Note: This is post #28 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. If you flew on an airplane prior to 1978, when the government regulated air fares, you probably noticed the high quality of air travel—wide seats, good food, friendly service. But as economist Alex Tabarrok explains, that was actually a bad thing for customers since the government imposed prices floors created “quality waste.” (If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching them at...

Embed from Getty Images During a recent trip to Chile, Acton’s Samuel Gregg spoke to Diario Financiero about the rights and responsibilities of entrepreneurs. Business’ contributions to the well-being of society are enormous, but explaining the good they do can be a challenge. “Businesses have a great story to tell,” Gregg laments, “but they’re not very good at telling it.” Also contributing to general distrust is that corporate scandals tend to put all the focus of on a few bad...

Russell Kirk was a luminary of American Conservatism, philosopher, historian, and novelist of horror and suspense. In addition to being a true renaissance man he was, with his wife Annette, an early friend and supporter of the Acton Institute. It was at Acton that Kirk gave his last public lecture on the topic of ‘Lord Acton on Revolution’ on January 10, 1994. He would be called home to the Lord later that year. Kirk pulls no punches in his lecture...

In our efforts to reduce poverty, spur economic growth, and cultivate the conditions for human flourishing, the conversation can quickly be consumed with debates over material wealth and the allocation of physical resources. Yet economists are increasingly recognizing the role “intangible assets” — unseen forces that propel humans toward increased innovation and collaboration. These include a range of underlying features, from basic honesty and virtue to the cultural appetite for risk and experimentation. But one of the most prominent has...

This weekendmarked Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, when memorate Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem en route to His voluntary death, burial, and resurrection. On that day, Christians of all backgrounds bless and wave palm branches in imitation of the crowds who cried “Hosanna” as He rode a donkey into the city. But not all Christians use palm branches. Palms cannot grow in the harsh climate of northern Slavic nations such as Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Instead, Catholics and Orthodox...

Balneario de Antofagasta – By Victorddt – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 If you want to examine a flourishing Latin American economy, look no further than Chile. In a new article, Samuel Gregg capitulates an economic success story in Chile. The country has thrived by embracing liberal principles and respecting property rights and open markets. However, Gregg is wary of Chile’s future; he suspects it may be headed in the direction of European socialism. Gregg begins by recognizing the unique...

Note: This is post #12 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 Transportation Department: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Current Secretary:Elaine Chao Succession:The Transportation Secretary is 14th in the presidential line of succession. Department Mission:“The mission of the Department is to serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and...

The changes in western culture over the past decadesreflect a major shift in how we think of the nature of reality and, in particular, the human person. In light of these changes, how is theChurch to address the deep issues of the day without ing captive to political ideologies? How can it recover and advance a Biblical vision on humanity? On March 30, John Stonestreet – President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview – delivered an address as part...

This week’s Acton Commentary is a meditation by the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), reflecting on the significance of spring for our natural and spiritual lives. “So that bread e forth from the earth” takes its point of departure from the lines of Psalm 104: “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man: that he may bring forth bread out of the earth.” Pieces like this show another side of Kuyper than...

How do we move closer to ending poverty and expanding opportunity in America? Does a single solution or road map even exist? In a widely cited study, the Brookings Institute’s Isabel Sawhill and Ron Haskins famously argued that at least one predictable path is evident. “The poverty rate among families with children could be lowered by 71 percent if the pleted high school, worked full-time, married, and had no more than two children,” they argue. Skeptics and critics abound, but...