“Don’t forget, this is called the Republican Party,” said Donald Trump in an interview justifying his opposition to free trade, “it’s not called the Conservative Party.” When Trump made that statement six months ago it was still possible to believe a distinction could be made between traditional Republicanism—which tends to be pro-Big Business—and traditional conservatism—which has generally been pro-free markets. But a recent poll finds that both Republicans and conservatives are more skeptical of free markets than are liberals(!). The...

Don’t retire this book! Although Arthur Koestler’s The Age of Longing was published in 1951 – officially making it 65 this year – it’s far too invigoratingly fresh to remove from the anti-Marxist workforce. In fact, the message delivered by Koestler in this novel couldn’t be more relevant than in our contemporary political environment. Koestler’s penultimate endeavor in literary fiction and the final entry in his quartet of political novels on the inherent dangers of collectivism, The Age of Longing...

The United States spends a lot of money each year on public schooling. As a percentage of GDP, government expenditures on public education (five percent) exceed the amount we spend on defense (four percent) or welfare (two percent). But how do we know if we are getting our “money’s worth” on public school? Too often, the primary criterion of effectiveness is standardized testing. A school is rated almost exclusively on on how well its students perform on standard testing (usually...

Recently, when asked ifintervention by the White House into private enterprise was presidential, President-elect Trump responded,“I think it’s very presidential. And if it’s not presidential, that’s okay … because I actually like doing it.” Writing for the Library of Law and Liberty, Greg Weiner asks, “On what authority is the President of the United States pressuring, which is to say intimidating, the leaders of private enterprise to determine where goods are made and sold? Answer: sheer personal will. ‘I actually...

Thomas Oden, considered by many to be one of the premier Methodist theologians in America, died yesterday at the age of 85. Oden was the author of numerous theological works, including the three-volume systematic theology The Word of Life, Life in the Spirit, and The Living God. He also served as thedirector of the Center for Early African Christianity at Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania, and was the general editor for both the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the...

Carl and Angel Larsen are Minnesota filmmakers who founded their pany, Telescope Media Group, with a very specific purpose: “to glorify God through top-quality media production.” Christian belief and a passion for “God’s story” has always been at the center of their business. Now, due to a state law and statements from government officials, their religious beliefs expose them to a range of new threats as it relates to filming weddings. Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, the Larsens may...

“Gregg lays out a careful and detailed argument for the proposition that, done well, financial endeavors can serve mon good,” says Adam J. MacLeod in a review of Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg’s most recent book For God and Profit: How Banking and Finance Can Serve the Common Good. MacLeod’s review at The Public Discourse, gives praise to Gregg’s book saying that anyone who feels called to the finance industry “can get quite a lot straight by reading this fine...

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, died today at the age of 95. Glenn was a U.S. Marine, a pilot, engineer, astronaut, and United States Senator from Ohio. He was also, at the age of 77, the oldest person to fly in space, servingin NASA’sMercury and Shuttleprograms. In honor of his passing, here are six key quotes from Glenn on faith, service, and government: On faith and opportunity: “I’m a Presbyterian, a Protestant Presbyterian, and I take...

Ryan Anderson delivers the annual Calihan Lecture Leading thinkers from around the world along with other attendees gathered at the Bloomsbury Hotel in London to attend the Acton Institute’s ‘Crisis of Liberty in the West’ conference on December 1st. The theme of the conference was centered on the economic and political struggles that North American, European, and other Western nations are currently facing. The conference featured many key leaders in the areas of theology, conservative social thought, and economics among...

“‘First rooted, then grounded, but both bound together at their most inner core!’ Let that be the slogan of the church living from God’s Word.” -Abraham Kuyper What is the social nature of our relation to God? What is the church, and who is the church? How should it to relate to the broader society? Such questions are explored at length in On the Church, a newly translated, newly released collection of essays and speeches by Abraham Kuyper on the...