Trade & Economics

Strikes by meat packers and mine workers in 1946 prompted Henry P. Van Dusen and Liston Pope to consider the ethics of strikes and how the church should respond.

In this special Dark Ops episode of the podcast, Mark Melton and Marc LiVecche discuss the 1946 movie It’s a Wonderful Life and the short story that inspired it, “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. The film premiered in New York City 75 years ago on December 20, 1946.

Despite the gloomy outlook, there are several reasons for hope this Advent season. This is not nearly the darkest period in American or global history, and there are good reasons to believe that the US still possesses all the tools needed to revitalize the country and stabilize the international system. The question is whether we will use them effectively.

Covering everything from sanctions and import prohibitions to humanitarian aid, the BURMA Act is one of the most comprehensive pieces of proposed legislation to address the coup.

“We have,” said an exuberant campaign orator in the recent campaign, “the moral leadership of the world. The whole world trusts in our devotion to freedom and expects us to save mankind from totalitarianism.” That is how we see ourselves, at least in our more complacent moods. The world does not see us as we see ourselves.

In recent days, the Iranian regime brutally cracked down on protests in Esfahan province against growing water shortages. Some observers argue that the origins of the water crisis in Iran are climate change and a drastic drop in precipitation. However, the reasons for the crisis go deeper.

In this episode, Igor Sabino talks about the political situation in Brazil, that country’s role in global affairs, what Brazil may do in a US-China rivalry, an what to expect from next year’s election.

While the Trump administration took on China and the Biden administration continued many of those policies, including investments in Pacific allies to deter Chinese abuses, efforts are falling woefully short.

Weifeng Zhong and Christine McDaniel of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University discuss forced labor in China and its implications for the United States.