Edward M. Kopko A lot of critics are taking potshots at CEOs these days. They make too much money, they have too much power, and they run companies—like Enron and Arthur Andersen—only to line their own pockets at the expense of shareholders, employees, and the public, or so the story seems to go. Do CEOs feel as though they’re under siege?
Sometimes before you get to the main argument, you have to argue about what you are arguing about. Perhaps that seems tedious, but if you bear with me, you might be convinced that it is important. This issue of Religion & Liberty features several pieces that try to clarify what we are arguing about.
The Black Hills of Dakota in the 1870s may seem like an unlikely place for a dramatic narrative pursuing themes of justice, service, and community, but that’s exactly what the audience gets in compelling fashion in HBO’s recently concluded series Deadwood. When creator and executive producer David Milch first pitched the idea to HBO executives, the setting was in fact ancient Rome.
Since the Acton Institute’s work to build a free and virtuous society includes serving future religious and moral leaders, it makes sense to begin where these leaders are first formed in social and economic issues: high school. Why Catholic high schools? Because they provide a starting point for broader educational work we plan to do with religious-based high schools.
Among secular scholars, there is some debate as to whether consumerism is a real problem. James Twitchell, in his book Lead Us into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism, argues that consumerism is a beneficial phenomenon because it provides a meaning for people to replace the meaning formerly provided them by religion.
Despite its triumphant defeat over totalitarianism and socialism, democratic capitalism still faces angry and aggressive opposition from inside the West. In his new book, Democratic Capitalism and Its Discontents, Brian Anderson carefully examines this opposition and investigates the erosion of liberal democracy by contrasting the thought of classical liberal philosophers, such as Alexis de Tocqueville, with the thought of the heroes of the contemporary academy, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Antonio Negri.
In addition to economic and health reasons, there are also spiritual grounds for doing away with early, full-time retirement. From a Christian point of view, work is not a punishment, but it is a gift of God that allows man to take part in the furthering of the world of creation. In this, Christ gave us the supreme example: He was a diligent worker, publicly known as a carpenter’s son, and good not only in words but also in deeds (cf. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Luke 2:51; Mark 7:37). Everything that Christ did had a redemptive dimension, including his professional work.
One of the most eminent moral and dogmatic theologians of his time, Cardinal Juan de Lugo, S.J., was the last representative of the famous group of early-modern Catholic thinkers associated with Spain’s University of Salamanca.
Rev. Robert Sirico The secular world and the Christian world agree that religion and the state should be separate. It’s better this way for all concerned. It keeps the social peace. It prevents entanglements that can corrupt the faith. And these spheres have different jobs to do, and each can uphold its job better when they tend to matters that are their own respective responsibilities.
Born in Illinois, Ronald Reagan might have been remembered by history as a famous film actor. While serving as a captain in the U.S. Army in the 1940s, he made training films for troops. After he was discharged from the army in 1945, he signed a million dollar contract with Warner Brothers. By the end of his long Hollywood career, he had over 120 film and television credits.