Happy New Year's Eve!

As the title of this posting has it, Happy New Year's Eve!  And don't you have something better to do than be reading this?

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 52

Here is the second half of our annual news roundup.  The second half (July through December) always ends up being longer than the first half because the evets seem more timely and less outdated than what happened during the first half of the year.  To cut to the chase, however::

Crisis of Confidence

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, with the publication of “Tract 90,” John Henry Newman inadvertently gave leverage to the enemies of the Oxford Movement.  By playing on the fears of “creeping (or galloping) Romanism,” the more liberal (in the bad sense) elements in the Church of England were able to undermine and eventually marginalize almost completely the effort to return to orthodoxy.

When the Chips are Down

Watching “cop shows” on television it is easy to get the impression that a police officer’s work is a constant round of burglaries, bar fights, “domestic incidents,” investigating crooked cops, murders, and (if it’s a comedy) lots of doughnuts.  Television cops (the funny ones, anyway) have a hunger for doughnuts that would shame Homer Simpson.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Just Third Way!  And if you don't have anything else to do, why don't you go back and read some of the postings over the past year in preparation for the next?  Otherwise, have fun!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Yes, since we're taking the day off in everything else (not the night, though), we're also letting the blog slide today and tomorrow.  If you get lonely, of course, listen to some of the musical free samples for Christmas Eve available here.  We recommend "Santa Geh Gesunder Heit."  And a sample is about all you can take.  Otherwise,

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 51

This week in addition to some current events (which you will find at the end of this posting), we have the first half of the annual news roundup from the Just Third Way, from January through June.  One of the things we found ironic was our commenting in the first “News from the Network” for 2018 that the newly achieved “25,000 Dow” was making some people nervous.  Given the market shakeup over the past few weeks, that seems to have been warranted.  It does, however, tend to make the Just Third Way more attractive:

“Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, John Henry Newman’s goal when he published “Tract 90,” otherwise known as “Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles,” was not to try and turn the Church of England into the Catholic Church.  Rather, it was to show the continuity of doctrine in both churches and their fundamental agreement on what makes Christianity specifically Christianity.

Real Bills for Real Wealth

Leo XIII

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, in his landmark social encyclical Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII managed to do two things that took the socialists, modernists, and New Agers off guard.  One, he followed up on the series of social encyclicals that had started with Gregory XVI’s Mirari Vos in 1832 with an unexpected twist.  Instead of simply condemning the “new things” of the modern world, he presented an alternative that could deliver what socialism, modernism, and the New Age only promised, and that without sacrificing one iota of the natural law or Catholic doctrine.

A Suitable Pretext and the Usual Suspects

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, worried that the Church of England might return to orthodoxy and undermine or repudiate all the gains that had been made by “the democratic religion” or New Christianity that was intended to replace traditional political and religious institutions, the “Broad Church” faction comprised of socialists, modernists, unitarians, and even followers of esoteric cults whipped up fear of “Romanism” among the Evangelical faction that adhered to traditional Christian beliefs.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 11 (Rerun)

Today we have a reprise of Podcast Number 11 on What is Money? and Capital Homesteading.  These are questions that are of interest to everyone, so it is useful to rerun one of the podcasts on them every now and then just to keep people up to date:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 50

Although things often slow down as the holidays draw near and the end of the year approaches, people involved in the Just Third Way movement have been seeing a lot of action, so to speak.  A number of projects are coming to fruition, such as the prototype instructional video, some major publications, and a revived newsletter.  We’re also come across some interesting ideas that might be integrated into the Justice University project.  Then there’s the international and national scene:

The Wisdom of Social Justice

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, given ordinary circumstances, moral questions tend to get away from the gray shadings and drift into black and white.  They never really get there, of course, but as a general rule, as Fulton Sheen was fond of saying, “Right is right if nobody does it, wrong is wrong if everybody does it.”

Prelude to Catastrophe

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the adherents of the “democratic religion” of socialism — which also encompassed what became known as modernism and the New Age — became adamantine opponents of John Henry Newman and the Oxford Movement when it became obvious that the tenets of the New Christianity could in no way be reconciled with orthodox beliefs.  As G.K. Chesterton would note a century or so later, the “Hampden Affair” revealed the profound differences between traditional religion (Orthodoxy, 1908) and the invention of a new religion under the name of Christianity (Saint Francis of Assisi, 1923).

The Wisdom of Fulton Sheen

This past Sunday marked the thirty-ninth anniversary of the death of Archbishop Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979).  Ordinarily we would have posted any reflection on his thought pertaining to the Just Third Way on that day.  We don’t post on Sunday, however, and yesterday was the day reserved for CESJ’s “electronic apostolate” (so to speak), and Sheen would have been the first one to appreciate the fact that “the show must go on.”

CESJ Video Broadcast, Week of December 9-16, 2018

This week’s video broadcast is a show first aired on December 21, 2016, an episode of The Challenge With Russell Williams, featuring Dr. Norman G. Kurland as a guest.  While the show is fairly short at less than half an hour, we’re sure you’ll want to tune in:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 49

While it certainly seems as if good news travels so slowly that it never seems to arrive, a number of projects that have been in the works for years are nearing at least the initial stages of completion or fulfillment.  CESJ still has a need for volunteers to handle the routine organizational administrate tasks as well as take over some key (but understaffed) projects, but every organization and movement can say the same thing.  CESJ’s most critical need at this point is people willing to learn about the Just Third Way and who will take advantage of the vast amount of material available free on the CESJ website, such as the free e-books.  There are, of course, publications for sale, and we encourage you to purchase them, but try the free stuff first . . . don’t cost nothing. . . And in the meantime:

The Slavery of Savings

It is traditional in economics and finance to accept the principle that new capital formation is utterly impossible without saving.  Nobody ever got something for nothing, and nobody ever will.  What about gifts and charity, you ask?  What about them?  If someone gives you a gift or alms, you owe gratitude.  You don’t get something for nothing.

“As Many as Possible of the People”

In the previous posting on this subject we began by complaining about a book without embarrassing the author by giving the title or the name of the author.  The book exists, though, even if it does not appear to have sold very well.

Broad Church Basics

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, John Henry Newman and the others of the Oxford Movement were confronted with something they were ill-prepared to deal with, and up to a point did not even realize what the real problem was.  With the Industrial and French Revolutions a new idea had grown up regarding the real purpose of religion — and it did not have too much to do with God, as Fulton Sheen would point out in the next century.

