It may be open to debate (but not much), but the prevailing modern philosophy of modern times is that the end justifies the means . . . which translates into “might makes right.” If you don’t agree with that assessment, think about it for a moment. If someone wants something badly enough and is willing to run roughshod over everything and everybody in his or her way to get it, then — if he or she is strong enough to get it — that proves the means used were fully justified, regardless of where the chips fell. It worked; therefore, it was good.
We don’t have anything to add to what President Zelenskyy said, except that adding the Economic Democracy Act to the mix for Ukraine would be an unbeatable combination::
Today we present the first half of our annual news roundup. Someone suggested that we forgo it this year in favor of something much shorter and confined to one week, but we already had this written, so here goes. In any event, the important thing is that we move forward to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but we’re getting there:
Recently in a discussion about something else entirely a question came up about rights and duties. This is an important topic in the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism, for “personalism” derives from “person,” and “person” — legally speaking — is that which has rights. This is important in the greater scheme of things because it is by exercising rights (especially life, liberty, and private property) that we become “virtuous,” that is, more fully human . . . which, according to Aristotle and other philosophers, is the reason and purpose of life.
JTW Podcast: Robert Ashford on Binary Economics Revisited
Last we had Robert Ashford talking about binary economics on Paula Gloria’s show. This week we have Dr. Ashford again, which helps us understand why the Economic Democracy Act is so important:
For a slight change in pace this week, there a few — very few indications that things could turn around. This does not mean that things will turn around, but that there is a possibility that they could turn around. Of course (you know what’s coming) the possibility would be greater if there would be a strong push to adopt the Economic Democracy Act . . . but one step at a time:
In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at a possible solution to the problem of implementing a monetary standard when the commodity chosen as the standard has different prices in different regions. We proposed that it should be feasible to use the highest price of a Kilowatt hour in the economy, which would have no adverse effect if (and only if) the Economic Democracy Act has been implemented, and all consumers of electricity own the electricity producer(s) in direct proportion to their usage.
Last we had Norman Kurland and Robert Ashford talking about binary economics on Paula Gloria’s show. This week we have Dr. Ashford soloing, but that just means we get a new and different perspective on Louis Kelso’s binary economics, which is the basis of the Economic Democracy Act:
If there is one thing painfully evident from what is going on in the world, it is that few — if any — of the people we call “leaders” have a clue about what is going on in the world. As you might expect from that, they spend most of their time implementing programs and solutions that have never worked, and then spend the rest of their time explaining why they didn’t work and why we need to keep on doing the same thing over and over to get different results. Of course, the one thing they don’t consider is the one thing that has been proven to work. If they actually wanted to be effective, they would adopt the Economic Democracy Act:
In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at what can happen if you impose a uniform monetary standard when the price of the standard is not uniform. Of course, before any standard at all is considered, it is essential that the reserve currency be 100% or at least predominantly asset-backed . . . and “asset” does not include debt issued by the issuer of the reserve currency.
In case you were wondering if the continuing series of podcasts with the two Joes was going to continue, here is the latest installment, talking about what (at least according to Tom Lehrer) we all deeply and sincerely believe in at this time of year . . . money. Of course, if you want to bolster your (financial) faith, you might want to look into the Economic Democracy Act, after listening to the show, or just wait until the next installment:
This week we did something a little unusual, at least for us. Generally, we try to report news consistently, but this past week the news about Federal Reserve Follies was so contradictory that we decided to report the stories as they appeared, even those that contradicted themselves and each other. After all, if the people in charge of the financial system wanted to make sense, they would adopt the Economic Democracy Act:
In the previous posting on this subject, we discussed the single most important precondition to returning a currency to a fixed standard, which is returning the reserve currency to full asset backing. This naturally leads into today’s topic, which is what standard is best to use, and when to institute the chosen standard.
