From Monday July 18 through Thursday July 21, the Republican Party will be holding their national convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Then, from July 25 to 28, the Democratic Party will hold their convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here are five things you should know about these events: 1. The political party conventions are held every four years as the culminating event of the presidential primary season. For America’s two main political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, the convention...

I don’t like to be wrong. But I also like to think that I’m open-minded enough to change my opinion when I am wrong (although I could be wrong about how open-minded I am). I try to carefully consider the arguments other people make (at least most of the time), but on occasion, I’m convinced I’m wrong by the person I listen to most: myself. Here, for example, is the gist of a conversation I hadwith myself last week: Me:...

Our rights as Americans are considered unalienable, says Heritage Foundation president JimDeMint, only because they were inherent in the natural order of life established by the laws of nature and nature’s God. While musing on thewritingsof author and philosopher G.K. Chesterton in his personal notebook, a young John F. Kennedy wrote, “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up.” Fences hold things in we want to keep close, and protect us from...

David Schelhaas, Professor Emeritus of English at Dordt College, recently published an article titled “What Does Social Democrat Mean?” Schelhaas suggests that “Christians should seriously consider the merits of social democracy.” Schelhaas is quick to point out that he does not advocate socialism, with state control and management of the means of production, coupled with the redistribution of wealth. Instead, he advocates for the lighter “social democracy.” Schelhaas goes on to outline his vision of social democracy, including the state’s...

In Dothan, Alabama, school officials are meeting to make changes to the Dothan City Schools suspension policies because of disparities between the rates of suspensions between black and white students. Across the American South, these suspension disparities are among the greatest. The terms for how students are punished are largely subjective, and this punishment increasingly falls harder on minority pared to their white counterparts. An August 2015 report published by the University of Pennsylvania highlighted some of the disparities in...

Samuel Gregg appeared on the recent episode of the podcast The Catholic Cave, “Britain, the EU and You,” to discuss Britain’s recent referendum vote to leave the EU. The show considers factors that potentially led to the Brexit other than trade and immigration issues, including dissatisfaction with international bureaucracy, cultural and philosophical differences between Britain and other European countries, and problems of subsidiarity. Gregg sees Brexit as a “reassertion of national sovereignty,” “reaffirmation of the importance of the nation state,”...

Guatemala is not known for freedom and stability, with a history colored by authoritarianism, political corruption, civil war, segregation, colonialism, post-colonial interventionism, and so on. Dire poverty and street violence remain endemic, and yethope remains: for political and economic liberty,yes, butalsofor freedom of spirit. In a beautiful long-form essay for the new PovertyCure Magazine, J. Caleb Stewart explores the promise of Guatemala, highlighting the story of Antonio Cali, “a one-time socialist who began his drift from the left when he...

From today until Sunday (July 14 – 17), the Acton Institute’s book One and Indivisible: The Relationship between Religious and Economic Freedom will be available to download for free. The book is a collection of essays, which is, according to editor Kevin Schmiesing, organized around the central theme: “What is the relationship between economic freedom and religious freedom?” As Schmiesing writes: In light of the urgent need both to understand the relationship between religious and economic liberty and to bolster...

Not having a job — whether by choice or by circumstance – can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of adults. But living in a home where the parents don’t work can also have a detrimental impacton children. In a new report, “America’s Work Problem”, Angela Rachidi examines the data related to children in poverty. She finds that while most children in America live with a working adult, those who are in a home without someone working full-time, year-round employment...

In considering issues of political economy today, it is always prudent to refer to wisdom from the past. The American Enterprise Institute’s recent publication “Economic Freedom and Human Flourishing: Perspectives from Political Philosophy” is a collection of essays that analyzes the thought of several prominent philosophers on the connection between the title’s two subjects. Many of the quotes below, pulled from six of the nine essays, challenge foundational aspects of classical liberalism and the value of the free market. As...