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At Public Discourse, Nathan Shlueter takes an unusual approach in his review of Acton’s Director of Research Sam Gregg’s Tea Party Catholic — it’s a memo to the faculty of Georgetown University as written by Sen. Paul Ryan: As Gregg’s book makes clear, defending market economies does not make one a libertarian. And, in fact, no libertarian or Randian egoist would approve of my budget plan, which—whether you agree with it or not—is a sincere attempt to preserve and improve...

Challenging the Government Monopoly on Social Welfare

During the government shutdown billionaire philanthropists Laura and John Arnold gave $10 million to the National Head Start Association to keep the program for e children running. Mr. Arnold made it clear, however, that he did not believe this was a permanent solution, as “private dollars cannot in the long term replace mitments.” But some people thought Arnold’s generosity itself undermined the government’s power. As The Nation’s Amy Schiller said, “The entire shutdown is undergirded by a fantasy of a...

Ender Wiggin: Born for a Bloody Calling

One of the recurring themes inEnder’s Game is the dynamic surrounding Ender Wiggin’s apparent uniqueness: he was, it seems, quite literallyborn for the purpose of ending the conflict with the Formics. The source material as well as the film released last week raise moral questions surrounding what we might call “bloody callings” quite pointedly. A popular quote from Frederick Beuchner sets a helpful framework for discussing the question of whether there can be legitimate callings to offices that require violence....

Obamacare Analysis: Premiums Will Rise Average Of 41 Percent

Forbes has just released its 49-state analysis of Obamacare and the cost of insurance premiums. The findings? In the average state, Obamacare will increase underlying premiums by 41 percent. As we have long expected, the steepest hikes will be imposed on the healthy, the young, and the male. And Obamacare’s taxpayer-funded subsidies will primarily benefit those nearing retirement—people who, unlike the young, have had their whole lives to save for their health-care needs. Supporters of Obamacare are dismissing these figures,...

Kant and Christian Theology

Today at Ethika Politika, I explore the relevance of the work of Immanuel Kant for conservative Christians: Immanuel Kant does not always receive the fairest treatment among self-styled conservative theologians. I have read works in which his whole philosophy is caricatured and dismissed in a single paragraph — hardly charitable treatment of one of the most brilliant minds of the modern era. The motivation tends to be that Kant’s philosophy creates problems for some traditional Christian convictions, such as the...

MyCancellation.com: An ObamaCare Website that Works

From the folks at Independent Women’s Voice: Can’t keep your health care plan? Received a cancellation letter? We know that ObamaCare is causing this happen to people all across America — your family, your friends, your co-workers, your employees. Maybe even you. Washington needs to see what is happening. That’s why Independent Women’s Voice launched a new Tumblr site — — and we are looking for submissions from the millions across the country who have received cancellation letters from their...

Jonathan Haidt: Why Good People are Divided by Politics (and Religion)

Two weeks ago I attended a lecture at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) by Jonathan Haidt, author, among many other books and articles, of the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. Haidt is a social psychologist whose research focuses on the emotive and anthropological bases of morality. His talk at GVSU for their Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies and Business Ethics Center, focused mostly on the question of the roots of our political...

RELIGION & LIBERTY

Fannie, Freddie, and the National Debt

　　Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are huge, with $7.8 trillion in assets and $7.6 trillion in liabilities. They are an essential part of the finances of the US government. But we do not find them as part of the government’s consolidated financial statements. We should. 　　This is due not only to their sheer size but also because of the giant...

Oct 20, 2026

America’s Worst Appeals Court

　　At national academic conferences, law professors sometimes play a variant of a game of “one-downsmanship.” It’s a contest to determine whose state supreme court is the worst. It is sad to report that when I was on the faculty at the University of Montana law school, I always won those contests. 　　While all state high courts have their flaws, the...

Oct 20, 2026

Devils Dont Always Wear Prada

　　The “girlboss” is back. The term, popularized in the 2014 book Girlboss, once positively connoted a woman who adopted traditional male-coded modes of doing business, but without discarding her aesthetic femininity. Very much a compliment to Sheryl Sandberg’s advice to Lean In (2013), the theory behind girl-bossing was that differences between women and men were mostly aesthetic and stylistic, not...

Oct 20, 2026

Defending Taiwan

　　As President Donald Trump prepares for the upcoming summit in Beijing with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Taiwan has entered the forefront of American discourse again. Some Americans fear that the two leaders will emerge with a grand bargain that undercuts the island democracy’s freedom of action. Others might wish the Taiwanese well, but they see little reason for Americans to...

Oct 20, 2026

Nationalizing the Ten Commandments?

　　Is there an essential identity, “Americanness,” to which society might demand conformity, or is the essence of Americanness really the rejection of all such demands? For decades, the mainstream view has tended towards the latter as the answer. 　　Now, though, this mainstream view is being challenged. Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas are each currently litigating laws that require the Ten Commandments...

Oct 20, 2026

Green Flags and Red Coats

　　“An Empire is an aggregate of many states,” Edmund Burke informed the British House of Commons on March 22, 1775. On that day, Burke pleaded for conciliation with America. He beseeched supporters of Lord North’s government to think “more in favor of prudent management, than of force” in the quest to keep America for King George III. Having ignored Burke’s...

Oct 20, 2026

Adam Smiths Legacy in Alberdis Argentina

　　As the global intellectual community commemorates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) this year, the lens of history often focuses on the industrial heartlands of Europe or the early expansion of the United States. However, one of the deepest and most successful applications of Smithian philosophy occurred...

Oct 20, 2026

America’s New Debt Milestone

　　The United States has reached a milestone, and unfortunately, it’s not one to celebrate. For the first time outside a genuine crisis, Americas national debt now exceeds the size of its entire economy. There is nothing magical about the 100% line; its more of a psychological threshold than a hard cliff. Indeed, debt hawks have sounded alarms for years, and...

Oct 20, 2026

The American Synagogue

　　In May 1897, the Arkansas Gazette placed an unusual scene on its front page. Alongside a sketch of Little Rock’s new B’nai Israel synagogue, the paper described the dedication in vivid detail: the governor rose to speak, Christians filled the pews, and Rabbi Charles Rubenstein read aloud the United States Constitution from within the sanctuary. “Representatives of the national, state,...

Oct 20, 2026

Baseballs Mystic Chords of Memory

　　National League baseball has just marked its 150th Opening Day. As plans to commemorate the centennial of American Independence took shape in the spring of 1876, a sport that more than any other would embody our national identity was formally organized by Chicago businessman William Hulbert. For fifteen decades since that first Opening Day in April, baseball has been the...

Oct 20, 2026