CESJ Video Broadcast

While the Just Third Way Podcast is on Holiday Hiatus we decided it was the perfect opportunity to run a number of the videos that cover Just Third Way subjects.  This particular one, a Molly Cheshire Show interview featuring Norman Kurland, president of CESJ, is especially interesting:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 48

As the last month of the year approaches — it’s only a few hours away as of this writing — it’s easy to get depressed about the number of people who have not heard about the Just Third Way rather than satisfied about the increasing number of people who have.  That’s understandable, because until a determinant number of people even know about the Just Third Way and start urging their leaders to do something positive instead of the Same Old Thing, things are going to stay pretty much right where they are.  There are, however, signs of hope:

A Change of Tactics

Man proposes, the internet (or at least email) disposes.  We were going to have a posting continuing the saga of John Henry Newman, the Oxford Movement, and the act of social justice for today.  At the last minute yesterday, however, we got an email from a faithful reader in Canada alerting us to a book he came across on Catholic social teaching . . . sort of.  As the book was published a few years ago and is not very well known, we decided not to review it.

Stranger Than Truth

As we saw in the previous posting in this series, in the 1830s John Henry Newman and others in the Oxford Movement found themselves at odds with the “Broad Church” movement within the Church of England, a variety of what purported to be Christianity, but without all those annoying legalistic, papist rules that got in the way of the true religion taught by Jesus: democratic socialism.  At issue was the nature of truth itself, even if such a thing as truth could exist.

A Few Thoughts About Taxation

Not too long ago we got into a discussion about one of everybody’s least favorite subjects: taxation.  Nobody likes it, even the people who levy taxes or benefit from it.  That being the case, why do we need taxes in the first place?

Just Third Way Podcast No. 14 (Rerun)

Possibly “rerun” is not quite the right word for repeating Dave’s “Gas Truck Driver Rant.”  Perhaps we could think of this as traveling over the same route again.  In any event, while Dave is on holiday hiatus from the Just Third Way podcast we thought we’d replay one of his more popular shows:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 47

Amazon workers in Germany and Spain went on strike today in Amazon distribution centers, possibly the biggest sales day and busiest of the year.  The stock market is down.  And nobody seems to know how to fix what is going wrong.  Maybe it’s time to look seriously at the Just Third Way . . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stupid Federal Reserve Tricks

It really is amazing what you kind find rooting through old documents, correspondence, what have you.  When you have access to an archive that records a social movement of which most people have at best an inadequate understanding, it is easy to become frustrated at just how obtuse people have been.

The “Myth” of Stagnant Incomes

One of the interesting things about college is the opportunity to take courses in subjects so far outside your major that students as well as professors cast suspicious looks at you.  That is, until they start to realize that you might actually be taking the course because you’re interested in it, not for an “easy A” to repair your GPA.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 43

In this week’s Just Third Way podcast, host Dave Hamill finishes the discussion on the Core Values of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ).  Successful organizations start with people firmly committed to a set of core values, which cannot be compromised without weakening the organization.  CESJ’s strength, unity and programs flow from its founding principles, agreed upon by consensus from the first meeting on April 7, 1984. CESJ’s core values were developed to guide CESJ in its work, to attract others sharing these values and to serve as the very basis of CESJ’s existence.

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 46

A great deal of outreach was done this past week, with letters, telephone calls, and emails being sent to a number of possible contacts.  It is becoming increasingly clear that without the Just Third Way the world will have a difficult time turning aside from the path it is currently on and establishing a system that will give each person the chance for a more just and humane future.  With that in mind —

Christianity versus the Democratic Religion

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, in the early nineteenth century traditional forms of Christianity were under assault from socialism, modernism, and what became known as the New Age, with two churches especially targeted, the Church of England and the Catholic Church.  Nor is this surprising, given the fact that the Catholic Church had always been opposed to anything that undermined the natural law, and the Church of England with the Oxford Movement was making an effort to return to its original doctrinal roots.

Why NOT Capitalism?

On a fairly regular basis we get called capitalists by the socialists and socialists by the capitalists, which suggests there might be a little confusion around.  Not on our part, but on the part of others.  Last week, for example, we received the following email after someone here rejected the use of the word “capitalism”:

Financing Made Easy(er)

Every once in a while we get a question about money, credit, banking, and finance that allows us to give a very brief refresher course on some basic principles that, nevertheless, are hard to hold in your head if you aren’t using them every day.  As our correspondent queried,

Just Third Way Podcast No. 42

In this week’s Just Third Way podcast, host Dave Hamill leads a discussion on some of the Core Values of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ).  Successful organizations start with people firmly committed to a set of core values, which cannot be compromised without weakening the organization.  CESJ’s strength, unity and programs flow from its founding principles, agreed upon by consensus from the first meeting on April 7, 1984. CESJ’s core values were developed to guide CESJ in its work, to attract others sharing these values and to serve as the very basis of CESJ’s existence.

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 45

We don’t need to comment on the elections this week, since they were no surprise except in a few individual cases.  Overall, the mid-terms went about as expected.  Of much more importance for the Just Third Way are the ongoing efforts at outreach, such as letters, emails, telephone calls, etc., and attendance at conferences as speakers and presenters.  It is important for people to realize that the CESJ core group cannot open their own doors — we need people with contacts to use those contacts to open doors, e.g., as was done to get the initial enabling legislation for the ESOP through, as described in “Dinner at the Madison”:

“The Oxford Malignants”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, just as the Oxford Movement gained what many authorities consider its greatest triumph — neutralizing the “Broad Church” (“Latitudinarian”) clergyman and Oxford professor Renn Hampden — it also set in motion a reaction that would within a few years undermine the Movement and bring it to a screeching halt, at least as far as its original purpose of reviving the Church of England was concerned.

A Turning Point

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the victory of orthodoxy (more or less) in the matter of the appointment of the Reverend Renn Dickson Hampden, while the high water mark of the Oxford Movement, came at what eventually proved to be a high price.  Although the members of the Movement were not the only ones objecting to Hampden, they were the only ones singled out as having “persecuted” him.

