Publications
Acton News & Commentary
“The Paradox of Liberty”
by Kevin E. Schmiesing Ph.D. - July 1, 2009
Kevin Schmiesing reflects on the nature of freedom and our tendency, as frail and flawed people, to sacrifice freedom for fleeting comforts. "The vigilance demanded to protect freedom is watchfulness over the potential abuses of powerful institutions: political, commercial, and even religious," he writes. "But it is first and foremost a conscientious scrutiny of our own motives and actions."
“Veterans First on Health Care”
by Ray Nothstine - June 24, 2009
The health care reform debate has focused on expanding coverage to all Americans. But how is the government meeting its obligations to military veterans? Not so good, reports Ray Nothstine. "The government needs to prove it can handle existing obligations before proposing the adoption of any universal government plan," he says.
Acton Notes
May 2009
- “Davos Capitalism” replaces Free Markets
- Profile: Rev. Uchechukwu Aladi
- R&L Interviews Governor Mark Sanford
- Acton University: A Closer Look
Volume 18, Number 3 • Summer 2008
“Taking a Stand: An Interview with Governor Mark Sanford”
Mark Sanford was elected South Carolina’s
governor in 2002 and won a second term in
2006, becoming only the third two-term governor in modern state history. In 2008, Gov
ernor Sanford was also named chairman of
the Republican Governors Association. Prior to his election as governor in 2002,
Governor Sanford served six years in the U.S.
House. For his consistent efforts to lower
taxes and limit government growth, he was
ranked number one in the entire Congress by
Citizens Against Government Waste. He was
rated similarly by the National Taxpayers’
Union, and Taxpayers for Common Sense
inducted him into the Taxpayers Hall of
Fame. Governor Sanford holds a BA degree
from Furman University, and a MBA from
the University of Virginia’s Darden School of
Business. He also worked at the New York
office of Goldman Sachs. As a governor, he has gained national attention for his principled opposition to bailouts
and stimulus legislation coming out of
Washington. He recently spoke with R&L
managing editor Ray Nothstine.
Journal of Markets & Morality
Volume 11, Number 2 • Fall 2008
This issue features the timely and challenging article, "Subprime Lending and Social Justice: A Biblical Perspective," by William C. Wood, professor of economics at James Madison University and director of JMU's Center for Economic Education. Prof. Wood notes that within the context of Christ's call to love our enemies as well as our neighbors, "Christians cannot be complacent about credit markets even if they appear to be economically efficient as voluntary transactions."
The concern for the poor and love of others that Wood observes particularly in the New Testament is also a major theme of the new Scholia translation. Wolfgang Musculus, a second-generation reformer and major biblical commentator of the early modern era, penned his commentary on the book of Psalms in 1551. Here for the first time is Musculus' full commentary on Psalm 15 translated into English in conjunction with the exegetically-related appendices on oaths and usury. With regard to the question of usury, in his introduction to the Scholia Jordan J. Ballor writes, "Musculus' reflections on usury in Psalm 15 are significant because they represent a stream of Protestant thought that largely has been ignored by economic historians." Musculus himself contends that lending at profit to the least among us "is not only condemned as inhuman by the laws of Christ but also by the laws of nature. For it is plainly inhuman to pursue a profit from the sweat and calamities of the poor."
Also in this issue:
- Robert F. Garnett Jr. on "Philanthropy, Markets, and Commercial Society: Beyond the Hayekian Impasse."
- Martin Calkins and Jonathan B. Wight consider "The Ethical Lacunae in Friedman's Concept of the Manager."
- Julio H. Cole also explores "Milton Friedman on Income Inequality."
- John Lunn and Vicki TenHaken pursue "Human Finitude and Specialized Production: A Christian-Realist Rationale for Business Enterprises."
- Guido Hülsmann investigates "The Production of Business Ethics."