Perhaps the most utilitarian function of any intellectual journal is to exchange successful policies. Bad ideas cross borders, even oceans, but thankfully good ideas do, too. President Donald Trump’s most recent executive order to curtail federal regulation is one such example. Donald Trump signing executive orders in the Oval Office. Credit: White House Facebook Page. The order, covered by Joe Carter on Monday, holds that that for every new regulation added to the federal register, two must be repealed –...

“The question that now demands our full attention is this,” says Abraham Kuyper in this week’s Acton Commentary, “What attitude should Christians adopt in the face of the socialist movement?” And then it is beyond question that we too should be moved to passion by the disorder of our society and the great distress that has resulted from it. We may not, like the priest and the Levite, pass by the exhausted traveler who lies bleeding from his wounds, but...

Today is the last day of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. But ending human trafficking through education and awareness is a year-round task. As the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work notes, we need morepublic education around the practice of human trafficking in order to help aid the more than 20 million victims who live as modern-day slaves. “Trafficking and modern-day slavery is an plex, monster of a problem,” says Annalisa Enrile, USC clinical associate professor. “Our...

In a new article for theLakeland Ledger, Rev.Robert Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, explains why ordered liberty depends on virtue: What I have learned in these intervening decades is that it’s not enough simply to be a “free” society. It’s equally important to strive toward being a “virtuous” society as well. The Irish statesman Edmund Burke summed this idea up in the phrase “ordered liberty,” a concept incorporated in that patriotic hymn that calls for America to...

On this edition of Radio Free Acton, Hunter Baker, Micah Watson, Paul Bonicelli and Jordan Ballor discuss the prospects for a Christian democratic political movement in the United States. Hunter Baker isa university fellow and associate professor of political science at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He is also an affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute, and the organizer of a symposium on Christian Democracy and America in the latest issue ofPerspectives on Political Science. Contributors to the symposium includeMicah...

Watching the unfolding violence and chaos at UC-Berkeley last night, I could not help but think of two people: August Landmesser and Zacchaeus, the reformed tax collector from the Gospel of St. Luke. In my branch of the Orthodox Christian Church, the story of Zaccheus (St. Luke 19:1-10) was read on Sunday as the first of several weeks in preparation for Lent. The tax collector, too short to see over the crowd, climbed up a ore [sic] tree in order...

Note: This is the third in a weekly series of explanatory posts on the officials and agencies included in the President’s Cabinet. See the series introductionhere. Cabinet position:Secretary of the Treasury Department:U.S. Department of the Treasury Current Secretary:AdamJ. Szubinis servingas the Acting Secretary pending the confirmation of President Trump’s nominee, Steven Mnuchin. Succession: The Secretary of the Treasury is fifth in the presidential line of succession. Department Mission: “Maintain a strong economy and create economic and job opportunities by promoting...

After growing up in poverty in East Los Angeles, Rudy Carrasco dedicated his adult life to pursuing passion” among those in need, working in urban ministry and investing heavily in munities. “I just wanted to see the miracles that God did in my life happen in the lives of others,” Carrasco explains in an excerpt from PovertyCure series. “…I’ve made lots of mistakes, but I’ve learned from others around me about what is most effective.” Through those experiences, Carrasco discovered...

Protesters shouting nationalist and anti-immigrant slogans disrupt a tribute in Brussels, Belgium to victims of terrorist attacks. March 2016. Credit: Kristof van /AFP/Getty Images. Earlier today Freedom House released the 2017 edition of their flagship report, “Freedom in the World.” It was not positive. Titled “Populists and Autocrats: The Dual Threat to Global Democracy,” it shows much erosion in various freedoms throughout the world. According to their website, Freedom House has published this important report since 1973 in order to...

Every February Americans observe National African American History Month, a time set aside to celebrate the contributions that African Americans have made to American history. Here are five factsyou need to know about the history of the observance: Virginia Civil Rights Memorial / Flickr (CC BY 2.0) 1. The precursor to National African American History Month was created in 1926 when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week...