Misinterpreting Utopia

The other day someone referred to the Just Third Way as “utopian.”   It was one of those occasions when you realize that some people might not know exactly what they are talking about.  Quite a large number of people seem to think that a utopian scheme is one for an ideal society.  Not quite.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 41

A little late, perhaps (unless you’re on the Julian Calendar and are a couple of weeks behind everyone else) but this week’s podcast is an overview of some “Halloween Horror Specials” from past years on the Just Third Way Blog.  We would tell you more about what your host Dave Hamill has selected to relate . . . but we were far too scared to preview the podcast, and so you’ll have to take your chances.  Today is Guy Fawkes Day, so we really don't know what to expect in any event. . . .:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 44

Much of the activity in the Just Third Way this week involved the interesting-to-participate-in-but-not-so-interesting-to-read-about making connections, building relationships, and planning for the coming year.  CESJ’s fiscal year ended September 30, and the annual “planning phase” for the coming year usually takes place in the “lame duck” months following the end of the fiscal year and the beginning of the calendar year:

Guidelines for Reform

As we noted in the previous posting on this subject, society is in chaos.  People are, frankly, scared to death.  They know something is wrong but can’t seem to be able to put their finger on the problem.  They know key definitions of concepts have been changed and their institutions have somehow been transformed at a fundamental level, although the powers-that-be keep insisting otherwise.

“Like a Summer’s Cloud”

In the previous posting on this subject — John Henry Newman and what later became known as “the act of social justice” — we saw that the controversy at Oxford University in the 1830s at the height of the Oxford Movement was starting to heat up.  Although not clearly defined, the battle lines were beginning to be drawn between the more or less orthodox “High Church” Anglicans centered (more or less) around Newman, and the less or more unorthodox “Broad Church” Anglicans who started coalescing (less or more) around the Reverend Renn Dickson Hampden.

How Things Went Wrong

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject — the claim that modern society is going to Hell — we looked into three recent books that went into the subject in some depth.  These were Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option (2017), Anthony Esolen’s Out of the Ashes (2017), and Archbishop Chaput’s Strangers in a Strange Land (2017).  We identified what we believe to be the “cause behind the cause” of the problems on which the three authors focus.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 40

This week Host Dave Hamill relates the story of how he got interested in the Just Third Way and Capital Homesteading.  As a special bonus, he’s also trying out a new segment that he calls “Plutocracy Story of the Week.”  This first one is about former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker's interview with the New York Times about his just-released new book, Keeping at It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government.  Volcker says we are becoming a plutocracy . . . which comes under the heading of “everything old is new again,” meaning this is hardly “news.”

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 43

Fluctuations in the stock market have become so common that it’s almost not worth commenting on.  If you have publicly traded shares, you’re probably watching it like a hawk, anyway.  If you don’t, you probably don’t really care.  One thing you should care about, however, is getting the Capital Homestead Act passed as soon as possible and get things back to a more rational system:

Counterattacking in the Culture Wars

Recently we’ve been reading a few books about the decay of culture and civilization.  We mean recent books, although the general theme and even many of the specifics have been the subject of commentators for millennia.  They all have certain elements in common:

A Good Way to Go Bad

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal there was a relatively small item that, no doubt, many people missed.  On the surface, of course, there is no particular reason why anyone should pay attention to it . . . and that might be the biggest problem of all.

Distributism and Ronald Reagan, IV

Last week we made a series of postings on the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice, creatively titled Distributism and Ronald Reagan I, Distributism and Ronald Reagan II, and Distributism and Ronald Reagan III.  Today we conclude the series with (what else?) “Distributism and Ronald Reagan, IV.”  Making it easy for us, the conclusion of Reagan’s speech sums up things nicely:

Just Third Way Podcast No. 39

Ƒor a slight change of pace, this week Dave Hamill interviews retired Merchant Marine Commander Robert Woodman who some years ago led the effort for a worker buyout of the Ogleby Norton line on the Great Lakes.  Some listeners may be aware that Ogleby Norton was once called the Columbia Line, and their flagship was an ore carrier named the Edmund Fitzgerald. . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 42

The mode of this week’s media is market madness . . . with a nod toward a number of future publications hopefully soon to come down the pike.  Other than that, there have been a lot of thoughtful conversations and one meeting, as well as the usual advancement of the Just Third Way:

Distributism and Ronald Reagan, III

Even though we have provided links to the first posting in this little series, as well as the second posting in this series (so people can read the whole story, if they are so inclined), some readers — admittedly very, very few, a statistically “zero sample” — insist on either putting words into our mouth or don’t bother to read before jumping to a (wrong) conclusion or making an assertion they pull out of . . . the blue.

Distributism and Ronald Reagan, II

In yesterday’s posting we broke the astonishing news (a mere thirty-seven years old . . . so should it be called “olds” instead of “news”?) that Ronald Reagan, fortieth president of the United States, “the Gipper” in the second greatest movie ever made (the first, of course, being The Quiet Man), and the bane of whoever needs a convenient excuse or target for bane-ing, may have been a not-so-closet distributist! — that is, if you believe columnist John Chamberlain, but he’s a Dead White European Male (DWEM™), so you can believe anything you want . . . and you probably will . . .

Distributism and Ronald Reagan, I

President Ronald Reagan?  The Gipper?  A distributist?  Yes — at least according to John Chamberlain in his July 8, 1981 These Days column, “Everything Back to the Electorate.”  Chamberlain, who anticipated today’s Chesterton revival by a few years, compared Reagan favorably to G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.  Possibly outraging many who even then equated distributism with “democratic” or other forms of socialism, Chamberlain claimed that the problem with England and its “Nanny State” was that they had gone over to Fabian socialism instead of to distributism.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 38

In this week’s Just Third Way podcast we continue our series of discussions on CESJ’s Core Values.  This episode covers Core Values 5 and 6, discussed by Dr. Norman Kurland, president of CESJ, Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research.

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 41

Naturally many people this week are obsessing about the drop in the stock market as if it actually means something.  It is, of course, useless to point out that if you buy a share of stock at $10, and it goes up to $100, and then drops to $50, you haven’t lost $50.  At the same time, you haven’t made $90 or $40, either.  You haven’t made or lost one cent, and won’t until you actually sell your share of stock.  It would be different, of course, if you had purchased your shares on the margin and had to come up with the money to repay the acquisition loan or meet the margin call, but that doesn’t happen too much any more, since the minimum required margin these days is 50%, not the 1-3% sometimes required prior to the Crash of 1929.  In any event, most of what goes on in the stock market is speculation, not true investment, as recent events once again demonstrate:

Non-Christian Christianity

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the appointment of the Reverend Renn Hampden to the Regius professorship of Divinity at Oxford University in the 1830s provoked an intensification in the ongoing struggle to define the identity of the Church of England.  Hampden’s innovative views on what constitutes Christianity provoked a storm of outrage among the more traditionally minded (meaning those who accepted Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah), which in turn prompted a reaction from Hampden’s supporters.

