“Who is John Galt?” That line, which motivated millions of readers to slog their way through Ayn Rand’s tome Atlas Shrugged, is more than a plea to establish someone’s identity; it embodies Rand’s longing for the transcendent One, according to Rev. Robert A. Sirico. The Acton Institute’s co-founder fleshed out his case when he sat down with David L. Bahnsen for the podcast Capital Record. Episode 9 is aptly titled, “Ayn Rand meets religion.” Who was Rand searching for when...

In its first show for the Disney+ streaming ic giant Marvel explores in the hit series Wandavision a depth of storytelling that reaches beyond the stereotypical good-versus-evil battle of so many superhero tales. It explores the inseparability of human creativity and the condition of our hearts. The final episode was released on March 5. This post contains spoilers. Wandavision features the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and the Vision (Paul Bettany), two secondary (though not anymore, I hope) heroes...

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” – Lord Acton. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is known for saying, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that, it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” As President Joe Biden signs the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the $350 billion in direct grants to state, local, and tribal governments should not lead us to assume that...

On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, one day after the House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus by a vote of 220-211. Its supporters, especially those on the Religious Left, assert that the bill’s changes to the child tax credit represent the best way to reduce child poverty. What changes does the American Rescue Plan make to child tax credit? How much money could families expect to get, and when? Is the glowing analysis of...

The Senate passed the “American Rescue Plan” on Saturday without the Hyde Amendment, a legislative rider that protects taxpayers from having to fund abortion-on-demand. However, a prominent Roman Catholic nun has celebrated the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, calling on “every single member of Congress” to vote for it and saying the abortion-funding measure makes strides toward “ending child poverty.” The current version of the American Rescue Plan contains $414 billion in taxpayer dollars not subject to Hyde Amendment protections, possibly...

Internationally renowned evangelist Luis Palau, whose global missionary efforts earned him the nickname “the Billy Graham of Latin America” and “the Apostle Paul to the Spanish-speaking world,” passed away from lung cancer on Thursday morning at age of 86. In addition to preaching to more than 30 million people in 75 countries during a ministry that lasted more than five decades, the Argentine-born revivalist became mitted friend of the Acton Institute – and a forthright critic of liberation theology. He...

The House of Representatives passed the PRO Act, the most pulsory union membership expansion bill in decades, by a 225-206 vote on Tuesday. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or “PRO Act,” of 2021 would force millions of workers to pay union dues against their will, cripple freelance work, erase free speech and privacy rights, skew elections in favor of unionization, and radically increase the federal government’s intervention into everyday workplace disputes. Here are the facts you need to...

Democratic socialism is on the rise America, as evidenced by the popularity of politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as the mainstreaming of various collectivist policies. Many have shrugged at the movement, explaining it away as a far cry from the blood-soaked tyrannies of yore. But while the practical differences are certainly significant, many of the basic moral impulses remain the same, bent toward a particular ideal of social control and deconstructionism across individual and institutional life....

As American culture has grown increasingly hostile to Christianity, many have responded with calls to “take our country back” for God, promoting a mix of tailored strategies to dominate specific sectors of society – from politics, to business, to the media and beyond. The efforts vary in their energy and effectiveness, but as cultural elites give way to various forms bative conformity, Christians appear to be ever more drawn to their own spiritualized versions of the same. In assessing such...

For all the claims regarding the subjectivity of economics, including schools of thought that emphasize subjective value theory and the descriptive rather than the normative, much mainstream economic thought focuses on what seems to be objective and measurable. Take the case of labor economics and related policy discussions, such as the recently debated proposals surrounding child tax and the earned e tax credits. The focus in these discussions is almost always and exclusively about what can be measured – that...