Add to favorites 
Samuel Gregg, Director of Research at the Acton Institute, delivers the opening plenary lecture of Acton University 2017 at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gregg’s lecture focuses on the very real threats faced by religious believers around the world (and especially in developing nations), and the pressures that are increasing on religious liberty …
Add to favorites 
On Thursday, June 22 2017, the Acton Institute presented a panel discussion on the topic of what Christianity has to offer the poor. Panelists included Michael Wear, founder of Public Square Strategies LLC; Anne Rathbone Bradley, Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics; Elizabeth Bruenig, Assistant Editor of the …
Add to favorites 
On June 20, 2013, William McGurn, the Editorial Page Editor of The New York Post, delivered a plenary address to participants in Acton University at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to assuming the editorship of the Editorial Page of the New York Post, he was a vice president for News Corporation, where he …
Add to favorites 
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 …
Add to favorites 
Why does the West prosper while nations in Africa and other parts of the globe remain poor? A country’s economic success is correlated with its ranking on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. Unsurprisingly, the United States ranks highly on this index, while most nations in Sub-Saharan Africa impose tremendous restrictions on their …
Add to favorites 
Dr. William B. Allen Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy, Michigan State University. William B. Allen, emeritus professor of Political Philosophy in the Department of Political Science and emeritus dean, James Madison College, at Michigan State University. He served previously on the United States National Council for the Humanities and as Chairman and Member of the …
Add to favorites 
Samuel Gregg gives his plenary address at Acton University 2015.
Add to favorites 
Human Flourishing is why God created us. When we live into his designs and desires for us and his created order: we both experience and contribute to the common good and human well-being. Things work as they are supposed to. The fall makes this more difficult–but our task to build a flourishing world remains. When …
Add to favorites 
Even in the midst of extreme polarization, religion can still be our common ground. Judeo-Christian principles provide a framework that transcends both policies and parties and establishes a system for human flourishing. In this lecture, Michael Matheson Miller explains the Ten Principles of Christian Government which are fundamental to any and all just, free, and …
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
How can a childhood game display the truths of human nature? Father Robert Sirico recollects what a game of stickball taught him about concepts such as rule of law, division of labor, and comparative advantage. He provides anecdotes on the differences between governance and government, as well as power and authority.
Add to favorites 
All economic systems are based on a particular vision of the human person. But what if we get the vision wrong? How does that affect the way we see trade, economics and business? *** Volume 1 of The Good Society is a 6-part series that that focuses on the intersection between the human person and …
Add to favorites 
Engage the Speaker Session for “The Tocqueville Option: Social and Technological Decentralization” (AU2021). Original Lecture description below. This lecture addresses Alexis de Tocqueville’s concerns about individualism and centralization in democratic life, and argues that part of our response to the cultural challenges of today is to build revitalize civil society with new associations and mutual …
Add to favorites 
Engage the Speaker Session for “The Fire of Invention: Intellectual Property and the Power of Human Beings” (AU2021). Original Lecture description below. In the realm of invention and technology, what makes the difference between good and evil, prosperity and destruction, is not the material world itself but the way in which humans exercise our rational, …
Add to favorites 
Artificial intelligence and machine learning brings great promise. But what is artificial intelligence, and how does machine learning differ from human learning? How does religious faith inform our approach to artificial intelligence? What are we to make of transhumanist claims of a merger of humans and machines? This panel examines AI, religion, and anthropology.
Add to favorites 
Join Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley, Dr. Samuel Gregg, and Michael Matheson Miller as they engage in a Question and Answer session about Acton University’s four Foundational Lectures: 1) A Christian Vision of Government, 2) An Introduction to Natural Law, 3) The Economic Way of Thinking, and 4) A Christian Vision of the Human Person.
Add to favorites 
This lecture addresses Alexis de Tocqueville’s concerns about individualism and centralization in democratic life, and argues that part of our response to the cultural challenges of today is to build revitalize civil society with new associations and mutual aid societies. It also looks at the possible role that distributed ledger technology/blockchain could play in promoting …
Add to favorites 
In the realm of invention and technology, what makes the difference between good and evil, prosperity and destruction, is not the material world itself but the way in which humans exercise our rational, creative powers. The Creator empowers his image-bearers to partner with Him to bring order out of chaos and prosperity out of poverty …
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Does God care about my work? Oye Waddell looks into the biblical examples of work and calling and practically promotes those ideas to further the kingdom. Waddell explains how our work can serve others and contribute to human flourishing in a God honoring way.
Add to favorites 
Human Flourishing is why God created us. When we live into his designs and desires for us and his created order: we both experience and contribute to the common good and human well-being. Things work as they are supposed to. The fall makes this more difficult–but our task to build a flourishing world remains. When …
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
Add to favorites 
In this lecture, Jay Richards, Ph.D. connects Aristotle’s account of happiness with modern sociological and psychological surveys of happiness, and explains how they overlap and differ. He then explores how our work, especially in a high tech information economy, can contribute to both our happiness, and the happiness of others.
Add to favorites 
Many experts predict that in coming years, as many of half of all jobs could be replaced by robots and artificial intelligence, leading to widespread technological unemployment. Jay Richards argues that these claims are based more on bad philosophy, not on solid evidence. Moreover, they ignore basic lessons of both history and economics. There is …