Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...

The Bible seems to provide contradictory assessments about wealth, says David Kotter and Dr. Joshua Greever. To see if this were truly the case they examined every case in the Bible where an individual was identified as having substantial material possessions and the means of acquiring these goods was disclosed. They found that in the 21 cases meeting these criteria, the means of acquisition was a reliable indicator of whether a person received approval or disapproval: On one hand, riches...

Today, Americans will be electing the 44th President of the United States. To give you something to read while you stand in line at the polling places, here are five interesting facts about elections and voting: 1. In colonial times, mon “get out the vote” strategy was for candidates to offer alcohol at the polling places. When George Washington ran for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758 he brought out 28 gallons of rum, 50 gallons of rum punch,...

The peaceful transition of power from one chief executive to another is one of the most enduring and cherished legacies of the American government. But it’s also plicated process. There is a lot that has to happened in the 75 days between Election Day and Inauguration Day. Here is a brief outline of some of the steps that have to be taken in the transition from President Obama to President Trump. November 9 Presidential campaigns usually create a transition team...

Tomorrow millions of Americans will to the polls to cast their votes. And many other millions of Americans will not. Why bother voting when no individual vote makes a difference in any election or political decision? Why bother casting a vote that has no meaning? ​ Micah Watson, associate professor of political science at Calvin College, provides an answer: The first thing to say about such an objection is that it’s a odd way to think about doing anything with...

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is the most famous quote by the English Catholic historian Sir John Dalberg-Acton. But what exactly did he mean by it? That particular es from a letter to Bishop Creighton in which Lord Acton explains that historians should condemn murder, theft, and violence mitted by an individual, the state, or the Church. Here is the context: I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other...

In today’s Acton Commentary, I offer a brief reflection on the results of Election Day in the United States, “Politics, Character, and Competition.” I’ve heard a lot of wisdom and a lot of foolishness in the hours since the final results were announced. The initial speeches have now been made, and we are in that in-between time, the pause of sorts between the election and the inauguration of a new president. It’s a good chance to take a breath and...

On November 3rd, Acton ed Victoria C. G. Coates, cultural historian and Ph.D, to talk about her argument that democracy has had a unique capacity to inspire some of the greatest artistic achievements of western civilization. She lays out this thesis in her latest book,David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art. In her Acton Lecture Series address, Coates takes as her case studies Michelangelo’s “David” and Albert Bierstadt’s “Rocky Mountains: Lander’s Peak“, describing the roles each...

Note: This is the ninthpost in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Prices can have an effect on the demand of goods and services—even when the “goods” are people. Beginning in 1993, Sudan entered into a civil war, with one of the worst parts being that many people were kidnapped and sold into slavery. Humanitarian groups traveled to Sudan to redeem slaves by buying them out of slavery. Is this good policy? Did it work out, or make it...

Whether the Republicans cry “rigged” or the Democrats scream “disenfranchised” we can be certain of one thing: the President won’t be elected next Tuesday. Even if there are no hanging chads or last minute court appeals, the election of the President won’t officially be decided until January 6, 2017. It may seem strange that the presidential results won’t be final until a few days before the inauguration. But that’s the way the Founding Father’s designed the system to work. Confused?...