Acton Vault

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.”

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About Kenneth G. Elzinga 

“To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement”

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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 private sector.

In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2015 Acton Lecture Series, featuring American historian Burton W. Folsom speaking on his book (co-written with Anita Folsom) “Uncle Sam Can’t Count.”

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Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy

About Burton W. Folsom 

Biden's 'stimulus' for a growing economy is all about central control | Acton Institute 

America's public debt: Crisis or the cost of civilization? | Acton Institute 

Emanuel Cleaver: People get 'saved' through government spending | Acton Institute 

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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. 

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'Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph' | Acton Institute 

What are transatlantic values? | Acton Institute 

Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis | Acton Institute 

Liberty and the Good Life | Acton Institute 

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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 how we gradually transform the world. 

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"The Economics of the Parables"

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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 a hopeful future? Dr. Jones argues that we need to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, linked to virtuous character and purpose, that will refocus on cultivating life that really is life. 

How can we navigate toward a future of human flourishing, one of rediscovered virtue, entrepreneurship, and devotion to God? Dr. Jones offers an inspiring way forward.

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About L. Gregory Jones

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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 the effects of European colonialism, all anchored in an informed Christian point of view.

In this episode, we bring you a panel discussion that was delivered as part of the Acton Institute’s 2018 book launch for a new English-language edition of “On Islam.” 

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On Islam (Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology)

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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.

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About Hans-Martien ten Napel

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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 direction of what Alexis de Tocqueville called “soft despotism” and ways in which similar trends are discernible in the United States. The good news is that economic decline is not inevitable and that the path to recovery lies in the distinctiveness of American economic culture. Yet there are ominous signs that some of the cultural foundations of America’s historically unparalleled economic success are being eroded in ways not easily reversible, and so the European experience should serve as the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

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About Samuel Gregg, D.Phil. (Oxon.) 

Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America Can Avoid a European Future | Samuel Gregg

Are We All Europeans Now? | National Review 

The U.S. Bishops and the Tweet Heard ’Round the World | Acton Institute 

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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.

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About Arthur Brooks

From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life | Arthur C. Brooks

Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think | Arthur C. Brooks 

AEI's President on Measuring the Impact of Ideas | Arthur C. Brooks 

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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 Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology. 

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Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology | Lexham Press 

About Jordan Ballor, D.theol., Ph.D. 

The Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy 

How does human work further human dignity? | Acton Institute 

Entrepreneurship in theological perspective: Creative and innovative | Acton Institute

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