During the Great Famine in Ireland (1846-1852), William T. Thornton (1813-1880), an English economist, proposed that unused land be purchased by the government and sold on credit to families that would put it into production. In this way funds spent on famine relief would be turned from an expenditure into an investment, jobs would be created, and the benefits of widespread capital ownership would accrue to individuals, families and the nation. Although never adopted, later thinkers, offering a principled, growth-oriented approach for the 21st Century, refined Thornton's vision. As the global...

Recently "beatified" by the Catholic Church - one step away from official recognition as a saint - the life of John Henry Newman (1801-1890) paralleled the return of Catholicism to England as a legally recognized religion. As a leading figure in the Oxford Movement, an effort that sought to return the Church of England to its historical roots, and later as one of the more important Catholic writers, Newman worked to present his own position to his co-religionists, and to give an understanding of Catholicism to non-Catholic English men and women. His efforts are, in large measure, credited...

Recently "beatified" by the Catholic Church - one step away from official recognition as a saint - the life of John Henry Newman (1801-1890) paralleled the return of Catholicism to England as a legally recognized religion. As a leading figure in the Oxford Movement, an effort that sought to return the Church of England to its historical roots, and later as one of the more important Catholic writers, Newman worked to present his own position to his co-religionists, and to give an understanding of Catholicism to non-Catholic English men and women. His efforts are, in large measure, credited...

"If only because power naturally and necessarily follows property, concentrated ownership of the means of production is the most serious political and economic problem in the world today. People as diverse as Karl Marx and Pope John Paul II have viewed this ownership gap as a root cause of fundamental social problems. It is, as well, a result of flawed and unjust laws and institutions. These, in turn, create flagrant inequalities of economic opportunity and personal freedom. A social order that systematically concentrates economic power must therefore be viewed as an explicit offense against...