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| 21 July 2004 |
| 1. ACTON COMMENTARY |
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“Talented Economies” by Emily Brennan
Prosperous nations — and businesses — are highly productive.
In business, productivity must be focused on giving
customers what they want. Reflecting on the parable of
talents, Emily Brennan looks at new data that points the way
to prosperity for policy makers and business people.
Read more »Acton Web Poll: Overall, has
Wal-Mart helped U.S. retailing to be more productive?
Vote Here » |
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| 2. THIS WEEK AT ACTON |
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TODAY: Rev. Robert Sirico guests on The Radio Factor
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 Host
Bill O’Reilly invites Fr. Sirico to join him on his radio show
today to discuss the secularization of society and a new study
indicating that America may no longer remain a Protestant
majority nation. Fr. Sirico is scheduled to go on the show at 1
p.m. in most markets.
Click on your state at
this link
to find a Westwood One radio station broadcasting the Radio
Factor near your home town. |
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| 3. ACTON NEWSMAKERS |
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Rev. Robert Sirico was quoted
prominently in a recent editorial in
The
Wall Street Journal
(July 19). In “Are Sanctions Evil?” by Michael Judge, Fr. Sirico
says, “The worse the government, the less effective are the
sanctions, precisely because despotic regimes ignore the
sufferings of the people. The case of South Africa is the single
case cited in their favor but in this case moral suasion did
more than sanctions to effect regime change. The Cuba case is
more common: The despot is entrenched, the people impoverished,
and the benefits of economic and culture contact with the world
foregone.”A commentary by research fellow Kevin Schmiesing
was published in the
Holland Sentinel
as “Promote solidarity among generations” (July 4).
Research fellow Anthony Bradley’s
commentary on outsourcing
was reprinted by the Daily News, a paper based in St.
Thomas, Virgin Islands (June 3).
Note: Click on the icon
to view the relevant article in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat
Reader® required). To download Adobe Acrobat Reader,
click here. |
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| 4. FOOD FOR THOUGHT FROM ACROSS THE WEB |
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“Conciliating Hatred” by Steven D. Smith, First Things
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Smith, a law professor, writes that
“in our current legal and moral climate, the effort by Justices
to act as mediators pushes them to adopt tactics that are likely
to aggravate the very problem they seek to address.” |
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| 5. THIS WEEK AT THE ACTON BOOK SHOPPE |
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The Free Market in a Christian Society (Hardcover)
by Adolpho Lindenberg
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With a foreword by Fr. Sirico, this book
analyzes the debate over the proper political and economic
organizations of society from the standpoint of traditional
Catholic teaching. “Dr. Lindenberg's fine book addresses the
Church's current attemps to navigate between rejecting socialsim
while not quite embracing liberalism. This insightful work
treats these topics in detail and offers useful commentary along
the way. Indeed, the book performs a great service to anyone
seeking to better understand Catholic social teaching or the
Church's view on current events” (from the Foreword). |
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| 6. IN THE LIBERAL TRADITION |
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Leonard E. Read (1898–1983)
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“No genius is required to see clearly that an
unhampered market economy best fulfills the peaceful wants and
ambitions of everyone involved. Each best serves himself by
serving others, producing his own specialty, trading for
theirs.” In
the Liberal Tradition – Archives » |
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