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Walter Williams on Frederic Bastiat & American political culture Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

On December 2nd, 2020, the economist Walter E. Williams passed away at the age of 84.

Williams worked his way out of grinding poverty in the Philadelphia housing projects to chair George Mason University’s economics department. Over his career he authored 10 books and more than 150 other publications, and become one of the most recognized commentators on our American public life of the last four decades. Williams spread his message of racial equality, the dignity of work, and the morality of capitalism through his syndicated newspaper column, PBS documentaries, and frequent radio and TV appearances.

In this episode, we feature a conversation with Dr. Williams from 2014 for the Acton Institute’s podcast, then called Radio Free Acton.

Host Paul Edwards discusses with Williams the significance of Frederic Bastiat’s classic publication The Law, and the insights into modern America that come from reading that classic defense of limited government, authentic justice and human freedom. At that time, Williams had just penned a new introduction to The Law, which he said “created order in my thinking about liberty and just human conduct.”

Walter Williams, RIP - Rev. Ben Johnson

Ten quotes from economist Walter E. Williams - Sarah Stanley

On liberty's moral superiority (Walter Williams interview in Religion & Liberty)

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Jordan Ballor on Abraham Kuyper's "Common Grace" Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

Common Grace is both a theological doctrine within the reformed tradition and the title of a truly monumental book discussing the doctrine by the theologian and statesmen Abraham Kuyper. It is grace from God that is common to all of mankind distinct from both the special grace by which God redeems, sanctifies, and glorifies his people as well as the gift of creation itself.

Kuyper puts it this way, “Common grace issues from God, and from God come all the means that we humans must apply to oppose sin and its consequences in curse and misery.”

But it is God himself who leads us to find the means and instructs us how to use them. And it is precisely the latter that is forgotten. The human inventor of the electric light and electric motor is extolled, but God, who led Edison to discover it, is passed over.

Today, Acton’s Dan Hugger talks with Jordan Ballor, senior research fellow and director of publishing at the Acton Institute and General Editor of the twelve volume Abraham Kuyper: Collected Works in Public Theology, about Kuyper’s exploration of the doctrine in his monumental work Common Grace.

The third and final volume of this work, jointly published by Lexham Press and the Acton Institute, has recently been published in English translation.

Jordan J. Ballor, PhD at Acton Institute

Common Grace: God's Gifts for a Fallen World, Volume 3

The Abraham Kuyper Collection

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Ismael Hernandez & Peter Greer on addressing poverty Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

For this week’s episode, we’re bringing you a conversation that was a part of Acton’s recent Poverty Cure Summit.

The Poverty Cure Summit provided an opportunity for participants to listen to scholars, human service providers, and practitioners address the most critical issues we face today which can either exacerbate or alleviate poverty. These speakers discussed the legal, economic, social, and technological issues pertaining to both domestic and global poverty. Rooted in foundational principles of anthropology, politics, natural law, and economics, participants had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the root causes of poverty and identify practical means to reduce it and promote human flourishing.

In this conversation, Acton’s Michael Matheson Miller spoke with Ismael Hernandez (executive director of The Freedom & Virtue Institute) and Peter Greer (president & CEO of HOPE International) to examine the challenge of poverty in the US and internationally, and the most effective ways to think about poverty in light of the transcendent dignity of the human person.

Poverty Cure Summit

Ismael Hernandez - The Freedom & Virtue Institute

Peter Greer - HOPE International

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Joel Sercel on the ethics of space exploration Nov 18, 2020

Show notes

In 1958, in the wake of the Soviet Union launching Sputnik 1 – the world’s first artificial satellite – into space, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, was born. And the space race was underway.

In the following decades, the world would see the first man in space, the first spacewalk, and astronauts landing on the surface of the moon. Across eight different programs, the United States would fly 239 space missions, with 135 of those representing the space shuttle program.

On August 31, 2011, the United States’ shuttle program was officially ended, and the United States government was out of the business of space exploration and travel.

Today, private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are leading the way into the final frontier. Elon Musk has announced his plan is to have 1 million people living in a colony on Mars by the year 2050.