For this week’s podcast we came across a video of Drs. Norman G. Kurland and Robert H.A. Ashford discussing the binary economics of Louis Kelso Paula Gloria’s show. Of course, this was before we started talking about the Economic Democracy Act, but that is an application of binary economics, not binary economics itself:
As usual, even though it’s the day after Thanksgiving, the experts and usual suspects are running themselves ragged doing everything they can to keep the economy and other people down instead of taking the just and easy way out and adopting the Economic Democracy Act:
The world today is plagued with a virtual tsunami of reserve currencies backed only with government debt and valued in terms of the faith and credit of the issuing government. This creates several problems, any one of which is a disaster waiting to happen:
Here is Part II of a “long-lost” treasure from a few years back. As we noted two weeks ago, it was lost because we didn’t know that the recording of the show was available on YouTube. The subject is, What is the role human beings will have once the machines take our jobs? As a regular listener or reader, you will already know the answer: the Economic Democracy Act:
Believe it or not, there are bright spots appearing on the horizon. One is that the new Biafran government in exile has adopted the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism as its economic program. Another is that a second Catholic newspaper has run a feature article on The Greater Reset, which is written around — you guessed it — the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism. Both of these open up a number of possibilities to get the Just Third Way, especially as embodied in the Economic Democracy Act into the public arena as a topic for discussion:
This past Saturday several key people in the Biafran diaspora formed a Government in Exile. This was not a publicity stunt, but a means of helping to bring the ongoing plight of oppressed groups in Nigeria to the attention of the world and to establish the foundations of a more just social order not just for Biafra, but for all people of the world.
On Saturday, November 12, 2022, the CESJ Core Group were the Guests of Honor at the inauguration of the Biafran Government in Exile and the opening of Biafra House. Dr. Norman Kurland, president of CESJ, cut the ribbon and gave the keynote address, and for today’s podcast, we present the official video record of the event:
While it’s tempting to say that the weekly news items exhibit a depressing sameness, we might also say that this is actually encouraging. Why? Because no one has yet implemented the Economic Democracy Act, so we don’t have to come up with any new solutions:
On Halloween, the Wall Street Journal reported the frightening news that the government’s money machine, the Federal Reserve, has been losing money. “How is this possible?” you ask in wonder. How can an institution that creates money out of thin air for politicians to spend like drunken sailors on leave be losing money?
Here is Part I of a “long-lost” treasure from a few years back. It was lost because we didn’t know that the recording of the show was available on YouTube, but then, who really knows everything that’s up on YouTube? Anyway, the subject is what is the role human beings will have once the machines take our jobs? If you’re a regular reader or listener, the answer will not surprise you, although we’ve updated the terminology from “the Capital Homestead Act” to the Economic Democracy Act:
Another week has gone by filled with missed opportunities to implement the Economic Democracy Act, so what else is new? Well, as you can see, not much:
A few years ago, we published a book about military history. At the request of the publisher, it was written in a “popular” style, that is, in “story” form with very few footnotes, explanatory sidebars instead of appendices, that sort of thing. Some people thought it was a very good book introducing them to obscure but important battles they had never heard of.
This is a somewhat slanted account of the situation, but it gets many of the facts straight. A lot of the terrorist events are overlooked. One of the things not mentioned is the role something like the Economic Democracy Act could play in bringing peace to the region. By the way, the Fulani were notorious for being the worst of the slave raiding African tribes, selling entire nations into slavery, while today appear to be linked to terrorism, including raiding Christian girls schools and kidnapping hundreds of girls:
As the world gets crazier, the news items each week bear a striking similarity, with most people completely oblivious to the possibilities inherent in the Economic Democracy Act would to solve many of the problems:
In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at the origins of the term “social justice.” While it has and continues to mean many things, Msgr. Luigi Taparelli gave the first consistent and “scientific” definition of social justice in the 1830s. As he defined it, social justice is a “general virtue,” meaning — strictly speaking — that it is not a true virtue, but a principle guiding the practice of actual, “particular” virtues, such as prudence, fortitude, temperance and, above all, justice among the natural virtues, and faith, hope, and charity among the supernatural virtues.