Halloween Horror Special: Regulation v. Internal Control

According to Dr. Lawrence Ball on a recent episode of “Squawk Box Europe,” inadequate regulation will bring about the next financial crisis.  Dr. Ball, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University and author of the book, The Fed and Lehman Brothers: Setting the Record Straight on a Financial Disaster, getting rid of regulations such as the Dodd-Frank Act lays the groundwork for an economic meltdown of cosmic proportions.

The Romish Menace

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, a number of people became worried by the success of the Oxford Movement in waking people up to the perceived need to return the Church of England to a more traditional understanding of Christian doctrine and even the meaning and purpose or religion.  Those with a vested interest in adapting doctrine and practice to modern conditions to make the Church of England more relevant to the modern age needed a cause around which they could rally.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 37

In this week’s Just Third Way podcast we continue our series of discussions on CESJ’s Core Values.  This episode covers Core Values 3 and 4, discussed by Dr. Norman Kurland, president of CESJ, Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research.

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 40

A lot of things have been happening this week, and we still don’t have to resort to the usual causes of the day about which the major media obsess.  As far as we are concerned, this demonstrates that the Just Third Way is the way to go; all other presumed solutions to the messes of modern society are simply the result of desperate people trying desperate measures before they have tried common sense:

Birth of the Broad Church

As we hinted in the previous posting on this subject, even after the defeat of the motion at Oxford University in the 1830s to replace the Thirty-Nine Articles with something even more vague and stripped of all substance that students and faculty could sign, the situation did not improve.  John Henry Newman had earlier predicted that “bitterness” would ensue as a result of the conflict, and he was right.

CESJ Looks at Money, Part II

This is the second part of a posting completing the one begun last Wednesday.  Recently members of the CESJ “core group” got into a discussion with a couple of monetary theorists who confused what CESJ says about Just Third Way monetary reforms and the proposals of, e.g., the American Monetary Institute.  The monetary theorists requested a detailed analysis of exactly where what CESJ advocates from the AMI’s proposal.

Politics and Religion

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, in March of 1834 members of the Cambridge University Senate petitioned parliament.  Their goal was to abolish the requirement for students and faculty to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England in order to take a degree or obtain a fellowship, respectively.  Although it was not rigorously enforced at Cambridge, requiring someone to sign the Third-Nine Articles kept anyone who was not a member of the established church from obtaining a degree or teaching.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 36

For a little change of pace (and subject), this week your host Dave Hamill talks with Jerome Peloquin about the psychology of change:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 39

This past week was marked by good meetings and good contacts, and it looks as if next week will be just as productive.  In addition, a number of publications are moving forward, and a publisher has expressed interest in a new book on Capital Homesteading!  Take, and read:

Liberalism Strikes Back

To a greater degree than many people realize, some extremely serious conflicts throughout history have resulted from an error that most people not only fail to recognize as an error, they do not see any difference between the error and what is correct.  Seemingly so esoteric that it appears to have absolutely no relation to anything in real life, it is the question whether the natural law is based on what can be observed about human nature or is based on someone’s interpretation of something accepted as God’s Will . . . or whatever is put in God’s place.

CESJ Looks at Money, Part I

Recently members of the CESJ “core group” got into a discussion with a couple of monetary theorists who confused what CESJ says about Just Third Way monetary reforms and the proposals of, e.g., the American MonetaryInstitute.  The monetary theorists requested a detailed analysis of exactly where what CESJ advocates from the AMI’s proposal.

The Newmanites

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, John Henry Newman rapidly became the prime mover in the Oxford Movement.  Between the friends and enemies of Newman, however, it is difficult to decide which has made understanding him more difficult.  Enemies tend to portray him as the arch-traitor to the Church of England.  He is a veritable Ahriman who led so many down the primrose path along the road to apostasy and out of the nurturing cradle of the Anglican Communion into the arms of the Whore of Babylon.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 35

This week your host Dave Hamill talks with Peter Hayes in Louisville, Kentucky about spreading word of the Just Third Way:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 38

The stock market and Congress are both getting extremely surreal, so we’ll leave commentary on both to the usual experts who don’t let their lack of knowledge, consistency, or veracity interfere with their opinions.  Instead, what we’ll do is look at the latest happenings in the Just Third Way:

Initial Success

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, there was a very natural desire on the part of the members of the Oxford Movement to come to grips with the serious danger threatening the Church of England.  This, combined with some difficulties in completing any plan of association, prevented the formation of an organization to provide a base from which to carry out a coordinated campaign.

(Another) Global Debt Crisis

Back in the early nineteenth century following the Napoleonic Wars and the dissolution of much of the Spanish Empire, the new republics of Central and South America found they had a problem: no tax base, and thus no way to meet government expenditures.  This was doubly a problem, because in order to demonstrate their legitimacy, the new governments had to assume all the obligations of the old government as well as meet their own current needs.

Oxford Movement, Guerilla War Phase

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the organizing members of the Oxford Movement were in general — though not specific or particular — agreement on fundamental principles of Christianity that they believed must be embodied in and taught by the Church of England.  They were also in agreement on their opinion that the Church of England was in deadly peril.  What they lacked, and what was to show up as the Movement progressed, was an appreciation of the importance of the phases of a movement, and the need to “secure” and continue each phase before going on to the next one.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 34

In this week’s Just Third Way podcast, Dave Hamill hosts a panel discussion with Dr. Norman Kurland, president of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ), Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communication, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research on the first two of CESJ’s “Core Values”:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 37

As the world attempts to move into Fall in the Northern Hemisphere and into Spring in the Southern Hemisphere, other things are staying pretty much the same.  That is, the powers-that-be can’t figure out that if you want economic recovery, a sound currency, and a just and sustainable economy, you’d better be able to make everybody productive, and that means expanded capital ownership:

Social Justice in Action

In the previous posting on this subject, we contended that the Oxford Movement was an exemplar of social justice a century before the term had the precise meaning Pope Pius XI assigned it in his social doctrine.  Prior to the late 1840s, in fact, “social justice” had a variety of meanings almost completely unrelated to any concept of social virtue.  That would come only with the work of Monsignor Luigi Aloysius Taparelli d’Azeglio, S.J. (1793-1862), and would rapidly be hijacked by the socialists.