As a new space race to settle on Mars and, perhaps, beyond takes flight, significant ethical questions remain unclear and unanswered.

Today, we talk with Joel Sercel, an entrepreneur and space technologist, who argues that we need to start building international consensus on questions surrounding bioethics, property rights, laws governing space travel and space settlements, and stewardship of God’s creation outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

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TransAstra Corp

Would Kuyper go to Mars? - Dylan Pahman

The frontier spirit of ‘The Martian’ - Dylan Pahman

The stewardship of space - Jordan Ballor

The new space capitalists - Jordan Ballor

The cultural mandate and the final frontier - Dylan Pahman

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Sam Gregg on woke capitalism Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in May of 2020, people took to social media to advocate for causes stemming from that horrible incident. Ranging from simply expressing “Black Lives Matter” to posting a black square on Instagram on a designated day and everything in between, an expectation that everyone must make a statement seemed to emerge. It was an expectation that was extended beyond individuals, as major corporations and sports teams were also expected to make a statement of solidarity. Those that didn’t, or who didn’t act quickly enough, were pilloried online.

The age of woke capitalism is upon us.

This woke capitalism can take other forms besides expressions of solidarity with social causes, such as Nike recalling Betsy Ross flag-themed shoes after activists raged that the flag represents slavery or the increasing frequency of anti-racism training sessions as work requirements.

But, as Acton’s director of research Sam Gregg argues, woke capitalism is inherently in conflict with the nature and the ends of business.

What is causing the rise of woke capitalism? What’s the impact that it is having on the world of business and on society as a whole? And what can be done about it? Sam Gregg joins us to discuss.

Dr. Sam Gregg at the Acton Institute

How Woke Capitalism Corrupts Business - Sam Gregg

When the Market Meets Morality - William McGurn

6 quotes: Milton Friedman on woke capitalism, racism, and equality - Rev. Ben Johnson

‘Woke’ NBA kowtows to Chinese communists - Dan Hugger

The social responsibility of Chick-fil-A is to make delicious sandwiches - Dylan Pahman

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Gerald McDermott on 'Race & Covenant' and racial reconciliation Nov 04, 2020

Show notes

The United States is consumed with questions regarding race, the legacy of slavery, and the nature of social justice. Where are people of faith to turn?

For most of the last two thousand years Christians have believed that God deals with nations as nations and enters into closer relations with societies that claim him as Lord. This belief in the national covenant, only recently out of fashion, is where Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr. turned when faced with such questions in their own time.

In this episode Acton’s Dan Hugger talks with Gerald McDermott, the editor of the new book Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation, about the idea of national covenant in scripture, history, and contemporary American society and how a revitalization of this idea could help lead to racial reconciliation.

Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation - Gerald McDermott

Excerpt from Race and Covenant - Gerald McDermott

Misunderstanding Race and the Bible - Gerald McDermott

Race and Redemption - Gerald McDermott

Wanted: Pastors with Courage - Gerald McDermott

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Scott Lincicome on Section 230 and social media Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

On October 14, 2020, the New York Post published an expose on former Vice President and current Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, headlined, “Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad.”

Shortly after the article’s publication, the ability to share the link to the story was limited and, in some cases, prohibited by Facebook and Twitter, with those social media companies alleging that the content was unreliable, unverified, or was prohibited for containing hacked information.

This incident has provoked the latest round of calls for reform or repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

The U.S. Senate has subpoenaed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to appear before a hearing to examine the New York Post incident.

Senator Ken Buck, R-Colo., said “condemnation is not enough. It’s time to reform Section 230.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called Section 230 “a gift” and “a subsidy from the taxpayers to big tech.” And Sen. Josh Hawley, R.-Mo., has introduced legislation that would allow Americans to file lawsuits against “big tech” companies who breach good faith user agreements by censoring political speech or suppressing content.

What is Section 230? What does it actually say? What role did it play in creating the modern internet? And what would happen if it were changed or repealed?

In this episode Scott Lincicome, an international trade attorney and a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Cato Institute, discusses the issues surrounding Section 230.