Today we have an analysis of the International Monetary Fund that a giant recession is coming . . . we don’t use the word “depression” anymore since Lord Keynes abolished it forever, but it’s still the exact same thing, only worse and longer-lasting. If a recession turns out to be longer or deeper than anticipated, the experts quickly change the definition to avoid the d-word. In any event, nobody at the IMG, the World Bank, or5 any of the world’s central banks stop to wonder whether it’s the Keynesian principles that are causing the problem that Keynesian economics is supposed to be solving . . . naw, that’d be too easy to fix by reading The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law, getting busy, and adopting the Economic Democracy Act:
Where some things go from the ridiculous to the sublime, this week the news items generally go from the horrifying to the ludicrous. Not to beat a live horse, but adopting the Economic Democracy Act would go a long way toward making news items like these a thing of the past:
A popular meme floating around social media shows actor Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” The problem was bad enough with a single word in a work of fiction. It gets much worse when it is many words in real life.
It is becoming increasingly evident that many of the more serious problems in the world could be solved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act., but it is also increasingly evident that none of them are considering it, seriously or not. As a case in point consider the fact that Russian dictator Putin used up missiles earlier this week with a price tag of upwards of a billion dollars to kill a few civilians at a time when units of the Russian army are struggling for survival and starving for basic supplies, and the economy of the country is tanking. And in other news:
No, we’re not saying that war is logical, per se, but that within its own frame of reference there are certain things that make sense, but also a lot that doesn’t. Much of modern “Currency Principle” economics is like that, where some of it makes sense within its own framework, but a lot that doesn’t, especially if you’re talking Keynesian economics.
This is the second part of the podcast that we put up last week . . . and it doesn’t actually feature Aquinas, either. Anyway, this is the second part of a discussion on what Aquinas meant by “virtue,” which you don’t have to accept, but it might get you to think a bit, and prepare you to read the book by Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law:
The weirdness continues throughout the world as our so-called leaders refuse even to consider adopting that the Economic Democracy Act. In other news:
You’ve probably noticed that the moment you think you’ve heard it all, somebody is bound to show up and prove you wrong. For example, if you ever thought that today’s academics and politicians were crazier than bedbugs and nobody in history, except maybe Caligula and a few other loony toons, could match them.
Okay, this podcast doesn’t really feature Thomas Aquinas, but somebody talking about Aquinas . . . but you knew that, right? Anyway, this is the first part of a discussion on what Aquinas meant by “virtue,” which you don’t have to accept, but it might get you to think a bit, and prepare you to read the book by Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law:
As the world drifts faster into insanity . . . okay, gallops headlong . . . it becomes increasingly evident that the Economic Democracy Act is the only game in town that would put a stop to things like this:
There’s an old joke about a hobo who comes to the back door of a farmhouse asking for a handout. “Can you help a poor man out of his misery?” he asks the tired and overworked housewife. “Certainly,” she replies. “Would you rather be shot or hit with an ax?”
This week we have a special podcast, one specifically about the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism, the Joe and Joe Show with special guests Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research, authors of The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law:
As usual, people are in a panic this week over economics and finance when the solution, the Economic Democracy Act, is staring them right in the face. We know we’ve been saying this for years, but you never know when someone might start paying attention:
No, this is not a video about Aristotle’s political activities or opinions . . . at least, not in the modern sense. Instead, this is a look at one professor’s opinion about a book Aristotle wrote called the Politics, meaning how human beings live together as “political animals”:
From the 1930s on, Robert Maynard Hutchins of the University of Chicago and Mortimer J. Adler, the “Great Books” philosopher, expressed great concern about the state of American education. As they saw it, what passed for education had degenerated into vocational training for jobs that either didn’t exist or were completely different than those for which people had been trained.
Okay, in today’s blog video, forget about the big words and the politically correct lingo and attitudes. It’s a good overview of Aristotle and his theory that “virtue” is the habit of doing good. This is the heart of western concepts of what it means to be fully human. Was Aristotle completely correct? Of course not, but he was on the right track. (There was another video that was better for content, but the sound quality was very bad.)
A few things have crowded out Just Third Way-type news this week, such as the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the new offensives in Ukraine that are making astonishing gains. Still, there are a few items of interest:
We’ve been doing a bit of reading in the works of Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Jerome Adler regarding the state of education today and thought it might be a good segue into a short presentation on “Justice University.” JU has been around for a while, since 2008 in fact, but it never hurts to have a refresher course, especially since as Hutchins and Adler both noted, education is a lifelong process.
