Acton Commentary

Recruiting for Big Government: Food Stamps Run Amok

Acton Web — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:40:07 +0000

by Elise Hilton

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the federal government's "food stamp" program. Despite indications that the national economy is showing signs of revival, SNAP usage is at an all-time high:

Business and Society

Conservatives and the Non-Triumph of Capitalism

Acton Web — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:23:06 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

In recent contributions to First Things, theologian R.R. Reno and legal scholar Robert T. Miller have debated several questions concerning conservatism, capitalism, and the government’s economic role. Obviously the discussion is complicated by the inexactitude of words like “conservative” and “capitalism.” But fundamentally, their debates address the present-day scope of economic freedom in America and throughout the world.

Business and Society

Gift, Gratitude, and the Grace of Stewardship

Acton Web — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:13:40 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

There’s a misunderstanding of the nature of gifts and giving that is pervasive in our contemporary culture and even in our churches. It’s the idea that a gift, by its very nature, requires no response from the recipient. For a gift to truly be a gift, the reasoning goes, it must be entirely and radically gratuitous, which in turn means that the recipient must be entirely passive. If any response is required, then it isn’t truly a gift.

Business and Society

Young, Entrepreneurial, and Pursuing Good Art in Hollywood

Acton Web — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:00:12 +0000

by R.J. Moeller

My argument would be that I don't think there is much that's genuinely political art that is good art.

-- Thom Yorke, lead singer of the rock band Radiohead

Ostensibly, I moved to Los Angeles a year ago to work for author and radio show host Dennis Prager. But the real reason I’m here stems from a much deeper, more subversive part of my id. (Or perhaps my inflated ego?)

Business and Society

Christianity, the Environment, and Modern Gnostics

Acton Web — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:49:00 +0000

by Matthea Brandenburg

Father Kindiy

Environmental Stewardship

Veritatis Splendor: The Encyclical that Mattered

Acton Web — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:48:52 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

There are papal encyclicals, and then there are papal encyclicals. Some escape public attention almost from the moment they’re promulgated. Others continue reverberating inside the Church decades after they appear. But there’s also a third type of encyclical: those which assume truly civilizational significance.

Business and Society

Crime and the Nanny State

Acton Web — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:56:10 +0000

by Jonathan Witt

Against the backdrop of sluggish growth and high unemployment, one bright spot has been declining crime rates, with levels in the United States now about half what they were 20 years ago. This gradual decline holds true even in the perennially high-risk demographic of young men, suggesting it isn’t merely a knock-on effect of an aging population. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that current government policies may reverse this downward trend.

Business and Society

Buying Off Discontent: The Economic Wreckage of Disability Benefits in America

Acton Web — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:24:18 +0000

by Elise Hilton

You lose the factory job you’ve had since high school due to cut-backs. When the unemployment runs out, the only jobs around for high school graduates are fast food joints and entry-level work – a huge pay cut. You discover you can make nearly as much money on disability.

Business and Society

Not Quite Alone in the Wilderness

Acton Web — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:55:24 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

One of the more intriguing shows that PBS runs occasionally (especially during its pledge drives) is the documentary Alone in the Wilderness, which chronicles the exploits of Dick Proenneke, who retired in 1967 to Twin Lakes, Alaska. In this remote location Proenneke builds a cabin by hand, and the documentary captures his labors with a variety of hand tools and resources taken from the surrounding countryside.

Environmental Stewardship

Pope Francis: A Man of the Left?

Acton Web — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:15:58 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

It was inevitable. With the election of a new man to the Chair of Peter, we’re already seen an effort to portray him as “socially conservative” yet “economically progressive.” This seems to be the way virtually every pope has been presented since Leo XIII’s long reign. And it’s a profound illustration of the limits of applying secular political categories to something like the Catholic Church.

Business and Society

A Passion for Government Leads to Neglect of Our Neighbor

Acton Web — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:36:34 +0000

by Dylan Pahman

In ancient Palestine, under Roman rule, the Jewish people saw themselves as victims of an oppressive government. Most common folks constantly struggled to make a subsistence level living, on the one hand, and to afford ever increasing bills from tax-collectors on the other. In this setting the Gospel of Luke tells us that John the Baptist came to fulfill the prophecy of Malachi: to “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6; cf. Luke 1:17).

