Acton Line

Today, our most contentious controversies are about morality. We disagree about questions of efficiency and democracy, but across political aisles, we also disagree about what's right to do and who we're becoming as a people. How can we have productive debates with people whose worldviews are very different from ours? Adam MacLeod, professor of law at Faulkner University, addresses this question i...

In this episode, Acton's President and Co-Founder, Rev. Robert Sirico, offers some thoughts on what the role of the government should be during a crisis. When we're confronted with unique crises, especially like the Coronavirus pandemic the world is facing now, there are justified government interventions. We can't discount, however, the principle of subsidiarity as well as the division of labor a...

As of March 18, 2020 Coronavirus, or COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected over 200,000 people worldwide, and has killed more than 8,000 people globally. What responsive measures should have been taken by China that weren't? How did the People's Republic of China put the world in danger by failing the people of Wuhan, and who in China risked their lives and even the lives of the...

It’s now been three years since Michael Novak passed away. Novak was Roman Catholic theologian, philosopher and author, and was a powerful defender of human liberty. In this episode, Acton's Samuel Gregg shares Novak’s history, starting with his time on the left in the 1960s and 70s and recounting his gradual shift toward conservative thought that culminated in the publication of his 1982 masterwo...

In recent years, a rift has opened within American conservatism, a series of divisions animated in part by the 2016 presidential election and also by a right concern with an increasingly progressive culture. Among these divisions is a growing split between self-professing liberal and illiberal conservatives as some on the right scramble to give explanation for a culture which has become hostile to...

If you've traveled to Washington, D.C. before, it's likely that you've flown through Washington Dulles International Airport, named after President Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles. In fact, over 60,000 people travel through Dulles airport every day, but not many people know much about its namesake. John Foster Dulles served in the early years of the Cold War and pursued a vigor...

It's not news that America's trust in public institutions is falling. Gallup polls reveal that confidence in the church is at an all time low, and similarly, Pew Research has found that Americans' trust in the federal government and in each other is "shrinking." In his new book, titled “A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can...

On February 5, Pope Francis addressed a crowd of economists and finance ministers that had gathered together for a seminar on "New Forms of Solidarity Towards Fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation." During his speech, the pope addressed the economy, sin and finance, and he also called for wealth distribution in order to alleviate poverty. “The world is rich and yet the poor increase arou...

Central to the mission of the Acton Institute is educating people of faith about the connections that exist between religious life and economic thinking. Abraham Kuyper helped lay the groundwork for this mission by establishing why it's important for Christians to be involved in the public square. Kuyper was a Dutch politician and a Reformed theologian during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

Did you know that there are over 1,300 endangered species in the United States? Polar bears, northern spotted owls, red wolves, Florida panthers and even monarch butterflies are all on the endangered species list. We’ve been given a mandate to take care of the earth and all living creatures on it. How can we make sure that vulnerable animals are protected from extinction? This week, Jonathan Wood...

When Sir Roger Scruton passed away at the age of 75 on January 12, the world lost a giant in philosophy. Scruton wrote approximately 50 books on topics ranging from food to music to conservative thought, and in 2016 he was knighted for his contribution to philosophy and education. On this episode, Acton's Samuel Gregg explains the most important veins of Scruton's thought, especially those related...

On December 10, 2019, shoppers in a Kosher market in Jersey City, N.J., became the targets of anti-Semitic violence. Two men opened fire in the grocery store, killing four people. Just a few weeks later, a man wielding a machete broke into a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, and stabbed five people who were in the midst of celebrating Hanukkah. One victim, 72-year-old Josef Neumann, was the most s...

On this week's episode, we pay tribute to Gertrude Himmelfarb who passed away last Monday, December 30th, at the age of 97. Gertrude Himmelfarb was a historian and leading intellectual voice in conservatism. Throughout her career, she wrote many books about Victorian history, morality and contemporary culture. The New York Post named her one of America’s greatest minds, and the National Review cal...

During Christmastime in China in 2015, 1,700 churches were torn down or vandalized, a result of the Chinese government growing increasingly hostile to Christianity. In 2018, The Chinese government raided and shut down churches ahead of Christmas and detained pastors and members caught celebrating. From reports of labor camps in the country to growing surveillance through technology, China is incre...

On May 22nd, 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson launched his program for a "Great Society" in a speech at the University of Michigan. "The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all," Johnson began. "It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning." 84 bills later, Johnson's war on poverty was in full effect, expanding...

Massachusetts Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has proposed to increase taxes for big businesses and high earners to rake in nearly $3 trillion per year. Warren plans to use this tax to fund spending in health care, education, and family benefits, and as a result, according to Warren, the economy would grow. Are economists in agreement with Warren? What would increase...

Sen. Marco Rubio's recent proposals for 'common good capitalism' have sparked criticism and praise across the board. Rubio draws heavily from Catholic Social Teaching in his defense of common good capitalism, describing an economy for the common good characterized by dignified work and stability for working class families. On November 5, Rubio addressed students at the Catholic University of Ameri...

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation recently released their annual poll for the year 2019, revealing that over one third of the millennial generation view communism favorably, 15% believing that the world would be "better off " if the Soviet Union still existed. History, however, tells a different story. Joining this episode is Valentina Kuryliw, the daughter of survivors of a forgotten g...

Panic surrounding climate change and the environment is on the rise and doomsday predictions abound. Most headlines about the environment only tell one story: that the environment is on the decline and that this decline is a result of economic development. In March, The Guardian declared that "ending climate change requires the end of capitalism." But in the midst of calls for the Green New Deal a...

In 1965, Milton Friedman was quoted by Time magazine for saying "We are all Keynesians now," referring to how pervasive the thoughts of economist John Maynard Keynes had become in society and economics. Known as the founding father of macroeconomics, Keynes's economic thought changed the way economics is approached, for better or for worse. How did his economic thought become so dominant and where...

On this episode, Acton's Samuel Gregg joins the podcast to break down liberation theology, a Marxist movement that began in the 20th century and took root in the Catholic Church in Latin America. October 27 marked the close of the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, a summit organized to foster conversation on ministry and ecological concerns in the Amazon region. But the synod also revealed how, as G...

In just the first week of the release of Kanye West's new explicitly Christian record "Jesus is King," it's outsold his previous album "Ye," projected to sell 225-275k copies. In addition to comments regarding his conversion to Christianity, he's dominated cultural conversation with increasingly conservative opinions, addressing everything from the importance of communities, to local churches and...

The new super villain drama 'Joker' has shattered box office records and gained much controversial media attention along the way. Set to top $900 million worldwide, the dark film from director Todd Phillips and actor Joaquin Phoenix is already being heralded as the biggest R-rated movie ever. So why has 'Joker' been such a hit? Christian Toto, award winning movie critic and editor at Hollywood in...

On October 4, Daryl Morey, manager of the Houston Rockets, posted a tweet that included the words “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.” Afterwards, China severed several partnerships they had with the Rockets in retaliation, leading Morey to delete his tweet and apologize for it and also prompting NBA commissioner Adam Silver to issue a statement declaring that the NBA does not regulate the s...

In 2017, a poll from NPR and Ipsos found that one in every three people in the U.S. has been affected by the opioid crisis in one way or another. One third of Americans know someone who has overdosed or know someone who is battling addiction -- and the crisis hasn't slowed down. On this episode, AnneMarie Schieber, award winning television news anchor and reporter based in Grand Rapids, MI, dives...