And now for something completely different. Today we bring you Zuckerkandl! — the “!” is part of the title, by the way — starring the voice and image (more or less) of Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins, president and then chancellor of the University of Chicago, with Mortimer Adler one of the prime movers behind the Great Books program, educational reformer, and cartoon character . . .
Once again, many of the news items this week make it obvious that the Economic Democracy Act is pretty much the only game in town if you want something that will actually work. Otherwise, you’re stuck with:
Recently we came across a website purporting to be advocating “integralism,” which is a much-misused term for integrating one’s religious beliefs or philosophy into one’s daily life, the opposite of compartmentalization or schizophrenia. This was a “Catholic” website and was rather blatant about demanding that the civil power be subordinated to the religious power (meaning the Catholic Church) in all things . . . suggesting they didn't have a clue about real integralism; they could have stepped right out of a Thomas Nast cartoon.
Perhaps no two individuals have had a greater impact on American education than Robert Maynard Hutchins and John Dewey. One person’s view of them is the subject of today’s podcast and the previous two (which are included for your convenience). Even if you don’t agree with everything that is said (or how it is said), it might cause you to think and start wondering where we went wrong . . .
If Russian president Putin is wondering how to extricate himself and Russia from Ukraine without ending up slightly less than alive, he might consider the Economic Democracy Act. It probably wouldn’t get him off the hook for what he’s done, but it might mitigate the punishment, and keep him from being written off as the absolute worst ruler in the history of the world. It is, after all, one thing to be a bloodthirsty tyrant, but quite another to be an incompetent bloodthirsty tyrant:
We’ve been doing a little research into the writing of Robert Maynard Hutchins, president and later chancellor of the University of Chicago. Much to our surprise, most of his books are fairly short and even entertaining — if you like his sort of sense of humor (we’ve seen people read or view his ludicrous satire, Zukerkandle! and not crack a smile while others were practically rolling on the floor laughing).
Perhaps no two individuals have had a greater impact on American education than Robert Maynard Hutchins and John Dewey. One person’s view of them is the subject of last week's and today’s podcast and to conclude in the next one. Even if you don’t agree with everything that is said (or how it is said), it might cause you to think and start wondering where we went wrong . . .
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| Just provoking Putin's fans and felons |
On Monday, August 15, 2022, to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the end of British rule of (most of) India and set the goal for the full century mark coming up in twenty-five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “pledged to raise millions out of poverty and turn India into a developed country.” (“Economic Vow Made on Independence Day,” Wall Street Journal, 08/16/22, A-16.) He underscored his promise by declaring that “the world was looking toward India to help resolve global issues.”
Perhaps no two individuals have had a greater impact on American education than Robert Maynard Hutchins and John Dewey. One person’s view of them is the subject of today’s podcast and the next two. Even if you don’t agree with everything that is said (or how it is said), it might cause you to think and start wondering where we went wrong . . .
A number of interesting developments this week that would probably be moot if some country adopted the Economic Democracy Act, but then there probably wouldn’t be anything to write about. That not being the case:
The Biden Administration’s apparent missteps with respect to China have been a source of great consolation to Trump supporters, with neither side considering whether any of it makes sense. Of course, it must be admitted that Trump’s comments about Ukraine and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s “genius” in invading Ukraine, along with his various other troubles need something to divert attention.
Today we have an interview with Louis O. Kelso on the Harold Channer Show from 1987. In this show, Kelso is billed as the (co) author of Democracy and Economic Power, although he is better known as the co-author of The Capitalist Manifesto (1958) and The New Capitalists (1961). The subtitle of the latter is significant: “
On the bright side, if we had the Economic Democracy Act, there wouldn’t be anything to write about. That not being the case:
Putin is obsessed with something called “The New Chronology” . . . and that is . . ? “This world view is largely based on volumes of something called "The New Chronology," which is the brainchild mainly of two Russian authors, an academic and a mathematician respectively — Anatoly Fomenko and Gleb Nosovsky. One of the key premises is that dark forces tampered with all the history books in libraries across the globe at a certain point in time, wiping out or changing real versions of events and resetting dates.” Get out your tinfoil hats and be ready for a surreal ride . . .
