For the 2025 Year-End News Roundup we decided to try something different and just take what seemed to be the most significant story from each month . . . more or less, and there is no doubt some valid disagreement regarding our admittedly quick and dirty choice. Whatever you think should have been selected, however, the most significant story was one that didn’t happen: adoption of the Economic Democracy Act:
• January. The most important Just Third Way story from January of 2025 was the death of Reverend Virgil Wood. As we reported, “We were saddened early this week to learn of the death of long-time CESJ supporter Reverend Virgil Alexander Wood (1931-2024). Rev. Wood was an ordained Baptist minister who became actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He served with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a member of his National Executive Board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for the last ten years of Dr. King’s life and coordinated the Commonwealth of Virginia in the historic March on Washington in 1963. Dr. Wood received his B.A. degree from Virginia Union University, his Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts, and his Doctorate in Education from Harvard University. He served as Dean and Director of the African American Institute, and Associate Professor at Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was a visiting Lecturer, Researcher, and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. As a member of the board of the Institute for the Study of Economic Systems, founded by Louis O. Kelso with Norman Kurland as its executive director, Dr. Wood introduced Dr. King to Kelso’s ideas, after which Dr. King encouraged Dr. Wood to spread Kelso’s ownership message. Dr. Wood was the author of several books, including Introduction to Black Church Economic Studies (1974) and In Love We Trust (2005) His concept of a Biblical Jubilee served as the foundation for the Jubilee Bible project which resulted in the African American Jubilee Edition of the King James Version of the Holy Bible, published in 1999 by the American Bible Association. Section One opened with Dr. Wood’s article, “The Biblical Jubilee.” He served for many years as the pastor of the Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island.”
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| Rina Sanchinelli |
• February. The significant story from February resulted from reconnecting with an old supporter of the Just Third Way, who expressed interest in the Spanish translation of Economic Personalism (recently granted an imprimatur and in the final steps of formatting for publication). As we reported, “Solidarismo. Lic. José Recinos and Doña Rina Sanchinelli [the newly reconnected supporter of the Just Third Way], officials in the Solidarismo movement in Central America, are discussing the possibility of using the free .pdf of the Spanish translation to educate current membership and spread understanding and acceptance of the movement throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean Basin. Dr. María Teresa, the professor of commercial law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires, who did the translation, believes the book is key to helping educate the Hispanic community in both North and South America regarding the principles of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism and the possibilities of a better life for every child, woman, and man in the world. This underscores the fact that the principles in the book, while framed in ‘Catholic language’ and which are derived in part from the Catholic Church’s natural law-based social teachings, are universal in application and can be accepted by people of all faiths and philosophies and in virtually any circumstances.”
• March. The significant story from March also involved the Solidarity movement. As we reported, “Rina Sanchinelli. The big news this week was a meeting this past Tuesday with Rina Sanchinelli who currently resides in Italy, not too far from Rome. Doña Rina has concluded some pressing personal business and is anxious to start advancing Solidarism and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism. As a co-founder of Unión Solidarista Guatemalteca, she may be able to reach out to Solidarność in Poland for their help for building acceptance of Solidarism and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism as applied in the Economic Democracy Act in Europe, especially as a way of assisting Ukraine in their struggle against Russia. Poland May Be Key. As can be seen in this video, it appears Poland may well be key to the effort to restructure the social order. It has been strong in its support of Ukraine, and is, in fact, the country of Solidarność which began the downfall of the Soviet Union. Further, in Donald Tusk Poland currently has the presidency of the European Union, and the country is in the forefront of those preparing to resist Russia’s current imperialist ambitions. Getting to Polish leadership may be the fastest way to have the Economic Democracy Act adopted in the European Union.”
• April. The story from April isn’t specifically related to the Just Third Way — except as a way to prevent such things from happening. As we reported, “Freedom of Speech. It is becoming increasingly dangerous to speak your mind or even think independently in some countries like China, Russia . . . the United States . . . What? Yes, you heard that right. A certain public figure is suing a certain media outlet for criticizing him unfairly, and one of the outlet’s top producers has resigned. Once upon a time, criticizing public figures was a popular sport, even an essential one. If ‘the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton,’ the ‘Liberty of America was won in the public media’ or (As ‘Marse Henry’ Watterson of Louisville reportedly lamented when told he shouldn’t criticize the government or elected officials), ‘Things have come to a helluva pass/When a man can't cudgel his own jackass.’ What’s the solution? If you can’t criticize public figures, it’s because you don’t have power, and they do. As Daniel Webster observed, ‘Power naturally and necessarily follows property.’ To get power back to ordinary people, adopt the Economic Democracy Act.”
