Since 2013 when the Argentine prelate Jorge Bergoglio officially became the head of the Catholic Church, he has emerged as a key figure in the progressive movement. Even though Pope Francis does not claim to be a part of any political movement, it is clear that he is representative of the views that many leftists hold. With his emergence e much criticism from Catholics who hold opposing views on issues such as environmentalism and the market economy. Acton Institute Director...

Every Wednesday we publish the Acton Commentary, a weekly article that covers topics related to Acton’s mission. As es to a close we thought it would be worth highlighting the top mentaries produced by Acton Institute staffers and contributors over the past year. 1.Global elites put Christianity in the crosshairs Global governance ideology is the intellectual stepchild of Marxist materialist thought, says Robert F. Gorman. The term global governance refers to the political dimension of globalization. Here the question is...

Earlier today I mentioned that economist Thomas Sowell was retiring from writing his syndicated column. For decades Sowell, age 86, has been one of the leading thinkers in the libertarian and conservative circles. But what is less known is the intellectual journey he took from being an advocate of socialism to a champion of free markets. This past summer I wrote an article for The Stream examining on how Sowell thought his way into Marxism, then back out again into...

As e near to the end of another year, we want to thank readers of PowerBlog for menting, and sharing our posts over the past twelve months. If you’re a new reader we encourage you to catch up by checking out our top ten most popular posts for 2016: 1. Work is a gift our kids can handle Joseph Sunde The abundant prosperity of the modern age has brought many blessings when es to child-rearing and child development, offering kids...

Over the past twelve months there have been considerable discussions of monumental public policy issues. But before 2016 ends we need to consider one more of (in)significant importance: what to do about the penny. As the Wall Street Journal noted earlier this week, in fiscal 2015, the cost to produce a single penny was 1.43 cents. In 2014, that cost rose to 1.66 cents. Despite years of effort to wring costs out of production, it is doubtful the copper-coated coin...

Overthe past few decades, economist Thomas Sowell, age 86, has been one of the most effective, yet under-appreciated, proponents of conservative and libertarian economic thought. He is also one of our most powerful critics of the often destructive and harmful effects of liberal economic policies. Today he announced he’s retiring from writing his syndicated column. In honor of his retirement, here are six quotes by Sowell: On government spending: “Elections should be held on April 16th—the day after we pay...

Christmas is the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world. Here are five factsyou should know about the memoration of the birth of Jesus: 1. No one knows what day or month Jesus was born (though some scholars speculate that it was in September). The earliest evidence for the observance of December 25 as the birthday of Christappears in the Philocalian posed in Rome in 336. 2. Despite the impression given by many nativity plays and Christmas carols, the...

In this week’s Acton Commentary I examine the foundations of what is today identified as the “preferential option for the poor” in writings that appeared 125 years ago, Pope Leo’sRerum Novarum and Abraham Kuyper’s “The Social Question and the Christian Religion.” These two texts have appeared in an anniversary volume,Makers of Modern Christian Social Thought: Leo XIII and Abraham Kuyper on the Social Question, now available from the Acton Book Shop. In the introduction to that volume, I touch on...

As protests for a $15-per-hour minimum wage continue to rage across the country, cities like Seattle and states like California and New York have already begun to adopt such schemes. But alas, prices are not play things, and such measures are bound to reap a range of deleterious effects, from raised consumer prices to increased unemployment to reduced working hours to outright business closures. Contrary to the popular narrative, those consequences tend to hit small businesses and less-skilled workers first...

Although Americans have lost the notion altogether, British tradition still remembers that Christmas is a season that begins, rather than ends, on December 25. In addition to Christmas, many businesses close their doors on December 26 in observance of Boxing Day. Over the years, the holiday has also e the UK’s third-largest shopping day, generating £3.74 billion last year. Since shoppers need workers to serve them, more retailers have remained open each year. This spurred more than 200,000 Brits to...