Tag: Free Market Capitalism

I, Pencil

Get FEE’s “I, Pencil” lesson plan! “Eloquent. Extraordinary. Timeless. Paradigm-shifting. Classic. Half a century after it first appeared, Leonard Read’s ‘I, Pencil’ still evokes such adjectives of praise. Rightfully so, for this...

Pope Francis’ Curious Encyclical, Part 2

Summary of Part 1: In Rerum Novarum (1891) Pope Leo XIII wrote: “The first and most fundamental principle . . . if one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses, must be the inviolability of private property.” [Paragraph 15. Emphasis...

What Pope Francis Got Wrong

Since becoming the head of the Catholic Church in 2013, Pope Francis has not shied away from the political domain. Recently, the religious leader used the COVID-19 pandemic to renew his criticisms of free-market capitalism. “The fragility of world...

Pope Francis’ Curious Encyclical

Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (Brothers All) offers an odd combination of timely and profound insights, flawed judgment, and an error in historical fact. The factual error is serious because it encourages those who are...

The Catholic Church and The Invisible Hand

Everyone has a worldview—-that is a particular philosophical way of looking at the world and one’s place in it. Nations have them. The same is true of institutions such as churches, universities and corporations. One of the regrettable facts about...