Business and Society

Catholicism, True Reform and the Next Pope

Acton Web — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:19:27 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

Given the contempt with which some people regard Catholicism these days, it’s extraordinary just how badly the very same individuals want everyone else to hear their views of the Church’s future. Plainly there’s something about this 2000 year-old faith that truly bothersthem. How else can one explain the tsunami of unsolicited advice from pop atheists, incoherent playwrights, angry ex-priests, and celebrity theologians that has erupted since Benedict XVI’s abdication?

Business and Society

Law, Liberty, and Life Together

Acton Web — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:30:05 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

Business and Society

When Freedom, Creativity, and Opportunity Meet

Acton Web — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:29:26 +0000

by Anthony B. Bradley

Thomas L. Jennings (1791–1856) was the first African-American to be granted a patent, for his discovery of a process called “dry-scouring” -- what we now know as “dry cleaning.” Jennings’ life is a model of what happens when people of virtue have the freedom to use their skill to meet needs in the market place and contribute to the common good. What the United States and the rest of the world need are social, political, and economic contexts where people can flourish in the same way that Jennings did.

Business and Society

Is America the Federal Government?

Acton Web — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:48:09 +0000

by Ray Nothstine

Writing about his observations of America in 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville noted, “The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe.” To the extent this statement is still true, what’s left of the notion of individual rule and self-government is under attack from centralized power in Washington. Furthermore, America’s identity is being transformed. So much so that in a recent speech Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal had to remind his own Republican Party leaders that, “America is not the federal government.”

Business and Society

Benedict XVI: Reason’s Revolutionary

Acton Web — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:44:06 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

Ever since I started writing about Joseph Ratzinger in the late 1990s, two qualities about the man impressed me. The first was his quiet but clear love of Christ as a living Person rather than the vague abstraction of liberal, often atheist theologians.

Business and Society

Why Barack Obama Needs to Read Alexis de Tocqueville

Acton Web — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:35:18 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

Presidential inaugural addresses are usually inspiring affairs, but the devil is invariably in the details. In that regard, President Obama’s second inaugural address proved to be no exception.

Of course there were all sorts of highly questionable assertions made in this address. “A decade of war is now ending.” Really? Someone obviously forgot to inform al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, not to mention the Americans and other innocents recently slaughtered by terrorists linked to that group in Algeria.

Business and Society

Crisis and Constitution: Hitler’s Rise to Power

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:37:19 +0000

by Anthony B. Bradley

On Jan. 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. While he was being sworn in he said, "I will employ my strength for the welfare of the German people, protect the Constitution and laws of the German people, conscientiously discharge the duties imposed on me and conduct my affairs of office impartially and with justice to everyone.” Neither the German people, nor the rest of world, had any idea that this day was the beginning of an incremental concentration of power that would later lead to the death of millions of people and catalyze World War II.

Business and Society

Linking Gun Control to Mental Health Misguided, Ineffective

Acton Web — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:46:00 +0000

by Elise Hilton

President Obama has set in motion a slew of executive actions to combat gun violence in America, prompted by the Newtown shooting that left 26 children and adults dead. Restricting access to guns, especially by the mentally ill, in order to achieve peace seems an obvious solution. However, linking Second Amendment rights and mental health is nonsensical, and fails to address the source of America’s issue with violence.

Business and Society

Hollywood 2012: What messages are the movies sending us?

Acton Web — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:56:20 +0000

by R.J. Moeller

The list of the twenty-five top-grossing films (worldwide) of 2012 has been released, and I believe there are a few important lessons that proponents of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional Judeo-Christian values can learn from its inventory.

Business and Society

The Mundane Morality of Les Misérables

Acton Web — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:43:14 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

Valjean as M. Madeleine

Business and Society

Becoming Europe

Acton Web — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:24:18 +0000

by Samuel Gregg

It’s a fair bet that every American who’s travelled outside the United States has heard people complaining about their societies becoming “Americanized.” By this, they usually mean the proliferation of things such as American television and fast-food chains (though that rarely stops them from watching Hollywood films or eating McDonald's).

More recently, however, millions of Americans have begun wondering if our own country is becoming “Europeanized.”

Business and Society

The Hopes and Fears of All the Years

Acton Web — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:35:11 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

At some point, sooner or later, all new parents experience that moment when they realize that this new little life is their unique responsibility. It can be a bit surreal. Holding your little one, it strikes you that a tremendous gift has been given to you, a gift that brings with it significant and life-altering responsibilities. I, who am a bit slow on the uptake, took some weeks to realize that I was not only able but also allowed to bundle up my tiny son in his car seat and take him out of the house to run errands.

