A Special Edition of Acton Vault featuring Acton Line This week, we’re bringing you one of the plenary lectures from this year’s Acton University, featuring Bishop Robert Barron speaking on “The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism.” "Wokeism” is arguably the most influential public philosophy in our country today. It has worked its way into the minds an…

One of America’s success stories is its economy. For over a century, it has been the envy of the world. The opportunity it generates has inspired millions of people to want to become American. Today, however, America’s economy is at a crossroads. Many have lost confidence in the country’s commitment to economic liberty. Across the political spectru…

In this episode, we’re bringing you a talk from our Acton Lecture Series from 2019. To be economically literate requires neither formal training nor advanced study. For those with the inclination, the most valuable economic principles can be understood with just a little nurturing of the so-called “economic way of thinking.” In this talk, Dr. Sarah…

Few technologies are as simultaneously disruptive and controversial as cryptocurrency. Attitudes among businesspeople range from viewing it as way to revolutionize the entire monetary system to seeing cryptocurrency as an inherently valueless asset destined for embarrassing collapse. The recent downfall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried have fueled this…

The year is 1837. Imagine that you live in Calcutta and a man with a thick Boston accent offers you some ice cream. There is no such device as a refrigerator, much less a freezer, and yet here is a man offering you a cold (and delicious) treat. How did it get there? In this lecture from the 2019 Acton Lecture Series, Dave Hebert explains how ice ha…

In this episode, we’re bringing you a talk from our Acton Lecture Series from January 2023, that was co-sponsored by the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. In their own time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Russell Kirk occupied different ends of the political spectrum. Their philosophies inspired the two most powerful movements of the age: t…

Today’s episode is a brief one, and takes us back in time to 2000 and the remarks from Sir John Templeton at the Acton Institute’s Annual Dinner. It was at this dinner that Templeton was award the inaugural Acton Institute Faith & Freedom Award for his contributions to civil society as “a pioneering philanthropist with wisdom to understand the trem…

There is no shortage of headlines pointing to another powerful corporation run amok or the consumer base being manipulated. These types of issues have cast a significant shadow on the legitimacy and purpose of business, even the possibility of a good or moral business. This lecture from James Otteson aims to present how a renewed vision of the inte…

Russell Kirk has long been known as perhaps the most important founding father of the American Conservative movement in the second half of the 20th century. In the early 1950s, America was emerging from two decades of the Great Depression and the New Deal and facing the rise of radical ideologies abroad; the American Right seemed beaten, broken, an…

Dr. Matson's lecture explored how in the British tradition, political economy, which partly emerged out of discourses in natural theology, ethics and jurisprudence, casts some light on the content of our moral obligations. Drawing on Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith, he desicussed how commerce in the eighteenth century came to be depicted as a mode of co…

In this episode, we’re bringing you a panel from our recent Poverty Cure Summit. The Poverty Cure Summit provides an opportunity for participants to listen to scholars, human service providers, and community leaders address the most critical issues we face today that can either exacerbate or alleviate poverty. These speakers will join panel discuss…

For this episode, we are taking you back to June 17, 1997 and the Acton Institute's 7th Annual Dinner in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The guest of honor that evening was Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia, who passed away suddenly on February 13, 2016, was a jurisprudential giant. One of the foremost proponents of originalist and tex…

There's been renewed interest in the role Christianity has played in liberalism since Larry Siedentop’s 2014 book, Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism. Building on Siedentop, Daniel Klein says universal benevolent monotheism, and Christianity in particular, has led to the articulation of a specific social grammar and corresp…

Books connect us in a very real way to people and ideas from the past. This talk will explore how we can help the current and future generations understand the thoughts and the minds of the thinkers of the past through printed books and publications. For the past 25 years, Kristopher Bex has served as the President and board member of The Remnant T…

For this episode, we're bringing you a session from our recent Poverty Cure Summit. A conversation entitled "Hope for the City: Neighborhoods, Commerce, and Social Capital" featuring Rachel Ferguson, Justin S. Beene, and Ismael Hernandez. The Poverty Cure Summit provides an opportunity for participants to listen to scholars, human service providers…

In 1867, Sen. Charles Sumner posed the question “are we a nation?” in the wake of the Civil War. As America confronts new extremes of polarization in the 21st century, the question is inescapable again. Samuel Goldman explores the ways the U.S. does and does not correspond to historical conceptions of the nation-state. Samuel Goldman is an associat…

The dramatic social changes of the past century have left our world with a fragile sense of identity. Changes in technology and entertainment have constrained spiritual imaginations and reoriented our collective vision of the good life. These trends pave the way for charismatic leaders in politics, the marketplace, and religious communities to prov…

Libraries are filled with books on the parables of Christ, and rightly so. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “While civilizations have come and gone, these stories continue to teach us anew with their freshness and their humanity.” Two millennia later, the New Testament parables remain ubiquitous, and yet few have stopped to glean wisdom …

This episode takes us back in time to September 2018 for a talk from our Acton Lecture Series. Students of 20th century American history know of the importance of the Marshall Plan to the effort to rebuild Europe after World War II, as well as the leading role taken by the United States in building international institutions and alliances that woul…

Anyone who has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings can gather that their author hated tyranny, but few know that the novelist who once described himself as a hobbit “in all but size” was—even by hobbit standards—a zealous proponent of economic freedom and small government. There is a growing concern among many that the West is sliding into po…

The conventional wisdom on C.S. Lewis was that he really didn’t care much for politics, or for law, and so he wouldn’t have spent much time or energy on liberty either. But the conventional wisdom is mistaken. The truth is Lewis was deeply interested in the political, properly understood, as well as natural law, the human person, and genuine libert…

Myths about economics die hard. What’s worse, such fallacies are destructive to human cooperation and flourishing. Join us for a discussion of six economic lies you’ve been taught and probably believe. Caleb Fuller is an assistant professor of economics at Grove City College and a faculty affiliate of the Program on Economics and Privacy at the Geo…

Few questions loom as large for parents and students these days as the question of how to afford a college education. College costs have been rising for decades, and all too often, students rely heavily on student loans and graduate with significant debt loads that they spend years paying off. Alex Chediak, professor of engineering and physics at C…

Around the world, discouragement erodes the vitality of Christian organizations. Visionaries often succumb to cynicism. Zealous advocates give up. Leaders coast as their passion for the cause grows cold. Grounded in deep research, The Gift of Disillusionment: Enduring Hope for Leaders After Idealism Fades invites followers of Jesus to sustain hope …

This week, we go back in time to October 9, 2014, and the Acton Institute’s 24th annual dinner for this speech from Daniel Hannan. Hannan is a British writer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Member of the European Parliament representing South East England from 1999 through 2020, standing down from the EU Parliament upon in the United Ki…

Christ calls us to spiritual poverty. In today's prosperous society, that call frequently goes unheard or misinterpreted. In this lecture from 2011, Acton's President Emeritus, Rev. Robert. Sirico discusses how one can live out Christ's call in the middle of a prosperous society. Subscribe to our podcasts Christian Poverty in the Age of Prosperity …

In 1783 George Washington said that “we have a national character to establish.” 110 Years later Frederick Jackson Turner published “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” and wrote these words: “to the frontier the American intellect owes its striking characteristics… coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and inquisitivene…

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse describes how the socialist ideal of equality has played an independent role in the breakdown of the family, arguing that socialism has attacked the family directly and has adopted policies that have led to demographic collapse. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse is the founder of the Ruth Institute, an interfaith international coa…

On April 14, 2015, The Acton Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy jointly hosted Timothy Carney for a lecture on the topic "Is Big Business a Danger to Economic Liberty?" Timothy P. Carney is the senior political columnist at the Washington Examiner, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the author of three book…

We go back in time to April 2011, when Samuel Gregg, current senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, discussed the social teaching of Benedict XVI, illustrating how much the pope changed the focus of Christian engagement with political, social, and economic questions. Whether the subject was Islam, ecumenism, the ris…

Kenneth G. Elzinga, the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia, delivered a plenary address as part of Acton University 2018. His topic for the evening was “C.S. Lewis and Freedom: Christianity's Most Famous Apologist Meets Adam Smith.” Subscribe to our podcasts About Kenneth G. Elzinga “To Think Christianly: A Histor…

Why does federal aid seem to have a reverse Midas touch? Drawing on examples from the nation's past and present—from the fur trade and railroads, to cars and chemicals, to aviation and Solyndra—"Uncle Sam Can't Count” is a sweeping work of economic history that explains why the federal government cannot and should not pick winners and losers in the…

In this episode, we bring you an address given by the late Charles Colson, former Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon, at the Acton Institute’s Third Anniversary Dinner, on the topic of the decline of American values. Subscribe to our podcasts 'Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph' | Acton Institute What are tr…

Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president emeritus of the Acton Institute, gave this plenary address during Acton University 2017. He spoke on the importance of virtue in society and that the most influential institution in any society is the family. If we truly believe in human flourishing, then change starts at home and in our local communities. That is h…

