The American science fiction author Philip K. Dick was a strange guy. In addition to being a prolific author of many science fiction classics like The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and Minority Report (All these and many more adapted for film and television) he was also a prolific diarist. Many of these diary entries were edited and published as The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick in 2011. A recurring theme in these diary...

The 313 Conservative MPs held the second round of voting to elect the new leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister of the United Kingdom. Each of the six remaining candidates – Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, and Rory Stewart – had to receive at least 33 votes to advance to the next round. The results, which were announced around 6 p.m. London time, were as follows: Johnson: 126;Hunt: 46;Gove: 41;Stewart: 37;Javid: 33; andRaab:...

Note:This article is part of the ‘Principles Project,’ a list of principles, axioms, and beliefs that undergirda Christian view of economics, liberty, and virtue. Clickhereto read the introduction and other posts in this series. The Principle: #21A – National debt is almost always an unjust form of an intergenerational wealth transfer. The Definitions: National Debt — The federal or national debt is the net accumulation of the federal government’s annual budget deficits; the total amount of money that the U.S....

Those who argue that the recent victory of President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2018 Brazilian presidential elections represent an authoritarian shift are highly mistaken. On the contrary, liberalism has never been as strong and vibrant in Brazil as it is in the present moment. While some “intellectuals” and most of the media — in Brazil and internationally — keep characterizing Bolsonaro’s victory as a sign of increasing intolerance and alt-right politics (because of a few unfortunate declarations during his campaign)...

The rise of board games is making headlines (just check out some of the stories here, here, here, here, and here). Despite massive disruption by online- and mobile-based gaming, many consumers seem to still enjoy the face-to-face interaction and experience of tabletop games. As the market responds, and as technology and globalization continue to open the playing field to petitors and genres, what might we learn about the prospects munity in an otherwise digital age? There are many theories about...

On this episode of Acton Line, Romanian author and public intellectual, Mihail Neamtu, joins the show to talk about what he calls the “ghost” of Marxism. What defines Marxism and what remnants of the ideology are we seeing today? After that, Daniel J. Mahoney, writer and professor of politics at Assumption College, speaks with Acton’s Director of Communications, John Couretas, about the legacy of the 20th century Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn’s writings are said to have contributed greatly in...

At his campaign rally last night President Trump vowed that he’d make “America wealthy again.” But the taxes he’s imposed on Americans in the form of tariffs are making America poorer—both materially and spiritually. When Trump imposed tariffs on China last year I mentioned that in 2019 the tax would cost households to suffer losses equivalent to $2,357 per household (or $915 per person). Since then we’ve found that the tax increase may have other harmful effects, including causing a...

Last week, the New York State Legislature arranged a series of regulations designed to protect tenants and control rents. This action was quickly repeated by the California Assembly, which passed a rent-cap bill, both following in the footsteps of Oregon’s statewide rent control law enacted this past February. Landlords in New York City were quick to argue that the new legislation would cost local construction jobs and prevent owners from making needed repairs, leading to buildings in disrepair. Nevertheless, these...

There are many reasons to critique business these days. From crony capitalist practices to surveillance capitalism and data collection, from abuse of the environment for short term profits to siding with the fashionable for short term praise at the expense of religious freedom and long term cultural health. Business and corporations deserve much of the condemnation they receive. As Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion,...

Note: This is post #125 in a weekly video series on basic economics. When and why does the government might engage in expansionary fiscal policy? When does the government increase spending, or decrease taxes, bat a recession? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Tyler Cowen examines some of the government’s options, from doing nothing to taking steps to increase thevelocity of moneyand thereby increase aggregate demand. (If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching...