It is no secret that conservatism has been suffering an identity crisis since at least the end of the Cold War. But inviting French National Front member Marion Maréchal-Le Pen to address CPAC has stirred debate over another political label: classical liberal. CPAC attendees gave her a positive reception on Thursday, responding with emotion when she said France is transforming “from the eldest daughter of the Catholic Church to the little niece of Islam.” “This is not the France that...

For much of his life, Pete Ochs was a successful investment banker in Wichita, Kansas. Yet having started his own business and created significant wealth through a series of investments, he struggled to see the value and purpose of it all. When the market took a turn for the worse, he realized that something needed to change. “After 9/11, our business dropped 50%, and I looked at God and said, ‘don’t you understand what I’ve done for you?’” he explains....

In her CPAC speech, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen linked free trade with slavery in the developing world. The former member of the French National Assemblysaid: If we want to make France great again, we must defend our economic interests in the global market. The EU submits us to petition with the rest of the world. We cannot accept a model thatcreates slavesin developing nations andunemployedin Western countries. Is it true that the free market “creates slaves in developing nations”? The Global...

In this week’s Acton Commentary I examine the dynamics of marginalization and solidarity in the blockbuster phenomenon Black Panther. As so mentators have suggested, there’s a lot to this film, and one of the important things it has to offer is a valuable perspective on the underlying unity amidst diversity in humanity. Another aspect of the film worth highlighting is that it presents Wakanda, and Africa more generally, as having something positive to offer the world; advanced technology and rare...

One of the more pervasive myths surrounding the Protestant reformations is that they represented a wholesale rupture with the moral traditions that preceded, particularly with respect to natural law. In an influential recent study, for instance, Brad S. Gregory claims that “those who repudiated the Roman church uncoupled the medieval discourse on natural rights from the teleological Christian ethics within which it had been embedded.” Scholarship on this point has not always been so blinkered, however. John T. McNeill wrote...

Note: This is post #70 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. There are numerous variables that determine the price of goods and services—including your willingness to pay the price. Because we have choices in what we buy, the price is relative to other goods. For example, one pizza may cost the equivalent to two cups of coffee so we have to make tradeoffs between goods. We also have budget constraints, which are a crucial variable in helping you...

On this episode of Radio Free Acton, Marc Vander Maas, audio/visual manager at Acton, speaks with Yuval Levin, Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, on finding solidarity in the “Age of Trump,” what it means, how it came about, and then touch on the history of political polarization in America. On the Upstream segment, Caroline Roberts has a discussion with Julian Chambliss, professor of history at Rollins College, on Marvel’s new hit movie, “Black Panther.” Check out...

Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of William F. Buckley, Jr., founder of National Review and the father of postwar American conservatism. In his honor, here are six quotes by the inimitable writer on collectivism, freedom, and power. On government power (I): “The government can’t do anything for you, except in proportion as it can do something to you.” On government power (II): “[A] democracy can itself be as tyrannical as a dictatorship, since it is the extent,...

Parents around the world share one thing mon: We want what’s best for our children. Many e parents in America make significant sacrifices to ensure their children get a quality education. So it’s not surprising that poor parents in Kenya are willing to do the same. About fifteen years ago the government of Kenya implemented a free primary education program for all children. Why then do more than half of primary school students in Nairobi attend private schools? Why do...

The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments this morning in an important case involving free speech and public unions. Mark Janus is a child support specialist at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the plaintiff in the case of Janus v. AFSCME. Janus doesn’t want to be a part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, but he’s legally required to pay a fee to cover the cost of representing him....