Past Events

Albert Einstein once wrote, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” The product of 95 years worth of additions, subtractions, deductions, and exclusions, it has become such a headache that many are calling for it to be drastically simplified or even removed all together.

The purpose of this conference is to explore the idea of “social justice” and compare and evaluate it against the understanding this concept now evokes in contemporary debates about justice and political order. The all-encompassing claims made on behalf of social justice in these debates often translate into calls for the reduction of personal liberty and a concomitant increase in state power to distribute material goods and the resources of private enterprise in common.

Drawing from over 200 interviews filmed in 20 countries, Poverty, Inc. unearths an uncomfortable side of charity we can no longer ignore. From TOMs Shoes to international adoptions, from solar panels to U.S. agricultural subsidies, the film challenges each of us to ask the tough question: Could I be part of the problem?

The Liberty and Markets program offers a deeper look into the core issues at the intersection of truth, liberty, and economics for alumni of

Pacifica Christian’s The Great Conversation series continues with Acton’s own co-founder and president, Rev. Robert A. Sirico. The well-known writer and commentator on religious, political, economic, and social issues will join with Pacifica Christian’s David Bahnsen for an evening conversation on The Free and Virtuous Society. Together, we will explore how we best take care of the least in harmony with free markets.

Acton Film Series: Dog Days: One Nation. Underdog.

One of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century, C. S. Lewis was a scholar at Oxford University for three decades and then a professor of Medieval and Renaissance literature at Cambridge University until the end of his career. An atheist throughout his early life, he converted to Christianity in 1931. He is not generally known as a political or economic commentator and usually avoided partisan commitments. Yet, in spite of his indifference to politics as such, he did often give prescient analysis of a variety of political topics.

Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, Ph.D., the 2015 Novak Award winner, will present her new academic paper and receive the $10,000 prize at the 15 th Annual Calihan Lecture. Catherine Pakaluk is Assistant Professor of Economics at Ave Maria University and Founder-Director of the Stein Center for Social Research at Ave Maria University. She currently works in the areas of demography, family studies, the economics of education and religion, and the interpretation of Catholic social thought.

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The goal of this conference is to introduce participants to classic authors and key concepts in free market economics. The intention is to go beyond basic matters of supply and demand and efficiency concerns to consider the broader social and institutional ramifications of a free market system. Participants will examine concepts such as the division of labor, the religious roots of capitalism, and economic crises, among others.