All the signs are good regarding the need for an economic reform package along the lines of the Economic Democracy Act. The only problem is that the powers-that-be and wannabe continue to insist on doing things that have never worked and can never work:
On Monday, July 25, 2022 (halfway to Christmas), Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts published an article on page A-17 of the Wall Street Journal, “Jerome Powell’s Fed Pursues a Painful and Ineffective Inflation Cure.” We can agree with the title, and even several things Senator Warren says, but end up disagreeing with the article taken as a whole. Warren identifies a part of the problem, but then analyzes it using a very flawed paradigm, and offers exactly the wrong solution, or (more accurately) non solution.
Today we have a short but interesting presentation on Robert Maynard Hutchins. Admittedly the presentation could be a little more polished and slick, but in this case at least it’s the thought that counts:
Although the news each week seems depressingly the same, there are hopeful signs. One is the increasingly desperate nature of Russian propaganda (Ukraine using mutant soldiers and green energy is gay? Seriously?), and the utter stupidity of wasting munitions on civilian targets when their supply lines are getting plastered by HIMARS after the Russians claim to have destroyed them (see “desperate Russian propaganda,” above). The other very positive sign is that it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Economic Democracy Act is rapidly becoming the only game in town:
Today we look at abortion from a natural law perspective. In our opinion, looking at it an any other way is at best a misdirection, and at worst a serious strategic and tactical error. In particular, making it a religious issue does little good in the long run, although in the short run it makes it easier to get emotional support and raise funds.
Today’s podcast is an interesting take on how many jobs are simply there because people want or need a job to make what they call a living. While very good up to a point, it goes off track by not questioning the whole wage system mentality that leads to what they label BS jobs in the first place and the need for the Economic Democracy Act.
You would think that as world leaders (and world followers) become increasingly desperate to find “new solutions” to increasingly overwhelming problems, they might actually start looking at something new, not just a rehash of failed (usually Keynesian) programs and theories that never could work. Why not consider something that has already been proven to work, although it might upset a few apple carts and certainly damage some extremely large egos. We refer, of course, to the Economic Democracy Act. It certainly couldn’t be worse than what we’ve got now:
Breakthrough for Democracy in the Heart of America, St. Louis, Missouri
Special Correspondent Rick Osbourne
On Friday, July 1st, 2022, Republican Governor of Missouri Mike Parson signed a bill that’s designed to dramatically reduce poverty (and a myriad of related problems) in an area encompassing some of the roughest neighborhoods in St. Louis, without costing the government a dime! Moreover, as this project (known as the Heart of America Project) unfolds, it’s expected to create tens of thousands of citizens who are suddenly ECONOMICALLY PRODUCTIVE members of the local community in ways they’ve never been before.
This is a good, short overview of Aristotle’s Politics, one of the seminal works of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism. The main point that we want to highlight in this presentation is Aristotle’s fundamental assumption that human beings associate in a consciously structured institutional environment — the community or pólis — by nature, that is, political, not by accident or mere convenience or expedience as many later philosophers (and the Sophists of Aristotle’s day) would have it. “Man,” as Aristotle said, “is by nature a political animal.”
As the news comes in about the world situation, especially Putin’s War in Ukraine, the global debt crisis, the threat of famine, COVID-19, mass murders in Denmark, political assassination in Japan — just how many Horsemen of the Apocalypse are there, again? — it becomes increasingly obvious that there are serious underlying problems that are not being addressed . . . and that won’t be until we have the proper framework within which ordinary people are empowered to act with intelligence and justice instead of lashing out in desperation. We think that the Economic Democracy Act will provide the proper environment within which people can become more fully human. That’s why it’s fortunate that a book applying the concepts is on sale this weekend:
Mostly on this blog we try to address applications of the Just Third Way, with an emphasis on Economic Personalism and the Economic Democracy Act. Since February 24 of this year, we’ve been looking at how the Just Third Way program might be applied in Ukraine for the direct benefit of everyone once the Russian invasion has been repelled.
Today we have something very unusual: a talk that actually mentions constitutional scholar William Winslow Crosskey (about half an hour in), and doesn’t really go into his importance in depth, but still it’s there:
Yet again, this weeks’ news items illustrate in the most graphic manner possible that the Economic Democracy Act is the only game in town when it comes to establishing and maintaining a just economic order:
After the recent terror bombing of the shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Ukraine — and the usual Russian lies (“We thought it was empty, we were aiming at something else, and it’s all fake news, anyway”) — even President Macron of France has stopped talking about appeasing Putin and trying to negotiate a settlement . . . at least for now.
