A bit of humility is in order. Alvin E. Roth to Russ Roberts on EconTalk: … I think that economists have to approach their role as engineers with great humility. There’s a lot we don’t understand. Economics is still an early science. But let me read you the quote from Hayek that I included in my book. This is a quote from his free-market manifesto, The Road to Serfdom. And he wrote, “There is, in particular, all the difference between...

In reply to Pope Francis’s recent criticism of free market capitalism, AEI’s Mark Perry provides a provocative response. Not only do free markets do more to reduce world poverty than the Catholic Church, says Perry, one pany—Walmart—had done more for the global poor than the Vatican: I would argue that free market capitalism, American style, has done more to reduce world poverty than any anti-poverty efforts of the Catholic Church and the Vatican. In fact, I would even argue that...

“The cultivation of imagination is to begin to integrate life into faith and every other facet, whether mundane or extraordinary, whether 9-5 work realities or worship in a church. Imagination is key to the thriving God intends for us.” –Makoto Fujimura The burgeoning faith-work movement has does a fine job of re-orienting our perspectives about the meaning of everyday toil and the importance of stewardship in the area of work and creative service. Butone area that continues to sufferneglectis that...

What do Americans think about the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment? The Newseum Institute attempt to find out in their annual national survey of American attitudes about the First Amendment. Here are seven figures you should know from the survey: 1. When asked to name the five specific freedoms in the First Amendment, 57 percent of Americans name freedom of speech, followed by 19 percent who say the freedom of religion, 10 percent mention the freedom of the press,...

Pope Francis has said that he’s generally “allergic” to financial matters. Yet that hasn’t stopped him from criticizing capitalism and suggesting radical changes for a global economic order. During his recent trip to Latin America, the pontiff has been especially denunciatory, saying the unfettered pursuit of money is “the dung of the devil.” Not surprisingly, many critics plained that Francis is presenting a distorted, plete, and naive view of capitalism. To his credit, the pontiff has vowed to consider these...

With each passing day, the news is inundated with images of murder from the Islamic State. Anyone they target suffers not only death, but often a horrifically slow and tortuous one. What President Obama considered to be a “JV” team proves to consist of professionally petent warriors bent on annihilating their foes. These terrorists attack any opponent who stands in their way, but reserve particular hatred and brutality for Christians. The war they wage is as much of a military...

The moral obligation of society regarding illegal immigrants remains at the center of the political debate on immigration. Numerous questions surround the proper “status” for illegal immigrants, how the state should respond, and the responsibility of American citizens over various humanitarian concerns. Article I, Section 8 of the bined with numerous Supreme Court rulings, has established that the federal government has “plenary power” over immigration and is solely entitled to make laws in accordance with this authority. These laws establish...

In the weeks since the June 18 release of Laudato Si, the discussion has bifurcated into the realms of prosaic, progressive pantheistic pronouncements that Earth requires tender ministrations post haste on one hand. On the other hand, there are those who assert the encyclical gets it right on the value of protecting human life but miserably wrong when Pope Francis identifies free-market economics as greed’s handmaiden intent on destroying the planet for a quick buck. Never mind whether you ascribe...

Today at the Library of Law & Liberty, I examine Pope Francis’s recent speech in Bolivia, in which he calls for “an economy where human beings, in harmony with nature, structure the entire system of production and distribution in such a way that the abilities and needs of each individual find suitable expression in social life.” I have no objection to that, but what he seems to miss is that the very policies he criticizes all characterize those countries in...

Earlier today,the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the Little Sisters ply with the government’s mandate to providecontraceptives for employees.The district courtruled the Little Sisters cannot receive a full exemption from the law’s contraception rules because they“do not substantially burden plaintiffs’ religious exercise or violate the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights.” The nuns disagree. “As Little Sisters of the Poor, we simply cannot choose between our care for the elderly poor and our faith,” saysSr. Loraine Marie...