The 8th of April is a wonderful day. Surely, it is not a special day for everyone. But for me it is. Full disclosure: April 8th is the undersigned PowerBlogger’s birthday and he is not alone. It is also the birthday of some amazing people, among which are Betty Ford and German philosopher Edmund Husserl. April 8th is even said to be Buddha’s day of birth. It is certainly no Christmas, but at least this day has left me with...

Note: This is post #118 in a weekly video series on basic economics. What happens when you deposit money in a bank? Because of government requirements, the bank must keep some but it allowed to lend out the rest. So if you deposit $10 dollars, they can lend out $9. This practice is known as fractional reserve banking. These types of deposits can have a huge impact on these supplies. As Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution University says, this is...

The endless drama of Brexit – which last week wrote yet another act with Parliament rejecting all possible options – should make many wonders about the future of representative democracy and the dynamics of power in modern society. Does representative democracy – or its almost interchangeable synonyms like democracy or people’s sovereignty – have a future? The short answer is no, it does not. However, this question has many more nuances than a careless mind might notice. All political regimes...

On this episode of Acton Line, Caroline Roberts speaks with Sarah Estelle, professor of economics at Hope College, to revisit the life and work of F.A. Hayek on the 75th anniversary of the publishing of “The Road to Serfdom.” On the second segment, Caroline then speaks with Tyler O’Neil, senior editor at PJ Media, about the film “Unplanned” and how its release highlights issues such as human rights, censorship and more. Check out additional resources for this podcast: “‘The Road...

Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, writes today in Forbes with his annual analysis of think tanks’ use of social media. While social media stats shouldn’t be our only or even primary measure of success, no one can deny the prevalence of social networks in today’s world, and many groups expend considerable energy in their efforts in this field. The prehensive ranking of think tanks is produced by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania....

After the second World War, support for free markets and modern conservatism became more prominent—and both were often interlinked. But skepticism, if not outright rejection, of free markets has remained an undercurrent in a large section of the conservative movement. This has e increasingly noticeable in the past few years as many on the right have rushed to embrace statist ideologies, such as nationalism and populism. Yet while criticisms abound, there are few workable alternatives being offered by conservatives to...

I have been involved in the Kuyper Conference at Calvin College & Seminary for the last couple of years, and this year’s conference features a number of elements of notable interest. Acton is a headline sponsor of the event this year, and our Journal of Markets & Morality is also sponsoring the confernece. The journal has published a number of items focused on Abraham Kuyper and neocalvinist social thought over the years, including an article that originated as a paper...

Is it possible for people to improve their lives through hard work, or is the system riggedagainst you? Your answer – and your results – may depend on your faith. On EWTN, Carl Cannon of RealClear Politics discussed a poll in which the organization asked people whether the American dream is alive “for you personally.” Only seven percent of Americans say the American dream is “dead,” while 27 percent say it is “alive and well.” But Cannon pointed out a...

The international Left extols the European Union, because they see its “ever-closer union” as the prototype of a supranational government with a centrally planned economy. Former President Barack Obama expressed this sentiment this weekend, saying the EU represented the “pinnacle of human well-being.” Hetoldan audience in Berlin: We live in uncertain times. We’re confronted by big questions about how to organize munities and our countries and the international order. Here in Berlin we have to recognize that this moment is...

Fr. Robert Sirico was recently interviewed by Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J., on The Catholic Current. Their topic: ‘Socialism & Venezuela: What Can Catholics Learn?’ The conversation was wide ranging. It begins with a consideration of the disastrous mitment to central planning and its present fruit of shortages, starvation, and totalitarianism in Venezuela. The role of profits, rule of law, and morality in the market economy is also explored with an in depth discussion of the unique contributions of Catholic social...