Time to Pay Attention to Puerto Rico

Everybody knows about Puerto Rico, right?  It’s that place, that, you know, is “down there” somewhere, where a bunch of people live, who are, like, Americans, sort of, except they’re kinda like, you know, not really.  Is this going to be on the test?

A Brief Outline of Social Justice

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, two great perils faced the Church of England in the early nineteenth century, capitalism and its near-twin, socialism.  Not that the prime movers in the Oxford Movement saw it that way, of course.  It would never have occurred to any of them, then or later, to give that much importance to the things of this world . . . which made the problem even worse — there is, after all, no problem so bad that it cannot get worse by ignoring it.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 33

In today’s Just Third Way podcast, your host Dave Hamill gives us a little “blast from the (recent) past, with an interview of Dr. Norman Kurland, president of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ):

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 36

It may sound like the “same old same old,” but it’s really . . . okay, it’s the same old same old.  The difference is that every day we seem to be reaching a larger number of people about the Just Third Way and Capital Homesteading, and a number of people are still coming up with the same old excuses that they have for decades, evidently not realizing that they’ve worn a little thin over time.  Be that as it may, here are a few highpoints on what’s been happening in the movement:

The English Constitution

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at the background against which the Oxford Movement took place, viz., the culture of elitism that found expression in English type liberalism.  This led naturally to an overemphasis on capitalism to counter socialism.  Since both capitalism and socialism are in many respects fundamentally the same in theory as well as in practice, socialism was as ineffective in overcoming capitalism as capitalism was in countering socialism.

The Crisis of Democracy?

Last week in the Wall Street Journal Walter Russell Mead gave his opinion that the “Crisis of Democracy” in the modern world is a bit exaggerated (“The “Crisis of Democracy” Is Overhyped,” WSJ, 08/28/18, A-13).  According to Mead, the democracies are, if not precisely doing-just-fine-thank-you, at least doing better than the non-democracies.

A Primer on English Liberalism

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the Aristotelian and Platonic views of reality led to different theories of politics — and this had a significant effect not merely on the direction of the Oxford Movement, but on the fact of the movement itself.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 32

In today’s Just Third Way podcast, your host Dave Hamill talks with Leonard Walker of the Descendants of American Slaves.  There seems to be a lot of congruity between the Just Third Way and DAS, which only makes sense, as justice for any will be compatible with justice for all.

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 35

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is not much good news this week, or at least we haven’t been able to find it.  What little there is seems to be internal, e.g., some important publications are in the works for CESJ, and there has been a great deal of interest expressed in the projects.  As for the rest of the world:

“The Accident of an Urgent Necessity”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, “the New Christianity”/”Neo-Catholicism” — euphemisms for “the democratic religion” of socialism — was a serious problem in the early nineteenth century — and not one confined to religious society.  The sea change in how people viewed the human person and his or her place in the world was devastating.  It undermined fundamental principles of the entire social order in all its aspects, religious, civil, and domestic.  The social earthquake triggered by the French Revolution has had aftershocks lasting down to the present day.

The New Greek Myth

Recently Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Greece, has declared the end of the bailout of the country, proclaiming a “day of liberation.”  Greece has completed a three-year emergency loan program worth €61.9 billion to tackle its debt crisis.  It was part of the biggest bailout in history, totaling approximately €289 billion, which will take the country decades to repay.  Cuts in public spending, especially for social welfare programs, will continue.

The Pilgrims of God and Liberty

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, in November 1831, calling themselves “the Pilgrims of God and Liberty,” de Lamennais, Montalembert, and Lacordaire set out for Rome to present their case to the pope.  Much to de Lamennais’s annoyance, the trio was not granted an audience immediately, although that should have been expected in light of the fact that they showed up in Rome without warning.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 31

How to reach Bernie Fans?  Why would we want to do that?  Well, why not?  Bernie Sanders has a following, and people pay attention to what he says, he’s concerned about things — and he is a strong supporter of worker ownership.  It should be a pretty short step for him to see that if ownership for workers is good, ownership for everyone is better, and can accomplish most if not all of the goals he says he wants to achieve through redistribution.  Why do it the hard way?

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 34

In case you were wondering how people are benefiting from all the presumably wonderful economic growth (e.g., the stock market booming, falling unemployment, protection of America’s infant industries, etc.), it’s a good idea to keep in mind that there is a difference between the collective and the individual human person.  In the aggregate — the collective sense — things may be going great, per capita income is $1 million . . . except that means one person gets $300 million a year, and the other 299,999,999 people get zip.  And why not redistribute by abolishing private property for one guy so the 299,999,999 can have it?  Because abolishing private property for one means abolishing it for all.  Why not just figure out a way to make everybody productive instead of just one person?  Or you end up with what we have today:

The Birth of Social Catholicism

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, if there was one thing that both the Catholic Church and the Church of England had in common in the early nineteenth century, it was “religious indifferentism.”  Although it stemmed from different causes in each country, the widespread neglect of religious duties and the belief that all religions are essentially the same was a serious problem in both France and England.

The Accountable Capitalism Act

Senator Elizabeth Ann Warren (Democrat, Massachusetts) has created a bit of a stir with her “Accountable Capitalism Act” proposal.  The ACA is a proposed piece of legislation recently introduced by Senator Warren that she believes would restore accountability of corporations to their employees and to the public at large.  At the heart of her proposal is her oft-repeated declaration that “corporations are not people.”

The Unusual Suspects

In the previous posting on this subject we mentioned that as early as the 1820s in France there were a significant number of sects of the “democratic religion” — socialism — springing up everywhere.  Within a generation there had grown to be so many that Alexis de Tocqueville commented in his recollections of the 1848 Revolution,

Just Third Way Podcast No. 30

Every organization needs not only a mission statement and a business plan — and yes, even non-profits need a “business plan” because if you cannot state clearly why your organization exists . . . why does it exist?  Further, the more vague or general an organization’s mission statement (e.g., “The Much Ado About Nothing Society works to promote interest in William Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902), the greatest poet who ever lived or ever will live, and to jabber on endlessly without knowing anything about him.”*) the more chance there is that the organization will eventually lose its way.  It may continue, but more and more people will simply ask Why?

