Cardinal Burke has
assumed his new office as Patron of the Order of Malta. What
business does the Just Third Way movement have commenting on Cardinal Burke’s
new position at the Vatican? None
whatsoever. That makes us instant
experts. With that in mind, we offer the
following advice, free of charge, and possibly worth every cent:
The
principal missions of the Order are 1) defense of the (Catholic) faith, and 2)
care for the poor.
It seems evident (at least to us) that the Just Third Way would be useful in both of these.
1) By insisting on a restoration of the natural law as the basis for understanding not merely Catholic social teaching, but the common sense foundation of the entire social order (as some guys named Leo, Pius, Benedict, John, Paul, John Paul, and Francis have hinted), the Just Third Way, especially with the clarification of the three principles of economic justice implicit in the encyclicals (which people seem to work very hard at misunderstanding) would help restore the foundation for the restructuring of the social order that has been a particular focus of the papacy since at least Pius IX — yes, Pius IX, castigated by the liberals and modernists as "Pio Nono," whose first encyclical in 1846 was a ringing defense of the natural law against the twin evils of fideism and rationalism — faith without reason, and reason without faith, respectively. Restoration of the natural law as understood in Aristotelian-Thomism is the best defense of the faith there can be.
2) By presenting a means whereby, consistent with the precepts of the natural law and financial and political feasibility, Capital Homesteading has the potential to "cure world poverty" in the most effective way possible, by making everybody an owner of capital, just as Leo XIII called for in § 46 of Rerum Novarum.
It seems evident (at least to us) that the Just Third Way would be useful in both of these.
1) By insisting on a restoration of the natural law as the basis for understanding not merely Catholic social teaching, but the common sense foundation of the entire social order (as some guys named Leo, Pius, Benedict, John, Paul, John Paul, and Francis have hinted), the Just Third Way, especially with the clarification of the three principles of economic justice implicit in the encyclicals (which people seem to work very hard at misunderstanding) would help restore the foundation for the restructuring of the social order that has been a particular focus of the papacy since at least Pius IX — yes, Pius IX, castigated by the liberals and modernists as "Pio Nono," whose first encyclical in 1846 was a ringing defense of the natural law against the twin evils of fideism and rationalism — faith without reason, and reason without faith, respectively. Restoration of the natural law as understood in Aristotelian-Thomism is the best defense of the faith there can be.
2) By presenting a means whereby, consistent with the precepts of the natural law and financial and political feasibility, Capital Homesteading has the potential to "cure world poverty" in the most effective way possible, by making everybody an owner of capital, just as Leo XIII called for in § 46 of Rerum Novarum.
Thus,
in our opinion, Cardinal Burke should start pushing for a program that will end
widespread poverty instead of just dealing with it. This is fully consistent with his new
position. That means an aggressive
program of expanded capital ownership, not artificial job creation or State
welfare.
Yes,
work is important — but the work of becoming more fully human is more important
than work performed just to get an income, especially if that’s the only reason the job exists. The mantra has to change from “Jobs and
Welfare” to “Ownership and Dignity.”