In this episode, we bring you a plenary address delivered by L. Gregory Jones, president of Belmont University, featured at Acton University, 2022. For too many people, the future isn’t what it used to be. In the midst of dealing with multiple pandemics, people have gotten stuck in old patterns and become increasingly fearful. How do we rediscover …

At the beginning of the 20th century, Dutch theologian, journalist, and statesman Abraham Kuyper toured the Mediterranean world and directly encountered Islam for the first time. His observations and insights from this trip were published as “On Islam,” a nuanced and substantive examination of the faith and culture of the Muslim world, as well as t…

Hans-Martien ten Napel of Leiden University delivered an address entitled "Constitutionalism, Democracy, and Religious Freedom: To Be Fully Human" at the Acton Institute "Reclaiming the West: Public Spirit and Public Virtue" conference in Washington, D.C., on December 6, 2017. Subscribe to our podcasts About Hans-Martien ten Napel Hosted on Acast. …

In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2013 Acton Lecture Series, featuring Samuel Gregg, Acton’s director of research, speaking on his book Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America Can Avoid a European Future. In Becoming Europe, Gregg explains how European economic life has drifted in the…

What can we do to live happier lives? How can we help others find the secret to true, lasting happiness? What is the connection between free enterprise and happiness? Prolific author and social scientist Arthur C. Brooks discusses the confluence of work, happiness, and human flourishing. Subscribe to our podcasts About Arthur Brooks From Strength t…

In this episode of Acton Vault, Dr. Jordan Ballor, director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, delivered a plenary lecture at Acton’s first annual academic colloquium entitled “Is Homo Economicus Sovereign in His Own Sphere? A Challenge from Neo-Calvinism for the Neoclassical Model.” Ballor is also the series editor of the…

Rooted in the tradition of the Orthodox Church and its teaching on the relationship between God, humanity, and all creation, Fr. Michael Butler and Prof. Andrew Morriss offer a new contribution to Orthodox environmental theology. Too often policy recommendations from theologians and church authorities have taken the form of pontifications, obscurin…

The Honorable Janice Rogers Brown, retired judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, delivered an evening plenary address as part of Acton University 2018. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply now for Acton University 2022 Register for free — The Islamic Case for Liberty — Acton Institute Janus v. AFSCME: Political freedom for public…

In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2022 Acton Lecture Series, featuring Matthew Tuininga, Ph.D., associate professor of Christian ethics and the history of Christianity at Calvin Theological Seminary, speaking on Abraham Kuyper's principles for Christian liberalism. Kuyper was a staunch critic of the secu…

In this episode of Acton Vault, John O’Sullivan, president of the Danube Institute in Budapest, accepted the 2011 Faith and Freedom Award on behalf of Lady Margaret Thatcher during Acton’s 2011 Anniversary Dinner. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply now for Acton University 2022 About John O'Sullivan Danube Institute Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv…

In this episode of Acton Vault, John D. Wilsey, associate professor of church history and philosophy at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, dissects Alexis de Tocqueville’s understanding of self-interest and how it helps preserve liberty within the bounds of democracy. Subscribe to our podcasts About John D. Wilsey The Southern Baptist Theol…

In this episode, we bring you an insightful conversation between Michael Matheson Miller, Acton Institute senior research fellow and producer of the documentary Poverty, Inc., and the late George Ayittey, Ghanaian economist, author, and president of the Free Africa Foundation. The Acton Institute’s Poverty Cure series includes supplementary convers…

In October 2018, Brazilian professor Lucas Freire delivered the 18th annual Calihan Lecture here at the Acton Institute. Freire was the 2018 recipient of the Novak Award, a $15,000 grant that rewards those early in their academic career who can demonstrate the relationship between religion, economic freedom, and the free and virtuous society. Recip…

In this episode, we bring you a keynote address that was delivered as part of the 2017 Education and Freedom Conference, featuring Jeff Sandefer, co-founder of Acton Academy, a new and innovative K–12 school that offers a nontraditional approach to education—an alternative to standardized testing and rote memorization. Sandefer opens his address by…

What’s it like to be the son or daughter of a dictator? Not just any dictator, but a genocidal monster on the level of a Josef Stalin? What’s it like to bear a name synonymous with oppression, terror, and evil? Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor of National Review, set out to answer that question in his book “Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into the …

In this episode of Action Vault, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2013 Acton Lecture Series, featuring John Blundell speaking on the topic of “Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American History.” Blundell was director general and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He passe…