Aspirations to socialism and social democracy appear to be gaining traction in much of America, especially among young Americans. People are often fuzzy about what they mean by terms like “socialism.” Sometimes it seems to be a type of aspirational outlook. On other occasions, it involves specific policy-proposals. In yet other instances, it’s bination of both. The effect is often to make socialism a harder target to critique. The good news is that we’re been here before. Some of the...

Last month I met with a wonderful family putting Acton Institute resources to good use in the Golden State. Glenn Ballard, the proud father and coach of Katherine (14) and Eliyah Ballard (13), presented me with a case which his girls have been running in their homeschool debate league. In it they argue for substantial reform of the United States’ foreign aid policy from one centered on aid to one centered on trade! The girls artfully frame the debate by...

In a recent article at City Journal, Discovery Institute Fellow, Christopher Rufo says: Over the past few years, Seattle has e a dumping ground for millions of pounds of garbage, needles, feces, and biohazardous waste, largely emanating from the hundreds of homeless encampments that have sprouted across the city… Last year saw a 400 percent increase in HIV infections among mostly homeless addicts and prostitutes in the city’s northern corridor. Public-health officials are sounding the alarms about the return of...

Democratic presidential primary contender Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have unveiled a plan to cap credit-card interest rates at 15%: Under the “Loan Shark Prevention Act,” the annual percentage rate applicable to any extension of credit would not be allowed surpass 15% on “unpaid balances, inclusive of all finance charges” or “the maximum rate permitted by the laws of the State in which the consumer resides.” Consumer debt, and credit card debt in particular, is something many Americans...

On this episode, National Review senior editor Jonah Goldberg speaks about his latest book, “Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Nationalism, Populism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy.” Jonah will also be speaking at our ing annual conference in Grand Rapids, Acton University, and you can still register to hear him during the plenary dinner on Wednesday, June 19. After that, James Patterson, professor of politics at Ave Maria University, joins us to talk about the legacy...

In the annals of individual achievements, there are few as astounding (and, in my opinion, astoundingly stupid) as rock climber Alex Honnold climbing the 3,000 foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without a rope or any other safety equipment. Honnold’s climb is captured in the Academy Award winning documentary Free Solo. Watching the film you can understand why the New York Times says that the climb “should be celebrated as one of the great athletic feats of any kind,...

We’ve seen a drastic shift in the social habits and behaviors of Americans, whether in work, education, or family life. Yet with an ever increasing range of “nontraditional” routes to success and stability, social scientists have begun to see how one particular pattern bears fruit. Back in2009, the Brookings Institute’s Isabel Sawhill and Ron Haskins pointed us to “the success sequence”: a formula that involves (1) graduating from high school, (2) working full-time, and (3) waiting until marriage to have...

After almost twenty years in Rome, I’ve learned not to insist too much on the Vatican reading the USA with any kind of accuracy, so I usually don’t feel the need ment on every little ing from the Roman Curia. It would take up way too much time and make me grumpier than I already am. But there are times when something must be said. August, for example, when you’re one of the few non-tourists around and nothing else is...

What do President Donald J. Trump and Ronald Sullivan, a professor at Harvard Law School, have mon? At first glance, nothing. However, a careful reading of recent news reveals that these two men were victims of a political trend that has engulfed American society and has been turning the land of freedom into a grotesque experiment of authoritarianism. Let us start with Sullivan. A black law professor occupying a senior position in one of the most prestigious law schools in...

Christians know firsthand that churches and places of worship promote personal, economic, and civic flourishing. Congress recently heard expert testimony describing the full extent of how religion promotes happiness, helps the poor find work, and creates munities every day of the week. These facts came to light during testimony before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on “expanding opportunity by strengthening munities, and civil society” on April 30. People who are highly social and civically engaged are the most likely to...