On Fridays we bring you the week’s best from around the web. This week’s collection explores the failures of the U.S.’s economic recovery, the problem of self-loathing at evangelical colleges, and more.
“Redefining Capitalism” by Eric Beinhocker and Nick Hanauer, McKinsey Quarterly
If prosperity is created by solving human problems, a key question for society is what kind of economic system will solve the most problems for the most people most quickly. This is the genius of capitalism: it is an unmatched evolutionary system for finding solutions.
“The D-Word Is Coming to a Campus Near You” by Josh Good, World Magazine
Where do legitimate limits of “sameness” end? In campus life—or public life, for that matter—what makes for healthy diversity? If universities are one of our foremost training grounds for citizenship, and if their purpose is not only to prepare students to earn a living but also to live well amidst a diverse democracy, how should we view a mandate toward a more sanitized, monolithic brand of student club leadership?
“The U.S. Economic Recovery Is Still on Food Stamps” by Robert Doar, Real Clear Markets
Something peculiar is happening to our nation’s food assistance program. The recently renamed food stamp program—now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP—is supposed to respond to difficult economic conditions by providing financial assistance to purchase food to poor Americans. As bad times hit and more people need assistance, SNAP caseloads should go up. And as the economy strengthens, the number of SNAP recipients should decline—at least in theory.
“Common Good #7 – Peter Greer”: On this edition of Values & Capitalism’s Common Good podcast, Peter Greer, president and CEO of HOPE International, explains why business ought to be enthusiastically celebrated, not merely tolerated.
“The Problem of Self Loathing at Evangelical Colleges” by Stephen Dilley, First Things
When I was an undergraduate at an evangelical college in the Pacific Northwest, I encountered a unique imperative, “Down with the Pinecone Curtail!” For my classmates who resonated with this battle cry, the towering evergreens on campus were a metaphor for the college’s cultural isolation. While the Pinecone Curtail wasn’t exactly the Berlin Wall, my classmates’ discontent was real nonetheless. They were dissatisfied with the school’s evangelical identity, if not with evangelicalism itself.
