News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 40

Not too much new this week, and most of it could be resolved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act:

The High Priest of Capitalism?

There is much more to Adam Smith (1723-1790), the purported high priest of laissez faire capitalism, than many today suppose.  Part of this is because few people in positions of authority, whether Church, State, or Family, understand the underlying principles of his philosophy.  Instead, they accept conventional wisdom based on the principles of a competing paradigm having little in common with Smith’s fundamental tenets.

JTW Podcast: Contradiction and Paradox

Continuing our series of R.C. Sproul’s lectures, this week we have a talk on “Contradiction and Paradox” which are not the same thing.  As usual, you can ignore the fact this lecture is part of a series on Christian apologetics, as the subject concerns thought and logic itself.  Apologetics is just the application . . . which is neither a contradiction nor a paradox.  Here’s what R.C. Sproul had to say on the subject:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 39

We have some very sad news this week, the loss of a CESJ founding member and one who made continuing input into supporting the Just Third Way and the Economic Democracy Act:

“Freedom is Not an Empty Sound”

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at William Cobbett, to whom some have referred as “the Apostle of Distributism,” meaning a sort of proto advocate of small ownership.  Of course, in some cases, the people who attach such a label have little understanding of what ownership consists.  We can sum up what Cobbett was talking about by quoting American statesman Daniel Webster: “Power naturally and necessarily follows property.”

JTW Podcast: Analogical Language, Part II

 Last week’s podcast was Part I of R.C. Sproul’s lecture on “analogical language.”  This week podcast is Part II of the lecture.”  Again, you can ignore the fact this lecture is part of a series on Christian apologetics, as the subject concerns thought and logic itself.  Apologetics is just the application.  Here’s what R.C. Sproul had to say on the subject:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 38

Some interesting events this week, but also a lot of more of the same . . . much of which could be resolved or at least ameliorated by adopting the Economic Democracy Act:

“Power Tends to Corrupt”

From 1824 to 1826, William Cobbett (1763-1835), whom G.K. Chesterton and others consider “the Apostle of Distributism,” published segments of A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland.  In the book, portions of which were later adapted for The Poor Man’s Friend (1829), Cobbett’s goal was not to defend the Catholic faith.  As he clearly stated, he was a Protestant, and never had any intention of being anything else.

JTW Podcast: Analogical Language, Part I

And you thought big words were just for dictionaries, not for the instant gratification internet crowd.  This week’s podcast is another lecture from R.C. Sproul, this time on “analogical language.”  And what is “analogical language”?  That’s what you’ll find out today, at least the first part.  Interestingly, Fulton Sheen's doctoral thesis, God and Intelligence in Modern Philosophy (1925) is related to this lecture.  Again, you can ignore the fact this lecture is part of a series on Christian apologetics, as the subject concerns thought and logic itself.  Apologetics is just the application.  Here’s what R.C. Sproul had to say on the subject:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 37

More of the same, only more so?  In a sense, yes, this week’s news items bear a strong resemblance to those that have been listed week after week for some time.  Keep heart, though, we’re continuing to work on introducing the principles of the Just Third Way as applied in the Economic Democracy Act:

Central Banking, III: The Role of a Central Bank

Despite all the conspiracy theories floating around, central banking is essential in a modern technologically and economically advanced economy.  Allowing government to fill the role of a central bank is a serious mistake on so many levels that we won’t get into it.  We’ll focus instead on the mechanics.  So, what is a central bank all about?

JTW Podcast: Sense Perception

Does sense perception have a role in matters pertaining to faith or even to reason itself?  Again, you can ignore the fact that this lecture is part of a series on Christian apologetics, as the subject concerns thought and logic itself.  Apologetics is just the application.  Here’s what R.C. Sproul had to say on the subject:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 36

It seems the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is worried about the interest rate and the unemployment rate.  It is a Keynesian dogma, constantly disproved, that there is a tradeoff between inflation and employment . . . except that Keynes said there is no such thing as real inflation until full employment is reached.  Is there a way to get out of this weird paradox?  Yes.  It is only necessary to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and bring a halt to some of this surreal weirdness:

Central Banking, II: Commercial Bank Problems

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that a single commercial bank is always riskier than several commercial banks acting together as part of a system.  There is also the problem that, however sound an individual bank may be and stable its issues with respect to their value over time, the banknotes of one bank will never have the same value as the banknotes of another bank which is independent of the first bank.

JTW Podcast: The Law of Causality

Although this lecture is intended as an “apologetic” for Christianity, we’re presenting it as a basic lesson in principles of logic, using Christianity as an example.  Here’s what R.C. Sproul had to say on the subject:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 35

Were you among the elite group expecting to benefit from whatever comes out of meetings at, say, Jackson Hole, or were a normal person trying to get by as the elites and the central banks of the world continue to manage the global economy into more chaos?  If the latter, you might want to consider promoting the Economic Democracy Act:, and bringing a halt to some of this nonsense:

Central Banking, I: Commercial Banks for Commercial Banks

Conspiracy theory to the contrary, central banks are not a plot by the bankers to conquer the world by controlling access to money and credit.  Government got into central banking by an accident of history.  King William III of England needed money and demanded a bribe in the form of the specie reserves of the newly organized Bank of England in exchange for “government stock” (i.e., government debt) for the bank to obtain a charter.

JTW Podcast: The Law of (Non) Contradiction

Does the world have a rational basis, or is it purely in the mind of the beholder?  As some of today’s thinkers and politicians insist, do we create our own reality?  Do we choose what we want to be and self-identify as?  R.C. Sproul thought differently:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 34

It’s tempting to say, “Nothing to see here, move along,” but there might be something in the Same Old Thing that makes people realize things could be different by adopting the Economic Democracy Act:

A Rational Approach to Taxation, Part II

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that by and large the tax systems in place throughout the world are employed as means of social control and justifying Keynesian economics instead of their sole justified use as the sole legitimate source of revenue for government.  Interestingly, both Adam Smith and Pope Leo XIII — usually assumed to be at odds on everything — agreed that for taxation to be just, it must adhere to what Smith called the four canons of taxation:

JTW Podcast: Mortimer Adler on Seeking Faith

In the 1930s, Mortimer Adler, a self-described unbaptized pagan, took a lot of criticism for “converting” people to Catholicism simply by getting people to think logically:

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 33

This week’s news items are more of the same only more so.  It gets a little tiresome to see all the situations that could easily be solved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act:

A Rational Approach to Taxation, Part I

Reportedly, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz “created ‘the most progressive tax system in the country’ for Minnesota.”  Pundits believe this will help Kamala Harris in her tax proposals.  It will probably do that . . . but are Harris’s tax proposals what is needed?  Come to think of it, are Trump’s tax proposals any better?

JTW Podcast: Mortimer Adler on Equality

Concluding our series on Mortimer Adler on the Six Great Ideas, today we have “Equality” — false ideas of which Alexis de Tocqueville warned us about.  So, what does “equality” mean?  Let’ hear Mortimer Adler: