensable role in modern economies, says Samuel Gregg, research director for the Acton Institute, in an op-ed for The Detroit News, it’s guaranteed that everyone will be worse off. Finance establishes links between the economic present and economic future of individuals munities. It helps us manage risk and develops methods for continually enhancing the management of risk over the short, medium and long term. And it creates economic value by enabling money to assume the characteristics...

We know that some countries around the world are rich (e.g., the United State) and others are, relatively speaking, poor (such as Mexico). But not all poor countries are equally poor. Mexico, for instance, is pared to some African countries. Knowing how to measure such differences can help us better grasp the relative well-being of people around the globe. In this video byMarginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok provides a simple tool paring relative wealth between nations. ...

The new Marvel film Captain America: Civil War examines the conflict between conscience and coercion, says Jordan Ballor in this week’s Acton Commentary. The latest superhero blockbuster Captain America: Civil War opened to a huge box office as well as to critical acclaim last weekend. The basic dynamic of the film focuses on conflict between authority and responsibility. The film could well be understood as an extended reflection on Edmund Burke’s observation: “Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon...

PowerBlog regularJoseph Sundejoined guest host Bill Arnold on Faith Radio’s Dr. Bill Maier Live to discuss the importance of generosity in society, as well asGod’s blessing of work – and how it is a blessing even in those times where it doesn’t feel like a blessing. You can listen to the full interview via the audio player below. ...