Georgetown University’s description of its philosophy program promises to equip students "with important skills for living with themselves from day to day.” (Photo of John Carroll statue in front of Healy Hall from iStock/aimintang)

Want to save the liberal arts? Learn a few things from the business world.

by Joseph J. Dunn April 22, 2022

Liberal arts universities face the twin crises of an enrollment decline and a perception of irrelevancy. They should abandon any squeamishness about using better marketing techniques.

A sign of employment gains in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Politics & Society, Short Take

Joe Biden’s economic task: Not sweeping change, but restoring our nation’s working class.

by Joseph J. Dunn December 2, 2020

Donald Trump came close to re-election because so many workers are better off, writes Joseph J. Dunn. Pursuing “justice” at the expense of economic growth would be a bad bet for the Democrats.

Politics & Society, Short Take

If Democrats want a more just economy, they need to focus on investment and innovation

by Joseph J. Dunn August 31, 2020

While cautioning against blind reliance on “unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market,” Pope Francis sees the creative work of business as fundamental to building a just society.

Politics & Society, Short Take

Should access to a basic education be a constitutional right?

by Joseph J. Dunn August 10, 2020

A federal court recently ruled that access to a “foundational level of literacy” is a basic right. That could spur new reforms to public education, as well as new school-choice options.

Milagrose Sarmiento works the drive-through window at a McDonald’s restaurant in Sitka, Alaska, on April 24. Low-paid workers such as restaurant employees are proving their value during the coronavirus pandemic. (James Poulson/The Daily Sitka Sentinel via AP)

Politics & Society, Short Take

What the Covid-19 stimulus package says about essential workers and our social values

by Joseph J. Dunn April 30, 2020

The coronavirus is drawing attention to the essential roles of many low-paid workers, writes Joseph J. Dunn, and Washington is treating them better than it did in the stimulus laws passed during the last recession.

Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (iStock/aimintang)

Politics & Society, Short Take

Can ‘privilege’ schools help the public good? Our history says yes.

by Joseph J. Dunn February 18, 2019

The confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh and the video of Covington Catholic High School students have launched many discussions about privilege. But private schools in the U.S. have long furthered the cause of democracy.