The latest addition the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is Spider-Man: Far from Home, which brings an end to Phase 3. In this installment, we have an intriguing spin on the standard superhero motif of vocation and responsibility. This theme is perhaps best captured in the iconic wisdom offered by Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, “With great es great responsibility.” A driving force of Spider-Man: Far from Home is the question whether great power ever gets to enjoy a vacation. Does great...

The James Wilson Institute’s Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker and intern Jake Rinear recently conducted an interview with Samuel Gregg, director of research at the Acton Institute, about his new book “Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization.” Gregg answered questions pertaining to a variety of topics such as religious liberty, freedom, natural law, enlightenment ideas, the reintegration of faith and reason and others, many of which Gregg expands upon in his book. Gregg began by discussing the influence of...

Christians have long struggled to fully understand and embody our position of dual citizenship—being in the world but not of it. Torn between faulty, formulaic approaches to cultural engagement, it can be hard to keep the faith, let alone allow our faith to fuel our earthly actions. In Wisdom’s Work: Essays on Ethics, Vocation, and Culture, recently published by the Acton Institute, J. Daryl Charles explores these tensions, seeking a path toward a broader and richer cultural faithfulness. Rather than...

Note: This is post #128 in a weekly video series on basic economics. Effective fiscal policy has to be timely, targeted, and temporary. But how the central bank, businesses, and consumers respond to fiscal policy also plays a role in how effective it is, says economist Alex Tabarrok. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Alex Tabarrok considers how about how businesses and consumers might respond to expansionary fiscal policy. (If you find the pace of the videos too slow,...

Last week marked the thirtieth anniversary of the launch of the megahit TV show Seinfeld. During its reign the series was often described as “a show about nothing.” But in reality it was a show about a lot of things, including logic and truth. “There is more logic in humor than in anything else” said edian Victor Borge, “Because, you see, humor is truth.” Comedians aren’t often known for their critical thinking skills and Mr. Spock—the Vulcan embodiment of cool...

“Old Whig” isn’t a political term that trips off the tongue these days. The phrase itself was coined by Edmund Burke in his August 1791 pamphlet An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs in which he sought to explain to some of his erstwhile colleagues why his rejection of the French Revolution was entirely consistent with Whig principles rather than a betrayal. The pamphlet has many effects, one of which was to help split the Whig party on...

I was working at Acton University in June, helping speakers with their audio/visual needs in the lecture rooms, when I was approached by conference attendee I had never met before. His name was Clinton W. Abbott and he had learned earlier during the conference in Grand Rapids that there was an Albanian working with Acton. That girl was me. This is not so unusual at Acton U. because it is a very international gathering. But Abbott shared a story with...

The newest season of Netflix’s sci-fi horror series Stranger Things released on July 4, and I’m happy to report that season 3 has a new hero, and her name is Erica. (This post focuses entirely on episode 4 of the new season, so anyone who hasn’t watched up to that point yet should beware of spoilers.) Erica is the younger sister of Lucas, one of the four D&D-playing boys at the center of the series. This isn’t her first appearance...

The Democratic presidential candidates are in agreement on a proposal to eliminate 1.3 million jobs nationwide. That’s not the way they would frame the issue, of course. Saying that you will eliminate over a million jobs held by the poorest people in America is not exactly a winning message. Instead, they frame it as a pay increase—a doubling of the federal hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025. Will Americans be fooled? The Congressional Budget Office(CBO), an independent,...

On Monday, the leadership of the anti-austerity populism passed definitively to Matteo Salvini of Italy, as Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as the prime minister of Greece. Mitsotakis, the son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, displaced Alexis Tsipras of the left-wing ruling party, Syriza (literally “the Coalition of the Left”), on a platform of lower taxes, deregulation, and unleashing the free market. Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy Party won a landslide in Sunday’s elections, securing an outright majority of 158...