economic crisis Archives - Page 10 of 11 -

Why Economic Culture Matters

by John Horvat II April 4, 2018February 21, 2013

A review of Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America Can Avoid a European Future by Samuel Gregg (New York: Encounter Books, 2013) * * * It is not often that one finds refreshing nuance in books dealing with economy. Economics is not supposed to be about nuance. It usually presents itself in the … Read more

An Impending Economic Crisis

by John Horvat II March 22, 2017February 17, 2013

Impending Economic Crisis - Return to Order — “reflect on the cumulative effect of massive debt, government deficit spending, economic instability”

In the book, Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go, we speak of an impending economic crisis.

Unlike other books that analyze market trends, we do not recommend specific stocks or caution against overpriced investments.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

Rather, we reflect on the cumulative effect of massive debt, government deficit spending, economic instability and other factors that threaten to coalesce into a single global crisis and bring about a major economic collapse.

The key to understanding this economic crisis is to look for its causes. While some might look at economic indicators and other data, we look at a profound cause deep inside the soul of modern man. This cause is what we describe as “frenetic intemperance.” This term can be defined as a restless spirit inside certain sectors of modern economy that foments a drive inside men to throw off legitimate restraints and gratify disordered passions.

Declining Fertility Rates and Robot Babies

by Gary Isbell October 3, 2020February 16, 2013

By Gary Isbell* With the world population growth slowing, some countries are staring at the grim prospects of the unbalanced demographics in the workforce and the dire economic consequences this will cause. As a result, some curious efforts to bolster diminishing birth rates have surfaced, not least of which is the invention and promotion of … Read more

Ten Outstanding Traits of Organic Christian Society

by John Horvat II May 29, 2017January 15, 2013

Return to Order This Single Vice Throws Economy and Society Out of Balance 1

Organic Christian society is a remedy that can lead us to a balanced economy without the ills of frenetic intemperance. It might seem strange that we deliberately propose a society as a solution to an economic problem. However, we believe that economy should be so embedded in a social order that the two solutions, social … Read more

Praise for Return to Order – Gregor Hochreiter

by John Horvat II October 30, 2013January 2, 2013

“Return to Order is a very timely and valuable publication. The author Mr. Horvat does an excellent job in excavating the underlying root of the recurrent economic crises. It is the loss of the golden mean of virtuousness, the consequence of replacing prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance as the guiding principles of economic activity with … Read more

The Last Twinkie

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 29, 2012

Written by Gary Isbell * From an economic point of view, it was an almost insignificant event. A major American firm lamentably went bankrupt as many do. These things are to be expected in the present financial climate. However, from a cultural point of view, this particular failure, and the manner in which it happened, … Read more

High-Frequency Trading: Markets on Steroids

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 27, 2012

The purpose of the stock market is to provide liquidity to investors who know with certainty that they can buy and sell their shares at any time. In this way, the market serves as a constant encouragement to invest capital in sectors of the economy while limiting risks. Thus, the market fulfills a need in society and can contribute to economic prosperity.

However, it is no secret that the stock market has often favored reckless activities and speculation that depart from this purpose. It has given rise to crashes, manias and panics that turns this instrument of sound investment into a financial casino where everyone plays the market in hopes of cashing in at the right moment. Stockbrokers are always coming up with new ways to beat the market. Such practices are perfect examples of what has been called frenetic intemperance – a reckless and restless spirit inside modern economy that seeks to throw off all restraint.

We Must Resist the Temptation to Secession

by John Horvat II June 14, 2016November 20, 2012

In face of the great discontent with the current economic and moral crisis we must resist the temptation to simply write off the present system with all its problems. We must avoid the defeatist attitude of those who advocate isolating themselves from society and awaiting better days. In individualist fashion, they would take care of … Read more

The Case Against Secession

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 16, 2012

I can understand the angst of many Americans after the last elections. There is the growing sensation that government is not responsive anymore to the needs and desires of countless citizens in the vast red-state heartland.

Many want out and see secession from the Union as a way to leave the problem behind. Others simply want to register their protest and as a knee jerk reaction signed one of the numerous petitions asking for secession. All this is understandable – although if one’s problem with the government has reached the point of asking for secession, the last place I would want my name is on a petition lodged on the databases of the White House’s computers.

While I can understand the frustration, I take issue with secession for several reasons. The first is because I do not think it will resolve the problem. I am only too willing to admit that the federal government inside the beltway leaves much to be desired. However, our federal legislators come from the states. The main problem lies with the insufficiency of our whole political class and it extends across state lines. The dearth of leadership we experience is universal. I do not see any guarantees that the problems that are the cause of so much frustration on the federal level will not repeat themselves on the state level. Exchanging one set of federal unresponsive leaders for a set of similar state leaders hardly seems a solution.

The First Step in our “Return to Order”

by John Horvat II March 23, 2021November 14, 2012

As a solution to our alarming socio-economic crisis, we have proposed “a return to order.”

In so doing, we have endeavored to look beyond the impending collapse and outline the timeless principles of an Organic Christian order that addresses certain yearnings that modern man senses in the depths of his soul.

Such a depiction cannot fail to suggest the figure of the Prodigal Son who, having left his father’s house for the “frenetic intemperance” of a dissolute life, realizes the gravity of his error and longs to return. In looking for our solution, we believe we must follow a similar path.

Like the Prodigal Son, our first step must be to realize that we have erred. We have followed a path to ruin amid the din of the great party of frenetic intemperance.

In the course of these considerations we have sought to show how we have erred. Our error was not the fact that we enjoyed the enormous bounty of our great land but rather it was our flight from temperance.