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Reply to George McGraw and Catholic World News on ‘The Right to Water’
Thanks to George McGraw, Executive Director of DigDeep Right to Water Project, for his kind and thoughtful Counterpoint to my original post. He and his organization are clearly dedicated to the noble...
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Envy and Economics
“Charity rejoices in our neighbor’s good,” said Thomas Aquinas, “while envy grieves over it.” Unfortunately, grieving over our neighbor’s good has become a dominant part of recent economic discussions...
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Fair Trade or Free Trade?
Is ‘fair trade’ more fair or more just than free trade? While free trade has been increasingly maligned, The Fair Trade movement has become increasingly popular over the last several years. Many see...
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Acton Commentary: Contagious Community
In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Contagious Community,” I look at the positive as well as the negative aspects of coordination and cooperation between human beings on a global scale. The film...
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Envy and Resentment Lead to Bad Law
When it comes to Swiss bank accounts, pop culture brings to mind wealthy people who hide assets from various groups, such as the IRS or their jilted family members. Our sympathies do not align with the...
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Get an MBA, Save the World
If you want to work in international development, says Charles Kenny, go work for a big, bad multinational company: Kids today — they just want to save the world. But there is more than one way to make...
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Are Protectionism and Patriotism Incompatible Principles?
This morning at Ethika Politika, I argue that “acting primarily for the sake of national interest in international affairs runs contrary to a nation’s highest ideals.” In particular, I draw on the...
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Trade, Aid, and Bumper Sticker Strategy
In the forthcoming issue of Comment magazine, I examine how free trade orients us towards the good of others. In doing so, I argue against the value of pious banalities and cheap slogans. I include...
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The Kirchnerian Economy
Sam Gregg writes of Argentina, whence the new Pope Francis hails, “Over and over again, Argentina has been brought to its knees by the populist politics of Peronism, which dominates Argentina’s Right...
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The Hart of the Matter on Trade With China
Today at Ethika Politika, I critique David Bentley Hart’s recent (non-)response to the critics of his attack on natural law in public discourse last month, appearing in the most recent issue of First...
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Second-Hand Clothing Undermines Africa’s Economy
The second-hand clothing industry in parts of Africa is big business. In fact, many charities receive substantial revenue from the sale of this clothes. Why buy a t-shirt for 10 dollars when you can...
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Sobornost and Subsidiarity in Orthodox Christian Social Thought
Alexei Khomiakov, the Russian Slavophile thinker often credited with first articulating the Orthodox principle of sobornost. Today at Ethika Politika I offer an assessment of the phenomenon of...
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Protectionism: The Worst Thing for The World
UPS CEO D. Scott Davis was asked in a recent BusinessWeek interview, “You talk a lot about trade, global trade. What is your company’s role?” Here’s what Davis said (emphasis added): We always consider...
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New Issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality (16.1)
The newest issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality has been published. The issue is available in digital format online and should be arriving in print in the next few weeks for subscribers....
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Get Your Hands Dirty: ‘Engaging Heavy Reading’
Today at Ethika Politika, John Medendorp, former editor of Calvin Seminary’s Stromata, reviews Jordan Ballor’s Get Your Hands Dirty for my channel Via Vitae. He writes,Although Ballor’s book is very...
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Mandela’s Vision for Ecumenical Economic Engagement
Here’s a key section from a speech given by Nelson Mandela in 1998 at the World Council of Churches:At the end of a century that has taught that peace is the greatest weapon in development, we cannot...
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O Tannenbaum and Fair Trade
A couple of further points in reply to Micah Mattix’s response on buying Christmas trees, based on his original post here.1) I think Mattix’s characterization of the buyer as “selfish” goes a bit too...
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Every Market Form in a Single Chart
Reading through the German economist Walter Eucken’s work The Foundation of Economics (1951), I came across one of the most helpful charts for economic analysis I have yet to find. In it, Eucken gives...
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Some Thoughts on Economic Patriotism
Sic semper tyrannis, eh?The Burger King acquisition of Tim Hortons and the resulting plans to move the corporate headquarters under the taxing authority of the Canadian government is being derided by...
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Cuba and The Buena Vista Social Club
The eyes of many in the world have turned to Cuba over the last day or so. A great deal has been made of the historic changes in the relationship between the US and Cuba and whether such changes...
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