Scott Lincicome - Cato Institute

Capitolism newsletter at The Dispatch - Scott Lincicome (paywall)

47 U.S. Code § 230

Fine, Let's Talk About Section 230 - Scott Lincicome (paywall)

Defending the Indispensable - Matthew Feeny

Is social media the source of our social problems? - Dan Hugger

Social media censorship: Regulation or innovation? - Ed Morrow

Religion & Liberty Vol. 30 No. 1 on social media - Acton Institute

Should social media companies be treated like publishers and broadcasters? - Hunter Baker

Using social media for good with Daniel Darling - Acton Line

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P.J. Hill on religious origins of the rule of law Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

In his article in the June 2020 issue of the Journal of Institutional Economics, Dr. P.J. Hill, who served as the George F. Bennett Professor of Economics at Wheaton College until his retirement in 2011, begins by saying, “in any discussion of the beginning of modern economic growth, the concept of the rule of law plays a crucial role," and that, "the lack of such an order is the fundamental cause of the failure of nations."

But where did the foundations of the rule of law come from?

Hill argues that the current theories about the origin of the rule of law, while useful, are also incomplete. According to Hill, the Jewish and Christian concept of all human beings being created in God’s image is an important, but often overlooked, contributor to the rule of law in Western civilization.

Today, Acton’s Dan Churchwell is joined by Dr. P.J. Hill to discuss his research article, “The religious origins of the rule of law,” the way beliefs affect institutions in general, and how the beliefs of the Christian and Jewish faith traditions in particular were crucial to the establishment of the rule of law.

Dr. P.J. Hill at Wheaton College

The religious origins of the rule of law - P.J. Hill

P.J. Hill on the social power of markets - Joseph Sunde

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Rev. Robert Sirico & Dr. Samuel Gregg on analyzing Fratelli Tutti Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

On October 3rd, 2020, Pope Francis released the third encyclical letter of his pontificate: Fratelli Tutti.

Literally translated as “Brothers all,” Fratelli Tutti is a call from Pope Francis for more human fraternity and solidarity. In it, Francis addresses a number of topics, including racism, immigration, capital punishment, war, politics and economics.

In addressing economic issues, Francis warns against “financial speculation,” cautions that “not everything can be resolved by market freedom,” and denounces the “dogma of neoliberal faith.”

It is with these economic issues that, in his article reviewing Fratelli Tutti for Catholic World Report, Acton’s Dr. Samuel Gregg sees “economic caricatures roam[ing] throughout Francis’s documents.”

In this episode, Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico and Acton’s director of research Dr. Samuel Gregg discuss Fratelli Tutti in general, and in particular the economic concerns raised therein.

Fratelli Tutti - Pope Francis

Fratelli Tutti is a familiar mixture of dubious claims, strawmen, genuine insights - Samuel Gregg

Rev. Robert Sirico responds to Laudato Si [video] - Rev. Robert Sirico

Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy - Rev. Robert Sirico

Reason, Faith and the Struggle for Western Civilization - Samuel Gregg

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Nate Hochman on conservative environmentalism Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

In his article in the September 21st edition of National Review, “Toward a conservative environmentalism,” Nate Hochman says, “conservatism and conservation aren’t usually thought of as congruent; in fact, for the better part of a half century, many Americans have seen the two as antithetical.”

Indeed, environmentalism generally, aspects of it like concern over global warming or climate change, and the various proposed methods of addressing those problems, like the Green New Deal, have been associated with or come from the political left.

But, according to Hochman, environmentalism need not be a partisan issue or a cause owned by only one ideology.

What does a conservative environmentalism look like? How can environmental concerns be better addressed through solutions guided by market-based principles instead of government-led efforts? And how would a conservative environmentalism that “places the dignity of the human person at the center of its moral understanding” better serve us all?

Nate Hochman joins us to discuss.

Nate Hochman at Young Voices

Toward a Conservative Environmentalism - Nate Hochman

Conscientious environmental stewardship - Rev. Robert Sirico

15 Biblical foundations of environmental stewardship - Joe Carter

Free market environmentalism: Conserving and collaborating with nature - Joseph Sunde

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