Property rights originated from Christian theology, and have proven themselves empirically over the past couple hundred years, says economist Eric Falkenstein. “The liberal ideas that gave rise to the Enlightenment are generally thought (eg, Steven Pinker) to be a break from a religious thinking,” adds Falkenstein. “Yet the key liberal idea, individual rights, especially property rights, are an axiom with little justification outside Christian theology.” As [Richard] Feynman noted with regards to scientific laws, the process of finding new ones...

In exploring the various connections between morality, theology, and economics, we routinely long for philosophers and theologians who understand economics, just as we crave economists who understand the bigger picture of self-interest and human destiny. That sort cross-disciplinary dialogue and mutual understanding can be beneficial, but for economist Peter Boettke, it can also serve as a distraction. In an article for Faith and Economics, Boettke argues that economics as a scienceoffers plenty of tools for “moral assessment,” and that economists...

On this episode of Radio Free Acton, Dan Churchwell, associate director of program outreach at Acton, speaks with Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, on Israeli innovation. Then, on the Upstream segment, Bruce Edward Walker speaks with Phil Nichols, senior advisor at the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies, on the new “Fahrenheit 451” movie from HBO, which releases May 19. Check out these additional resources on this week’s podcast topics: Learn more about Start-Up Nation Central Buy Start-Up Nation:...

I spent my previous postexplaining that orthodox socialism is effectively dead and what remains is really different variations on societies that effectively accept the market as the standard frame. Here, I would like to explain, in part, why the Bernie Sanders approach to market-based socialism (after the death of socialism) is not the right way forward. As I stated in the previous post, this Americanized “socialism” is definitely of the half-hearted variety. Strong socialism would mean government ownership of the...

Earlier today, the Vatican releasedOeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones,a statement on “ethical discernment regarding some aspects of the present economic-financial system.” The document outlinessound general principles, says Acton research director Samuel Gregg, but also reflects the Church’s present struggle prehend modern finance: Over the past decade, various Vatican offices have producedseveraldocumentsaddressing the vexed topic of finance and banking. Given the turmoil and scandals characterizing the world’s financial sectors over the past two decades, such interventions are to be expected, even ed....

When historians and economists look back at our era (starting around the time of the “Great Recession” in 2007) they’ll be hard-pressed to understand why so much of the policy debates centered around an issue of relatively minor importance that has existed since the beginning of humanity: e equality. The standard that really matters—and yet is relatively ignored—is consumption. In economics, consumption is the use of goods and services by households. Ensuring people have an e sufficient to meet their...

First, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences said, “Right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese.” Now, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Germany has credited Karl Marx with helping craft Catholic social teaching. Near the 200th birthday of the founder of Communism, Cardinal Marx saidthat without Karl Marx “there would be no Catholic social teaching.” Which is rather like saying, “Without disease, there would be no vaccines.” The cardinal continued:...

Violations of religious liberty, including physical assaults against church buildings, increased in 2017, according to a report from a watchdog based in Spain. Socialists perpetrated many of these attacks – which ranged from vandalism to attempted fire-bombings with Molotov cocktails – to protest both the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on social issues and its impact on economics. These assaults also include attempts to have the government seize church property. At the Acton Institute’sReligion & Liberty Transatlanticwebsite,Spanish writer Ángel Manuel García...

A recent episode of the very fine podcast EconTalk reminded me of one of the more remarkable episodes during my time here at the Acton Institute involving our internship program. The EconTalk episode is about the price of cancer drugs, and the various factors that go into the often astronomical prices of the latest cancer-fighting drugs. These can run up to an in excess of $300,000 per year. A question implicit in the discussion is whether such high costs are...

What are the details of the royal wedding, and where can I watch? The royal wedding of Prince Harry, 33, to actress Meghan Markle, 36, will take place inside St. George’s Chapel, Westminster, on Saturday, May 19 at 12 noon London time (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific). You can watch it online in numerous locations, including via BBC America’s livestream. How does this wedding break from tradition? Meghan Markle is the first biracial person to marry into the Royal...