Business and Society

Something Vastly More Powerful Than Evil

Acton Web — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:12:25 +0000

by Rev. Robert A. Sirico

It was a painful irony – some might call it a cruel irony – one noted to my congregation: On a Sunday so close to Christmas, when the Catholic Church admonishes her children in the words of the opening antiphon Gaudete (Rejoice!), we found ourselves just a few short days past the horrific and inexplicable violence which occurred in Newtown, Connecticut.

Business and Society

Christmas and Secularism’s Futility

Acton Web — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:43:14 +0000

by Ray Nothstine

Every December cultural warriors mourn the incessant attacks on Christmas and secularism’s rise in society. News headlines carry stories of modern day Herods banning nativity scenes, religious performances, and even the word “Christmas.” Just as a majority of young people profess they will have less prosperity and opportunity than their parents, many people now expect less out of Christmas. Continual bickering over holiday messaging in corporate advertising itself points to a shrinking and limited Christmas.

Business and Society

Government Subsidies Not So Sweet for Health

Acton Web — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:41:19 +0000

by Anthony B. Bradley

It’s yet another example of the unintended consequences of government meddling in the economy, a new study shows that large amounts of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) found in national food supplies across the world may be one explanation for the rising global epidemic of type 2 diabetes and resulting higher health care costs.

Educational Choice

Living in the Shadow of the Fiscal Cliff

Acton Web — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:20:22 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

After the election results earlier this month, the next big issue facing President Barack Obama and Congress is the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a series of discretionary spending cuts and tax increases that, in lieu of some action taken in the meantime, would kick in automatically at the end of this year and the beginning of 2013.

Business and Society

Sacrifice and Self-Interest

admin — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:28:00 +0000

by Jordan Ballor

One of the complaints often rendered against the market economy is that it encourages selfish behavior. This picture of the marketplace is that of a kind of war of all against all, with each participant out only to maximize his or her own individual benefit.

Business and Society

The LBJ Curse on the Black Vote

Acton Web — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:52:22 +0000

by Anthony B. Bradley

Because it is right, because it is wise, and because,
for the first time in our history, it is possible to conquer
poverty... Lyndon B. Johnson's Special Message to
Congress, March 16, 1964

Business and Society

Is There an Intrinsic Morality of the Free Market?

Acton Web — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:19:34 +0000

by Rev. Robert A. Sirico

The debate over markets and morality has a long pedigree.

Karl Marx thought, of course, that there was something intrinsically immoral about what he called capitalism based on his notion of “the labor theory of value” which contends that workers are alienated from what they produce by the private ownership of the means of production. A small ocean of ink has been spilt over that debate.

Business and Society

Acton Commentary

Recruiting for Big Government: Food Stamps Run Amok

Conservatives and the Non-Triumph of Capitalism

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Gift, Gratitude, and the Grace of Stewardship

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Young, Entrepreneurial, and Pursuing Good Art in Hollywood

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Christianity, the Environment, and Modern Gnostics

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Veritatis Splendor: The Encyclical that Mattered

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Crime and the Nanny State

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Buying Off Discontent: The Economic Wreckage of Disability Benefits in America

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Not Quite Alone in the Wilderness

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Pope Francis: A Man of the Left?

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A Passion for Government Leads to Neglect of Our Neighbor

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Catholicism, True Reform and the Next Pope

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Law, Liberty, and Life Together

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When Freedom, Creativity, and Opportunity Meet

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Is America the Federal Government?

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Benedict XVI: Reason’s Revolutionary

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Why Barack Obama Needs to Read Alexis de Tocqueville

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Crisis and Constitution: Hitler’s Rise to Power

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Linking Gun Control to Mental Health Misguided, Ineffective

Hollywood 2012: What messages are the movies sending us?

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The Mundane Morality of Les Misérables

Becoming Europe

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The Hopes and Fears of All the Years

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Something Vastly More Powerful Than Evil

Christmas and Secularism’s Futility

Government Subsidies Not So Sweet for Health

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Living in the Shadow of the Fiscal Cliff

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Sacrifice and Self-Interest

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The LBJ Curse on the Black Vote

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Is There an Intrinsic Morality of the Free Market?

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