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 33

A lot of bull.

Talk on “the Street” (when it’s capitalized like that it’s Wall Street, because that’s where everything is capitalized . . . right?  Wrong, but we won’t go into that today) is that consumer spending is up, up, up, and that’s a good thing, right?  Yes, it’s a very good thing . . . assuming it’s in response to people being able to meet their needs and reasonable wants out of current income.  When it involves buying luxuries on credit — or, worse, necessities on credit — it’s a very, very bad thing . . . but that’s what’s happening, even though that part of the equation is being ignored or downplayed.  In other news:

The Rise of Democratic Socialism

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, disconnecting ordinary people from the ability to produce and the resulting loss of power had serious repercussions throughout the social order in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  Traditional institutions no longer seemed able to fill human wants and needs, whether material, moral, or spiritual, and were increasingly seen as irrelevant or, worse, opposed to human development.

The Economic and Financial Revolution

The situation between John Henry Newman and Orestes Brownson described in the previous posting on this subject had not sprung from out of nowhere.  Nor were they the only ones confronted with what looked like an attack on the very fabric of the social order itself.

Is Development Bad?

At the end of the previous posting on this subject, we noted that some people with agendas had found what they wanted in John Henry Newman’s book, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine.  The problem was that what they claimed to have found was the opposite of what Newman had actually written.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 29

This week your host Dave Hamill talks with Monica Woodman from Cleveland, Ohio.  Monica comes to the Just Third Way naturally.  Her father, Bob Woodman, was one of the movement’s earliest supporters, and her siblings are also very strong in their support of the Just Third Way.  It’s a kind of family heritage with the Woodmans, so let’s hear what Monica has to say:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 32

Panic in the streets.  Again.  As this is being written, the stock market is crashing.  Again.  Don’t worry, though.  Give it another hour or two and it will be back up.  After all, it doesn’t really measure anything except people’s inability to recall what happened fifteen minutes ago.  Other things are of more concern, such as the surge in support for “democratic socialism” . . . which might not be all that worrisome, either, despite the hysteria from both ends of the spectrum.  Of course, if people would get off the spectrum altogether and on to the Just Third Way, then a lot of things that take up far too much of their time could take a back seat to what is really important: actually living life:

Newman and Brownson

John Henry Newman was arguably the most notable English convert to Catholicism in the nineteenth century.  We only qualify that statement because if we didn’t, we would get a flood of emails demanding to know why we didn’t consider so-and-so or detailing alleged faults of Newman that presumably disqualify him from a position of preëminence.

“When He Enters into a State of Society”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, American liberalism that sounded very good in theory has a serious flaw in practice.  It is not too far out of the realm of possibility that this flaw may have contributed to John Henry Newman’s inability to see any difference between the English and European types of liberalism and the American type.  We refer, of course, to chattel slavery.

American Liberalism, Theory and Practice

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, we have been looking at American type liberalism as fundamentally different from the English and European types.  Our case is based on the claim that European type liberalism vests sovereignty in the collective, while English type liberalism puts it in an élite.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 28

This week’s Just Third Way Podcast is the second part of a rebroadcast of a “FOCUS” (Follow One Course Until Successful) show with host Meshorn Daniels and guest Dr. Norman G. Kurland.  Again we invite you to sit back and enjoy!

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 31

This week we cover news items from Japan to the Vatican, and that span nearly a century . . . but that you can still read quickly.  Don’t be worried, however.  The only controversial thing we cover is expanded capital ownership, which is very upsetting to the increasing numbers of democratic socialists:

Democracy in America

Following up on the previous posting on this subject, answering the question What is liberalism? is key to understanding the life and times of John Henry Newman, particularly since what has baffled many Newman scholars is the fact that he claimed to be against all forms of liberalism and yet held many opinions and took many positions that people today regard as liberal.  Part of this may be due to the possibility that Newman seems to have had trouble viewing this world as anything other than a temporary stopping place on the way to the next.

A Different Kind of Liberalism

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, John Henry Newman based his thought firmly on the idea that the human person is of paramount importance.  At the same time, he failed to account for (or possibly only failed to appreciate) the fact that human beings, while remaining individuals, are also social, a possibly unique combination Aristotle called “political.”  This may, in part, have caused him to lump all types of liberalism together under the umbrella of what he called “the Anti-dogmatic Principle,” which is to say to someone like Newman, “the Anti-truth Principle.”

A Quintessential Individualist

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, John Henry Newman tended to rely on absolutes discerned by faith and reason instead of transitory popular fads, expedience, or even earthshaking changes in society in forming his opinions.  Newman had, in the best sense, the extreme disadvantage of being an unworldly person in an increasingly materialistic society.  This explains many things that have baffled modern commentators as well as Newman’s own “failures” in carrying out projects that relied in any degree on matters outside of the realm of personal faith and reason.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 27

This week’s Just Third Way Podcast is actually the first part of a rebroadcast of a “FOCUS” (Follow One Course Until Successful) show with host Meshorn Daniels of "DAS" and guest Dr. Norman G. Kurland.  Sit back and enjoy!

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 30

Some weeks there are a lot of things going on in the Global Justice Movement.  Other weeks there are still a lot of things happening, except nobody tells us what they are. . . . Be that as it may, here are this week’s items:

A Grammar of Assent

We closed the previous posting on this subject with the statement that while American type liberalism and European and English type liberalism are all “liberalism,” there is a fundamental difference between the American version and the other two.  In brief, where European liberalism puts sovereignty into the abstraction of the collective, and English liberalism puts sovereignty into the abstraction of an élite (ultimately the same thing, for an élite of some sort always ends up in control of the collective), American liberalism puts sovereignty solely and exclusively into the human person.

An Introduction to American Liberalism

On Christmas Day in the year 1797, Luigi Barnabà Chiaramonte (1742-1823), bishop of Imola, astounded conservatives in the congregation at his cathedral by declaring that there is no necessary conflict between Christianity and democracy.  Nor did Chiaramonte change his liberal position when he was elected to the papacy in 1800, taking the name Pius VII.

How About English Liberalism?