Today’s podcast is a bit rough around the edges and you may not agree with everything she says, but it does highlight the importance of Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Jerome Adler to American education . . . or what’s left of it . . .:
This week’s news items illustrate to a greater than ever before need for the Economic Democracy Act. It’s becoming increasingly evident that the people who have seized control of the global economy have no real idea what they’re doing or how to fix it. Still, we continue to let you know what’s going on:
Today’s podcast may not be the most exciting you’ve ever listened to, but it’s still important — particularly in light of the modern decay of Academia in many cases into job training, political indoctrination, and partying:
Although we start off today’s news items with something only marginally related to the Economic Democracy Act, once again we’ve discovered the centrality of widespread ownership through fundamental monetary and tax reform to be key to restoring a society that is not only just, but one in which people can actually live . . . and the Economic Democracy Act is essential for that:
Today’s
podcast is the rebroadcast of an interview with one of the authors of, The Greater Reset that is not
about the book. Instead, it’s about
CESJ, that is, the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice, founded
in 1984 and located in Arlington, Virginia . . . which provided the paradigm
for the book, The Greater Reset. Even though it's "Catholic radio," CESJ deals in the natural law, and is thus "catholic-with-a-small-c."
. . . of course, that all depends on what you mean by “Catholic Conversation.” In this case, it’s the title of the show in which we once again are talking with Catholic hosts about our book, The Greater Reset. Yes, the book is put out by a Catholic publisher, and this is a recording of a Catholic podcast, but it’s not really about religion, at least in the narrow sense. It’s about catholic-with-a-small-c principles that should guide economic, political, and even personal life.
The recent horrifying upswing in mass shootings in the United States has again focused on the question of gun control — and rightfully so. At least in today’s posting, however, we are not going to take a position on the question of gun control, but to examine the underlying assumptions and principles of a very broad spectrum of opinions on the subject.
Or should that be The Greater Reset on Archangel Radio Podcast? For today’s podcast, we again let somebody else do all the work of producing it while we just talk . . . mostly about our new book, The Greater Reset, but also about fundamental principles that should guide economic, political, and even personal life. That’s why, despite the fact that The Greater Reset is from a “Catholic publisher,” it’s really for everyone because it’s based on universal principles of natural law that apply across the board to everyone:
Again, this week we have a significant number of situations that could be settled and problems that could solved if countries adopted the Economic Democracy Act. So, why doesn’t anyone implement the EDA? Is it stubbornness, ignorance . . . or something else? Without discounting stubbornness or ignorance, recent research suggests that another factor should also be considered: that the current paradigm isn’t held by reason, but by faith.
In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s worldview is not entirely connected with reality, i.e., does not constitute “truth.” Truth, of course, means conformity with reality. Anytime you hear someone prating of a higher truth that goes beyond reality, he (or she) is lying, is mistaken, or is simply ignorant.
Despite Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s accusations of “Nazi” against anyone who has become the target of his ire, many people have commented on the resemblance of Adolf Hitler’s ideology and that of Putin, as well as other things, such as Hitler’s concept of Greater Germany as an alliance of all Aryan peoples, and Putin’s “Rusky Mir,” or “Russian World,” a Pan Slavic union of all Russian-speaking peoples under the leadership of Moscow . . . whether they want it or not.
