In her transformative Bourgeois Era trilogy, economist Deirdre McCloskey challenged our popular theories about the causes of our newfound economic prosperity, arguing that it sprung not from new systems, tools, or materials, but rather the ideas, virtues, and rhetoric behind them. “The Great Enrichment, in short, came out of a novel, pro-bourgeois, and anti-statist rhetoric that enriched the world,” she writes. “It is, as Adam Smith said, ‘allowing every man [and woman, dear] to pursue his own interest his own...

Christianity is a very other-directed religion. It requires those of us who are Christians to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). We are even required to love our enemies and appeal to God on behalf of those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Throughout the Bible we are also told to show concern for others, especially the poor (e.g., Proverbs 21:13, 28:27). Perhaps this is why so many Christians are drawn to the discipline of economics. At its...

“If sovereign states ordered their domestic affairs in accordance with principles of natural law,” says Acton research director Samuel Gregg at Law & Liberty, “the international sphere would benefit greatly.” During periods of resurgent national feeling, mon for enthusiasts of liberal international order and human rights activists to begin emphasizing the importance of international law and the way they think it should guide and restrain the choices of nations. Since the United Nations Assembly adopted theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR)...

Thedoom delusionsof central planners and population “experts” are well documented and thoroughly exposed, from the faulty predictions of Paul Ehrlich to the more recent hysteria among environmental activists who continue to day-dream about the glories of “a world without us.” Thankfully, due to a growing crop of calming counters from leading mainstream thinkers—from Steven Pinker to Hans Rosling—society has e a bit more resilient against the heightened hyperbole of population doom-and-gloomers. But even if such fears have been somewhat mitigated,...

Pope Francis’ recent Christmas message, ‘Urbi et Orbi’, was a meditation on the roots of fraternity in the incarnation: What does that Child, born for us of the Virgin Mary, have to tell us? What is the universal message of Christmas? It is that God is a good Father and we are all brothers and sisters. This truth is the basis of the Christian vision of humanity. Without the fraternity that Jesus Christ has bestowed on us, our efforts for...

After a long postponement, the UK Parliament has resumed its debate leading up to the “meaningful vote” on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal. As of this writing, the promise is predicted to fail by an historically large margin – and some clerics consider this not just unfortunate but immoral. Rev. Richard Turnbull analyses that argument, and the status of Brexit, in a new essay written the Acton Institute’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website. Rev. Turnbull writes: In the upper...

Over the past decade conservatives have, once again, e champions of criminal justice reform. To some this appears to be a surprising development. Why would conservatives, the self-proclaimed champions of law and order, have concern for the treatment of criminals? On reflection, though, the interest and connection es more obvious. Conservatives are concerned with how law and order leads to human flourishing, and so are necessarily troubled by a criminal justice system that is neither just nor serves the interest...

Spain closed out 2018 by witnessing the rise of a new and growing populist party named Vox, writes Ángel Manuel García Carmona in a new essay for Acton’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website: Since 2016, right-wing populist parties have been on the rise in Europe: National Rally (formerly the National Front) in France, the League in Italy, the Party for Freedom in Netherlands, Vlaams Belang in Flanders, and the Alternative for Germany are but a few examples. Yet the Iberian...

The government has the right to remove children who are homeschooled from their parents’ custody if authorities believe their parents will not teach children “tolerance,” the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled last week. The Wunderlich family had claimed German authorities violated their innate human rights by denying them custody and forcibly enrolling their children in public schools to further their “social integration.” But the ECHR disagreed. Nearly three dozen police and social workers stormed the family’s home in...

Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries inthe series seethis post. What it means: A marginal tax rate is the amount of tax paid on an additional dollar of e. The Explanation: What is the tax rate you pay on your current e? For most Americans, the question is surprisingly difficult to answer. The reason we don’t know our tax rate is because we have a progressive...