Israel M. Kirzner While reading economist (and rabbi) Israel M. Kirzner’s Competition & Entrepreneurship (1973), it occurred to me that his description of what the “pure entrepreneur” does could also be applied to what a good interdisciplinary scholar, such as someone who studies faith and economics, does (or at least aspires to do). In our world of imperfect knowledge, Kirzner writes, there are likely to exist, at any given time, a multitude of opportunities that have not yet been taken...

In today’s American Spectator, Acton’s director of research Samuel Gregg discusses the ousting of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott and what that means for the Australian economy and beyond. Gregg points out that the Australian economy “is on the brink of substantial economic regression.” What’s especially worrying is the across-the-board decline in Australia’s economic productivity: something long masked by the resources boom but now more visible than ever. The basic problem, however, that lies at the root of what...

What isthe main source of violent conflict in the world? If you judged solely by media reports you might assume that religion would be at the top of the list. Today, for example, there is news that Islamic State—a terrorist group that wants to create an Islamic caliphate—set off two car bombs in Syria. But as Johannes Vüllers, Alexander De Juan and Jan H. Pierskalla explain, parison of religious with other forms of violence shows that the religious violenceis not...

After getting home from work you get a statement in the mail from the local government saying you owe $20,000 for college tuition. You’re surprised to receive the billsince (a) you never went to college yourself and (b) your own children are still in preschool. Upon reading the fine print you discover the expected payment is not to cover any costs you’ve incurred but to pay for the tuition of college students in your neighborhood. Outraged, you turn to your...

Is free market capitalism moral or immoral? If it’s based on greed and selfishness, should it be rejected for an alternative economic system? And if capitalism is moral, what makes it so? Walter Williams, a economist at George Mason University, answers these questions and explains why the free market is morally superior to any other approaches to organizing economic behavior. ...

Anyone not touched by Pope Francis’ appearance on ABC television earlier this month may want to have their pulse checked for signs of a heart. Quite frankly, he knocked it out of the park in this writer’s humble opinion. Whether speaking to the plight of immigrant children, obviously enjoying a young girl’s vocal rendition of a hymn, or offering encouragement to a single mother of two, Francis was in his element. As I marveled at the Pope on primetime, national...

Recently a number of religious groups—including some connected to the World Council of Churches and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops—have urged the U.S. government to resettle 100,000 Syrian refugees ing fiscal year, in addition to increasing the total U.S. mitment to 100,000 refugees from other parts of the world. Although President Obama has not agreed to increase the amount nearly that much, last week he ordered his administration to increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United...

As we prepare to kick off the fall portion of the 2015 Acton Lecture Series tomorrow (featuring Don Devine speaking about how America can find its way back to a harmony between freedom and tradition), we take a look back at thefinal lecture of the spring series, which was delivered on May 21 by Jonathan Witt, who aside from being aformer English professor, a Research and Media Fellow at the Acton Institute, and Managing Editor of The Stream, is also...

Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico was interviewed recently for a story on WHYY FM in Philadelphia discussing the Pope’s ing trip to the city, and focusing on the impact of his encyclical Laudato Si’ within the Catholic Church. Sirico points out that while the Pope is correct to urge Christians tobe responsible stewards of God’s creation, the inclusion of specific policy proposals on climate may prove to be unwise in the long run. You can listen to the...

Few industries have evolved quite as quickly and fundamentally in the last few years as publishing. Leading the way in this changing landscape is Bob Pritchett, CEO of Faithlife Corporation. This summer issue of Religion & Libertybegins with an interview with Pritchett, who discusses how Faithlife sets trends in the publishing industry rather than simply responding to them. It’s the 35th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” this year, and while Americans look back fondly on the 4-3 victory of...