Perhaps not unexpectedly, the news items have a depressing sameness, which will continue to be the case as long as we delay adopting the Economic Democracy Act. At that point, we can have an invigorating sameness, right? In any event, here are this week’s news items:
In today’s podcast we have an interview with the Byzantine historian Dr. Warren Treadgold, talking about the decay of modern Academia:
As has become usual, this week Putin’s War on Ukraine is the focus of the Just Third Way. Frankly, not only is the Just Third Way pretty much the only game left in town when it comes to what’s going to happen after the war, it is becoming increasingly obvious that had it been in place before the war, there would not even have been a “before” to talk about, as the war very likely would not have happened in the first place. In any event, here are this week’s news items:
Today we have Part II of II of Jeff “the Regular Catholic Guy” Garrett’s interview on The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law from TAN Books, featuring co-authors Michael D. Greaney and Dawn K. Brohawn. Ironically, given that today is Putin's Victory Day celebration, while the book was not written with Putin’s War in mind, the solution given in it to counter the “Great Reset” of Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum applies just as well — if not better — to the problems Putin has created:
. . . in a general way, of course. To paraphrase the military aphorism, no business plan survives contact with reality. A business plan, like a book outline or a military campaign, must be flexible and readily adaptable to new conditions as they change. If, on the other hand, a plan, outline, or operation is followed rigidly regardless of reality, only by chance will disaster be averted.
Today we have Part I of II of Jeff “the Regular Catholic Guy” Garrett’s interview on The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law from TAN Books, featuring co-authors Michael D. Greaney and Dawn K. Brohawn. Again, while the book was not written with Putin’s War in mind, the solution given in it to counter the “Great Reset” of Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum applies just as well — if not better — to the problems created by Putin’s insane lust for power:
The quick and easy answer to the question as to whether distributism can be used to rebuild Ukraine is yes — if the current keepers of the flame can either be convinced that their understanding of distributism might be a little off (or others can see it for themselves), some of the flaws in distributism as it has often been presented are corrected, and the authentic vision of G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc is implemented. To do that, of course, we need to know what distributism really is, not what it was transformed into even before Chesterton’s death.
Today we present Part III of III of David Battistella’s interview on The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law from TAN Books, featuring co-authors Michael D. Greaney and Dawn K. Brohawn. While the book was not written with Putin’s War in mind, the solution given in it to counter the “Great Reset” of Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum applies just as well — if not better — to the problems created by Putin’s insane lust for power:
We think it might have something to do with the fact that we consistently give a Just Third Way perspective on the current situation in Ukraine — and advocate a proposal that would help resolve things in the immediate, short, mid, and long-term, viz., the Economic Democracy Act — but this blog has experienced an extreme rise in readership this past week, with the number of “visits” by separate individuals increasing by roughly 4,250% (yes, 4,250%) above our weekly average, and the number of different countries represented rising by roughly 250%, with Russia and Ukraine (more from Ukraine) being a significant chunk of that.
One rule-of-thumb definition of insanity people use is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. In light of that, one has to question the sanity of what appears to be a new Russian offensive in Ukraine. The Russian armed forces appear to be making the same mistakes they did in their drive for Kiev in the first offensive. Now, with demoralized troops and an increasingly stiff resistance from Ukraine, they seem to be attempting the same thing all over again.
As David Battistella states in the subtitle of his podcast, The Focusing Way, “The Way is Love.” Is love just a feel-good emotion, or is there something more involved? Is there a way to turn economics from “the dismal science” into something that can deliver hope and a better life for all consistent with the demands of justice and charity? Is this question answered in The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law from TAN Books. Tune in and see the second part of the interview with Dawn K. Brohawn and Michael D. Greaney:
To give you an idea of the sort of news we’ve been getting since Putin’s War started, the latest weirdity (to coin a term) is that Putin is threatening Finland and Sweden to deploy nuclear weapons in the region . . . which has already been done. In other news:
Watching the news reports and videos coming out of Ukraine, one thing that strikes the observer is the utterly baffled response of the people of Ukraine: “Why are you here?” they say to the Russians. “What have we done to you?” Our personal contacts in that country say the same thing: Why did the Russians invade? What do they really want? Why are they killing people indiscriminately?
As David Battistella states in the subtitle of his podcast, The Focusing Way, “The Way is Love.” Is love just a feel-good emotion, or is there something more involved? Is there a way to turn economics from “the dismal science” into something that can deliver hope and a better life for all consistent with the demands of justice and charity? Is this question answered in The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law from TAN Books. Tune in and see:
It’s still too early to talk about financing the rebuilding of Ukraine (although plenty of other places in the world need it as well, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree . . . such as all of it), but it’s probably a good idea to get a place at the table before the usual thing starts to get discussed and then implemented. With that in mind, here are this week’s news items: