The contrast between the treatments by David Bentley Hart and Dylan Pahman of the question of the intrinsic evil of “great personal wealth” this week pretty well established, I think, that in itself wealth is among the things neither forbidden nor absolutely required. In fact, as Pahman puts it at one point, perhaps “Christians should strive to have wealth from which to provide for others.” But all this is to merely show that wealth isn’t absolutely forbidden. From this it...

“We’re going to need to see your birth certificate,” the manager said, making a notation on my employment application, “But you’re hired. Show up a 10 a.m. on Thursday for training.” I was too young and dumb to realize he was calling my bluff. I had to be 16 to take the job and I could barely pass for 14 (which I wouldn’t be for a another month). Yet instead of pointing out that I was lying about my age...

“Our problem [with education] today is not to enforce conformity; it is rather that we are threatened with an excess of conformity. Our problem is to foster diversity.” –Milton Friedman, Capitalism & Freedom The education reform movement has set forth a range of strategies bat the leviathan of publiceducation. Yet more often than not, thosesolutions arecouched only with boilerplate about the glories of markets petition. There is plenty oftruth behind such rhetoric, butas Greg Forster outlines in an extensive series...

Alexis de Tocqueville’sDemocracy In Americais renowned as one of the best examinations of early American society and politics,and remains one of the most mentaries ever written on the practice of democracy in the United States. In this edition of Radio Free Acton, we are joined by John Wilsey,Assistant Professor of History and Christian Apologetics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, to discuss Tocqueville’s masterwork and its continuing relevance for modern America. We also discuss the work of Tocqueville’s panion, Gustave de...

When we think about the places on the globe that continue to have the most consistent and seemingly intractable problems, we tend to think of Africa. While areas like East Asia and the Pacific continue to grow richer and more stable, many African countries remain mired in corruption and poverty. Grasping the scale of problems in Africa is often hindered by our inability to grasp the scale of the continent. For example, on most maps Greenland appears to be the...

In an Acton Commentary two years ago, I wrote about the significance of toil: In the midst of the mon Christian affirmation of all forms of work as God-given vocations, the image of Sisyphus, vainly pushing his boulder up a hill in Hades, only to watch it roll back down again, might serve to remind us of the reality of toil, the other side of the coin. While human labor does have a divine calling, we do not labor apart...

Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...

The oxygen masks dropped as theplanebegan to drop in altitude and lose cabin pressure. As he and his friends applied the masks, Reid Kapple began to wonder if the end was near. Thankfully, the plane stabilized and landed safely, but for Kapple, a pastor in Kansas City, the experience stuck with him. Afew months later, duringa sermon series at his church on faith and work, Kapple was reminded of the mask and how great a contributiona small product can make...

Young Americans that are unemployed have worse physical well-being than their employed elders, according to a new survey. Gallup and Healthways surveyed people in 47 e-economy countries for two years on physical well-being, which they defined as having good health and enough energy to get things done daily. Their survey classified responses as “thriving” (well-being that is strong and consistent), “struggling” (well-being that is moderate or inconsistent), or “suffering” (well-being that is low and inconsistent). The survey found that in...

Capitalism tends to make Christians uneasy and conflicted. On the one hand, we recognize that free enterprise has been the most effect means of poverty reduction in the history of the world. But on the other hand, we are forced to admit that the system can be used to destroy the good, the true, and the beautiful. How can we resolve this tension? One important step, as Nathan Smith explains, is to better understand the “ideological heart of capitalism”—the doctrine...