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, and as is clear to anyone who has looked into the career of John Henry Newman, one of the main reasons for the Oxford Movement, if not the reason (understood in its broadest sense), was the concern he and others had regarding the spread of liberalism and its result on the clergy and laity of the Church of England.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 26

This week we have a very special program on the Just Third Way Podcast: Civil Rights Legend the Reverend Dr. Virgil Wood, who was the New England representative for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Today Dr. Wood talks about “jubilee,” civil rights, and empowering all with economic opportunity through ownership.  He also mentions Dr. King’s encouragement for him to pursue the advancement of Kelso’s philosophies!

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 29

A great many things have been happening on the Just Third Way home front, not the least is the discovery of a “missing link” tying together Cardinal Newman, Msgr. R.H. Benson, Msgr. Ronald Knox, G.K. Chesterton, and Abp. Fulton J. Sheen!  We predict that a lot of preconceptions and assumptions are going to bite the dust with a rather loud thump when we complete our research and make it public.  Until then, however, there are other important things happening in the movement:

Liberalism? Which One? European?

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the authorities generally list four primary causes of the decay of the Church of England and the beginning of the Oxford Movement.  All of these are interrelated, and it is actually impossible to discuss them intelligently in isolation.  These are 1) Getting involved in politics, 2) Erastianism, or the State moving into determining religious beliefs, practices, and policies, 3) A confusion of the religious identity of the Church of England itself, and 4) The rise of liberalism.

Religion Without God

Following up on the previous posting on this subject (i.e., John Henry Newman), we need to look at the specific situation in which he found himself.  As was the case with all mainstream Christian churches in the early nineteenth century, the Church of England was in serious trouble.  Nor was this situation limited to religious society.  In the wake of the French Revolution, Church, State, and Family seemed to be dissolving in chaos everywhere in Europe.

Charles Kingsley and John Henry Newman, II

In the previous posting on this subject, we found that the Reverend Charles Kingsley, who had accused John Henry Newman in print of being a liar, actually admitted in the course of preparing his final blast at Newman that his original accusation was false.  Despite that, Kingsley informed a friend of his that he was going to continue making new accusations until he had taken revenge on Newman for some undisclosed transgression Newman had allegedly committed against Kingsley twenty years before.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 25

Yes, we know that we labeled last week’s podcast Number 25 . . . but there was a good reason for that: we made a mistake.  Or there was miscommunication.  Or something.  We ran President Reagan’s speech before the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice from 1987 and labeled it “Podcast #25,” even though as a “rerun” (so to speak) it doesn’t really fit into the series.

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 28

With the summer about half over, it is encouraging that there are so many signs that people are starting to wake up to the potential of the Just Third Way.  There are only a few news items this week, but they are of “high quality.”  Of course, all of our news items are always of “high quality,” but these add a bit of significance to people outside the movement as well:

Charles Kingsley and John Henry Newman, I

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, back in the middle of the nineteenth century a man named Charles Kingsley, a successful and well-known Anglican clergyman, seemingly out of the blue attacked a semi-retired Catholic clergyman by the name of John Henry Newman, a convert to Catholicism who was regarded even by himself as a failure.

John Henry Newman and Charles Kingsley

Everybody knows about John Henry Newman.  He tried to turn the Church of England into the Catholic Church, and when that didn’t work he became a real Catholic.  He then wrote a bunch of books about how to start a university and apologize for everything, and then had a big fight with Pope Pius IX because they didn’t allow him to dissent about papal infallibility, so he wrote a book about how to dissent without seeming to dissent, and he was right because Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal . . . right?

A New, Anti-Human Role for the State

In the previous posting on this subject, we examined Woodrow Wilson’s philosophy of government.  We decided (we don’t know what you decided) that Wilson’s approach to government was not exactly respectful of the human person, dignity, and all that.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 24-1/2

This week on the Just Third Way Podcast we have a very special guest: President Ronald Reagan!  This is a live recording of the talk President Reagan gave when receiving the report of the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice in 1987.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Task Force and who think that “government” has to do everything, Project Economic Justice was a private initiative using no government (i.e., taxpayer) money:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 27

One of the interesting things about investigating the roots of the Just Third Way is the fact that we keep uncovering things that support what we’re saying, and that undermine claims made by those who either oppose the Just Third Way (very few, actually, if you limit it to those with valid critiques) or who just plain don’t understand the Just Third Way.  For example, this week we found an article from 1855 that describes the tactics of the socialists: if something doesn’t fly, or people become outraged, shift immediately to something emotional instead of rational, and hide whatever is offensive under another name.  But there is some good news as well:

Government of the Élite, by the Élite, and for the Élite

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, Woodrow Wilson’s political philosophy boiled down to “might makes right.”  Something was right because he believed it was so, not because it met or measured up to any objective standard of good.  In that, Wilson simply echoed the totalitarian philosophy of Thomas Hobbes.

Happy Independence Day!

We suppose we really should post something to the effect that if you want true independence, you need a capital stake sufficient to generate an adequate and secure income.  Since we say that in virtually every other posting one way or another, and today is a holiday, we're letting those of you who actually visit this blog instead of spending time with friends and family off the hook — for today, anyway:

Woodrow Wilson’s Political Philosophy

We’ve been looking at Woodrow Wilson and his role in eliminating the vestiges of what was once known as “Lincoln Republicanism,” i.e., a political philosophy that viewed government as being of the people, by the people, and for the people.  The Progressive Party was pretty much the last gasp of the type of Republicanism that replaced the Whig Party and ran Abraham Lincoln for president back in the day.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 24

Wait!  Didn't we see JTW Podcast # 24 LAST week?  Yes, we did.  Frankly, it was so well received that we decided to give in to popular demand and run it again this week.  Since Wednesday is a holiday in the United States, this will give everyone a chance to catch up on all the podcasts they missed.  So, for your listening pleasure, we again have a panel discussion on the Capital Homesteading concept.  The CESJ core group gets together and fields some insightful questions and comments from your host, Dave Hamill —

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 26

The stock market, of course, is bouncing around like a rubber ball, President Trump is fretting because manufacturers are leaving the U.S. — which they wouldn’t if the U.S. had a Capital Homestead Act, a rational tax system, and an elastic, asset-backed currency that financed private sector growth instead of government spending — the immigrant “problem” is upsetting people (which it wouldn’t if the U.S. and other countries had a Capital Homestead Act, etc.), and so on.  In other words, business as usual.  What isn’t “business as usual” are the advances we continue to make in promoting the Just Third Way:

The Triumph of the Will

If history has shown us anything, it is that Woodrow Wilson was the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.  At a time when the United States needed a new direction to restore and retain government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” it got an elitist snob with a vision limited by his own ego.  When the world needed the U.S. to take the lead and douse the flames that led to World War I, Wilson retreated into isolationism until the situation he helped create got so bad it could no longer be ignored.

And What IS Money?

Back in 1912 people were demanding reform of the financial system as a result of the Panics of 1893 and 1907.  The problem was that few people demanding reform had a good grasp of what money actually is.  Having looked into why we think Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) does not give a good — or even coherent — definition of money, today we will look at a Just Third Way understanding of money.

The Presidential Campaign of 1912

As we saw in the last posting on this subject, the 1912 presidential campaign was hotly contested, with five different parties fielding candidates.  These were the usual Republican and Democrat Parties, but also the Progressive Party, the Prohibition Party, and two socialist parties, the Socialist Party of America and the Socialist Labor Party.

Just Third Way Podcast No. 24

This week on the Just Third Way Podcast we have a panel discussion on the Capital Homesteading concept.  The CESJ core group gets together and fields some insightful questions and comments from your host, Dave Hamill —

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 25

It might be something of a paradox, but it is something to consider.  If every country in the world had a “Capital Homesteading” program or the equivalent, it is possible that there would be more jobs created than there would be people to fill them.  Instead of discouraging immigration, countries would be encouraging it in order to get enough workers.  At the same time, countries would also encourage people to remain at home in order not to decrease the workforce and discourage emigration.  All of a sudden, countries would be competing to see which one could offer the best incentives to come and stay in their country.  It’s at least something to think about:

Democrats and Friends in the 1912 Campaign

In the previous posting on this subject, we discovered that the Republican Party had split into reactionary and progressive factions.  The reactionary faction, the “Old Guard” Republicans, were the social and economic élite who had come into the Grand Old Party following the Civil War when it was the only game in town, the Democratic Party having been discredited.

Is Government Money Real Money?

In the previous posting on this subject, we took a look at what is meant in Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) by “pure money.”  We discovered that “pure money” doesn’t mean what one might expect from the Just Third Way concept of “pure credit,” but is something similar in form to the Just Third Way idea, while being pretty much its exact opposite.

Meet the Republican Candidates . . . for 1912

As we saw in our previous discussion on this subject, the 1912 presidential campaign was blessed — or cursed — with an abundance of parties and candidates, including a few nobody remembers.  There was only one previous campaign of national importance in United States history that even came close to the variety of candidates and positions in the public eye.

The Just Third Way Podcast

This week on the Just Third Way Podcast, Host Dave Hamill interviews CESJ intern Sasha Miltreiger from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Sasha, a political science major, talks about how she became interested in the Just Third Way and selected CESJ for her internship, joining a number of other very well qualified interns that CESJ has had over the years:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 24

Despite what is normally a slow period for news, some interesting things are happening around the world in the Just Third Way network and beyond.  These range from minor matters such as meetings, to important breakthroughs in historical research on the development of the concept of social justice.  There is also a bit or two on the need to work for a more equitable distribution of the world’s wealth, but without harming the rights of anyone:

Panics, Populism, and Progressivism

The United States presidential campaign of 1912 was, all things considered, unique in American history.

Pure Money

Last week we finished off our look at what was meant in Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) by the claim that money is a creature of law rather than a commodity.  We concluded that “creature of law” in MMT did not mean consistent with the natural law and the legal definition of money as anything that can be accepted in settlement of a debt.  Rather, it meant that money is a special creation by the government . . . which pretty much negates the real definition of money.

Freedom and Justice for All

In 1647 Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and his son-in-law Henry Ireton (1611-1651) had a problem.  They had succeeded in their revolution but had no real idea what to do with their victory.  They wanted to impose Presbyterianism but had no program of political reform.  Having no plan, they did nothing.

The Just Third Way Podcast

This week on the Just Third Way, Host Dave Hamill again pushes the envelope a little by giving a brief rundown of “Things You May Not Know About the Just Third Way.”  As Dave is both entertaining and informative, you’re sure to enjoy this episode:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 23

As the summer days get longer (depending on when your summer begins), so do some of the news items affecting the Just Third Way and the philosophy (so to speak) of economic personalism.  This would seem to be appropriate as the world situation becomes more critical:

Theodore Roosevelt and the Crisis

In our previous posting on this subject — the failure of the progressive movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to address the issue of widespread ownership of capital — we noted that because of a quarrel between Roosevelt and one of his “trust busters,” Judge Peter S. Grosscup, the ownership issue was sidelined during Roosevelt’s administration.  It never became a part of the progressive platform, despite ongoing efforts by Grosscup to focus people’s attention on the critical need to spread out ownership of America’s productive capacity.

Money as a Creature of Law

Last week we delved into Modern Monetary Theory, or “MMT” as it is known, based on Keynesian economics, which is in turn derived from the “chartalism” of Georg Friedrich Knapp, also known as “the State Theory of Money.”  As we noted, the essential principles of MMT are:

Why Not Ownership?

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. described himself as a “Lincoln Republican.”  That term means pretty much anything someone wants today, but back in Roosevelt’s day it meant something specific: government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  When most people owned a small farm or business or were wage workers socially and economically not too different from owners and managers, society was more egalitarian.

The Just Third Way Hour Podcast

On this week's Just Third Way Hour, Host Dave Hamill interviews Gary Reber, who has been a supporter of the Just Third Way for a long time.  Gary is very active in the social media, and has a large number of articles and postings, most (if not all) of which relate to the Just Third Way:

News from the Network, Vol. 11, No. 22

With everyone obsessed with the effects of bad monetary and economic decisions, very few people (if any of them) are paying attention to what is causing the problem in the first place: lack of productive capacity on the part of ordinary people.  If that can be fixed, then a major obstacle to the establishment and maintenance of a just and sustainable economy has been removed.  Unfortunately, that is not what the powers-that-be have been busy doing:

Populism v. Progressivism

Looking back a century ago, and as we saw in Tuesday's posting, we often find that words and language were used in ways that seem a little alien to the people of today.  Things that once seemed not quite right are now deemed the height of virtue, while goods things have now become something pretty bad, or at least very different from what they were.