Announcing: 2021-2022 Young Scholar Award Recipients
AEI’s Initiative on Faith & Public Life is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2021–2022 Young Scholar Awards. This year we received impressive applicants from schools across the country on topics ranging from public policy and economics to law and political theory. We selected four undergraduates who will pursue rigorous, original research during the 2021–2022 academic year under the guidance of a faculty advisor and experts at AEI.
Adam Smith and the Conundrum of Human Flourishing
Economic liberty does, however, offer us a tremendous opportunity to rebuild our communities and adequately care for those at the bottom of the economic distribution. It simply requires a closer inspection of Adam Smith, revising our understanding of his assumptions, and rethinking our own role in promoting a more robust civic life and alleviating poverty.
Reflections on the Revolution in Economics
Dr. Hirschfeld’s Summer Honor’s class “Are Markets Moral? In Search of a Humane Economy” gave insights but—to use her words—ultimately gave us “the habit of seeing.” Therefore, let us submit ourselves to a new, more perfect discipline: Thomistic Economics.
How I Learned to Love My Country
Ignoring the evil and injustice of the United States is not an act of loyalty, but of selfishness, seeking to continue to place hope in an imaginary ideal rather than striving in love to improve what truly exists. Real loyalty does not run from flaws, but faces them honestly.
The Time for Economic Development is Now
Economic development is a pressing issue with far reaching effects. Events occurring in the two weeks after the program reinforced this belief. Seeing the conditions of Cuba and Haiti made me realize that the week we spent talking about economic development is not merely theory but rather a reality. For these countries (and many others), the time for economic development is now.
Another Christian Response to Intersectionality
At a basic level, intersectionality emphasizes our mutual dependence and influence upon each other, whether we like it or not. So does Christianity. Pastoral intersectionality can focus our attention on knowing the person in front of us and the systems they inhabit, radically deepening our love of neighbor. In this sense, there is something good about intersectionality, which Christians can use in both interpersonal and systematic ways, regardless of whether we embrace the concept wholesale.
The Impact of International Competition and the Value of Compromise
The conversation surrounding nationalism transcends whether or not America should adopt widespread isolationism. It’s about weathering domestic disagreements, identifying common ground, and humbly seeking forward-looking improvements through competition in the international sphere. Ultimately, change must prudently considered—maintaining what is good and removing what is bad—and it’s only in the presence of competition and compromise that it can be properly realized.
Freer Speech
The terms “free speech” and “censorship” are a common fixture in today’s political discussions and typically a source of conflict; two factions disagree about the meaning of both the universally acknowledged good of free speech and the accompanying social phenomenon of censorship. One is composed of free speech absolutists, claiming that citizens should have the right to say anything they want–whenever they want. The other takes the approach that speech can and should be limited when a speaker endangers or offends his listeners by his or her speech.
Could Private Property Help Solve Mental Health Crises?
Private property ownership is a virtue that must be cultivated personally and publicly, and it is regrettable that its personal benefits are so often overlooked, even by those who defend it so rigorously in the public sphere.
