Inequality has e the West’s all-consuming focus. Economic inequality has e the prism through which the media report on every story from the annual Oxfam report and Davos forum to last night’s State of the Union address, health care, gender relations, blockchain – even the proper amount of homework to assign and whether parents should read their children bedtime stories. But should people of faith be worried about inequality? The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), based in London, has produced...

In our explorations of Christian vocation, the faith-and-work movement has been largely successful in reminding us of the meaning and purpose of our work, from parenting in the home to manual labor in the fields to teaching in a school to trading on Wall Street. But amid those discussions, there’s still an area we tend to forget and neglect: politics. Can an institution that wields such power really be seen through the lens of Christian calling? Sure, we may be...

Four months after Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor of Germany, her allies have announced they finally expect to form a governing coalition this weekend, which will spare the nation a potential political collapse. At Religion & Liberty Transtatlantic, Mark Royce removes the reader’s uncertainty about this confusing situation, as Merkel’s putatively Christian and free market party prepares to align itself with its more secular, petitor. The two parties have already enacted important economic, environmental, and immigration policies...

Over the past few years, it’s e more and more difficult to understand political alignments. Most people still talk about the left-right political spectrum, but that no longer seems to fit our current political divide. A few decades ago, for example, we could say that those on the right supported free trade while those on the left endorsed protectionism. Nowadays, though, such lines demarcating economic views are blurred. While the left-right metaphor isn’t totally obsolete, it seems to describe a...

In an election that CNN named “one to watch,” Czech voters re-elected a president Western media outlets have dubbed “the European Trump.” The vote could have ramifications for EU integration, Muslim migration to Europe, and the pilfered property of the Christian Church. Miloš Zeman edged out his more Eurocentric opponent, Jiří Drahoš, a political novice, on Saturday, by 51-49 percent. Zeman’s modestly skeptical view of the EU is underlined by his support for Russia and, to a lesser degree, China....

“If you know the name John Dewey, you may associate him with the decline of American education,”says Winston Brady in this week’s Acton Commentary. “Many believe that the absence of intellectual rigor and the lack of responsibility in schools can be blamed on Dewey, who has been called the ‘father of progressive education.’” It’s easy for conservatives to dismiss someone described as the “father” of anything progressive, but it may be worthwhile to reconsider John Dewey (1859-1952) in light of...

I have a can’t miss prediction: tonight, when President Trump gives his first State of the Union address, he will describe the state of the union as “strong.” (I’ve made this prediction on this blog the past several years, so I’m hoping for a quadfecta of prescience tonight.) Admittedly, predicting that the state of our union will be described as “strong” is about as safe a bet as you can make when es to politics. Over the last hundred years...

In the United States February 1 is National Freedom Day. Here are five facts you should know about the annual observance: 1. National Freedom memorates the date (February 1, 1865) when President Abraham Lincoln signed a joint resolution that proposed the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment states that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place...

Book Review: Courage to Grow, How Acton Academy Turns Learning Upside Down by Laura A. Sandefer I arrived at Amtrak’s Union Station from Kansas City at exactly 6:45 a.m. and stood in line waiting to board the 7:45 train to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I stood behind a rather large Amish family with seven or eight children. They graciously moved over so I could sit beside them on the bench. Over the next half hour, we were informed through several announcements...

On this episode of Radio Free Acton, Caroline Roberts talks to Joe Carter, Senior Editor at Acton, about minimum wage and the debate surrounding the “Fight for $15.” Then on the Econ Quiz segment, Dave Hebert, Professor of Economics at Aquinas College, speaks with John Couretas, Executive Editor and Director of Communications at Acton, about the stock market boom (segment was recorded before the Jan. 30 dip). After that, Caroline talks to Rev. Ben Johnson, Senior Editor at Acton, about...