Today is the feast day of St. Bernardine of Siena, a fifteenth-century Franciscan known as the “apostle of Italy” for his preaching and efforts to revive the faith in his time. So many flocked to hear him preach, in fact, that he had to give his sermons outside. Bernardine is also known, though, for his writings and particularly for his systematization of Scholastic economics, which built on the earlier work of St. Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas, and others and helped...

The eighteenth century British economist Adam Smith helps with moral challenges, especially in work and employment, says Daniel B. Klein of the American Enterprise Institute. Smith inspires the individual to make a useful and satisfying place for himself in society by contributing. Competence is key, adds Klein, and Smith shows the petence is in sympathy. The individual petence in sympathy to find his own life satisfying. As a moral counselor, Smith helps the worker and the employer: By “sympathy” Smith...

In the U.S. edition of The Spectator, Rev. Ben Johnson looks at how President Donald J. Trump eased tariffs on North American and European trade partners so he could ratchet up pressure on China. Yet the Acton Senior Editor offers this caution: “In a trade war, most casualties are self-inflicted.” More: … Trump is poised to impose a 25 percent tariff on virtually all $535 billion of Chinese imports. Varas estimates that the tariffs on Chinese steel will cost US...

After eight seasons, fans of the series that became a pop culture icon could see the long-awaited final episode on Sunday and finally find out who sat on the Iron Throne. Below are some of my observations about the last episode of Game of Thrones and what one can learn from the final unfolding of the series. 1) Is Daenerys a neoconservative? She was, for many, the heroine of the story until the last episode. Many saw her as an...

In preparation for the 2020 presidential elections, democratic candidates are playing by an increasingly progressive rule book: which candidate can promise the most (supposedly) free stuff? Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced plans to forgive two and four-year college debt by raking in $640 billion from “ultra millionaires.” Sen. Kamala Harris wants e renters to receive billions in tax credits in addition to further Medicare expansion. South Bend, Indiana Mayor, Pete Buttigieg, recently added climate change proposals to his platform, promising...

Note: This is post #122 in a weekly video series on basic economics. Imagine that you’re the Fed and monetary policy is your domain, says Alex Tabarrok. The economy has been doing fine: inflation isn’t too high, GDP is growing at a reasonable rate. But then something happens. Consumer confidence drops. The economy shrinks. What do you do? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Tabarrok discusses the details of this scenario and how the Fed might respond. He looks...

This week’s episode of Acton Line features a conversation about Game of Thrones with Tyler Groenendal and me. I won’t try to make the case that the show is salutary viewing. Having read the books and then, with some hesitancy, having watched the show, I can say with some confidence that you can certainly get by (and may well be better off) without consuming (or discerning) this element of popular culture. A great conversation could and should be had about...

Over the weekend, Theresa May’s cross-party Brexit negotiations collapsed, but their worst ideas live on. At 4 p.m. London time, Prime Minister May unveiled the terms of what she calls a “bold” effort to pass her Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB). She condensed her “new Brexit deal” into 10 points: Our NewBrexitDeal makes a 10-point offer to everyone in Parliament who wants to deliver the result of the referendum: The government will seek to conclude alternative arrangements to replace the backstop...

Today The Atlantic has published a response essay from Fr. Robert Sirico to James Carroll’s call for the abolition of the priesthood, the magazine’s cover story this month: James Carroll, the author of this month’s Atlantic’s cover story, “Abolish the Priesthood,” is famous in certain Catholic circles for his bitter denunciations of the Church. To the well-documented renunciation of his own priesthood years ago, Carroll now adds the claim that, by its very nature, the Catholic priesthood is inextricably tied...

On this episode of Acton Line, Jordan Ballor and Tyler Groenendal break down the last season of Game of Thrones, discussing positive and negative aspects of the show as well as lessons on the role of government and the danger of power. Afterwards, Caroline Roberts speaks with Li Ma, senior fellow at the Henry Institute, about Ma’s book The Chinese Exodus. Ma explains how the current economic system in China drives agricultural workers to the city, setting them on a...