The Acton Institute has long recognized the critical importance that first-rate scholarship plays in the development of "a free and virtuous society." The Journal of Markets & Morality is a peer-reviewed academic journal. The journal is the flagship publication with which the institute shapes the larger academic and intellectual conversation about the free economy.
The journal is truly interdisciplinary in an era where it can be very difficult to cover academic subjects from a variety of perspectives, and even more difficult to find those that actually are able to execute that intention effectively. So, the journal engages economic, political, historical, theological, and philosophical topics from scholars working out of their own disciplines. But it is not enough to leave these issues isolated from the critical perspectives of other methodologies and disciplines. While there is a distinct editorial vision and mission, the journal's editors are also uncompromisingly committed to scholarship at the highest levels. This commitment means that the journal does not simply publish articles that adhere to a particular ideological perspective, but rather encourages critical voices from a variety of economic, political, and theological perspectives.
One piece of evidence of the success in realizing this ambitious vision is the fact that the Journal is indexed in the leading databases of theology (ATLA Religion) and economics (EconLit). Another distinction of the Journal is the extent to which it has brought some significant primary sources from the past back into circulation. The process of finding appropriate works, getting them translated, edited, and introduced is one of the most challenging and demanding aspects of publishing the journal. But this work also represents one of the journals' lasting scholarly legacies. The journal is sometimes the first place that someone could read many significant (but often overlooked) figures in English, and therefore, with works from figures like Althusius, Cajetan, Lessius, Mariana, Musculus, and Zanchi, represents the cutting-edge of historical scholarship.
By helping to inform and shape the scholarly conversation about economics and its relationship with history and theology, the Journal of Markets & Morality is a critical component of Acton's mission to promote a society characterized by both freedom and virtue.
Kris Alan Mauren
Executive Director