Pope Leo XIV
• May. Given the prominence of “Catholic” (actually “natural law”) social teaching in the Just Third Way paradigm, the significant story from May was (as might be expected) the election of Pope Leo XIV. As we reported, “Pope Leo XIV. The big news this week is, of course, the election of Pope Leo XIV — and we find his choice of regnal name significant. A good portion of what we call the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism is based on work done by Pope Leo XIII, and it’s possible Leo XIV will be inspired to carry on his namesake’s legacy. To summarize Leo XIII’s argument in Rerum Novarum, just wages are important to secure a decent livelihood for workers and their families and save to buy capital despite being dependent on an employer. Broad-based ownership of capital is important because it allows all individuals and families to secure a decent livelihood without imposing a condition of dependency. Widespread capital ownership also vests people with ‘social identities’ as persons by making otherwise nominal rights to life and liberty effective. What Leo XIII left out was an effective means to finance widespread capital ownership in a way which neither infringed on the natural rights of existing owners nor harmed the common good. This is where Leo XIV has an opening and the opportunity and means to bring the vision of Leo XIII to fruition. The only thing Catholic social teaching has lacked is a financially feasible and morally sound means by which every child, woman, and man on Earth can potentially own capital without relying on coercive redistribution, charity, or government welfare. That is now possible. In 1958 lawyer-economist Louis O. Kelso and ‘Great Books Philosopher’ Mortimer J. Adler published The Capitalist Manifesto. This is a mistitled yet revolutionary plan for a just distribution of wealth to preserve a free society. They followed up in 1961 with The New Capitalists, which the subtitle describes as ‘A Proposal to Free Economic Growth from the Slavery of [Past] Savings.’ Briefly, Kelso claimed — and proved, by his invention of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) — people without capital could become capital owners by expanding commercial bank credit and paying for the new and future capital using the profits of the capital itself. Capital credit insurance and reinsurance would replace traditional forms of collateral. This has the potential to realize Leo XIII’s vision of a world which works for the benefit of everyone, both in this life and in preparation for the next — and that is what Leo XIV may have in mind, and lead to the Economic Democracy Act.”
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| Walter Reuther |
• June. Although there was no significant specifically Just Third Way story in June, the rapid spread of AI and robotic labor displacing technology is more than worthy of note. As we reported, “Fall of the Machine. Chalk it up to the victory of man over machine, but not in a good way. Walmart has decided to start phasing out self-checkout due to a massive increase in theft by people circumventing the system. This presumably means they will replace the self-checkout with human beings, but not necessarily. Nor does it mean that human wages will increase to allow for the increased productivity or at least the greater workload. In any event, there is nothing we can do about the increase in theft, but we could suggest a change in the compensation system that would allow Walmart to have more people as checkers and pay them more: shift from fixed costs to variable, at least above a certain level. By shifting as much compensation to profit sharing people can be paid more without adding to costs . . . which means less fixed costs and thus greater profits to be shared. Walter Reuther, president of the UAW, recommended this back in the late 1960s as a way of saving American industry, and it would have worked, except ‘they’ wouldn’t go for it, and as a result, a lot of American industry moved to other countries. It’s not too late to fix it, though. Adopting the Economic Democracy Act. would go a long way toward restoring the American economy back to sanity.”
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| Patricia Hetter-Kelso |
• July. In July the Just Third Way movement suffered yet another irreplaceable loss. As we reported, “Patricia Hetter Kelso, R.I.P. Patricia Hetter Kelso, a leading voice in the promotion of employee ownership and universal capitalism, died July 4 at the age of 98. She was the intellectual and business partner, wife, and coauthor with her husband, Louis Kelso, of Two-Factor Theory (1967) and Democracy and Economic Power (1986). Louis Kelso developed the idea of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1956. Patricia met Louis in 1963, and they married in 1980. Patricia was a managing partner at Kelso & Company, which Louis Kelso created as an investment banking firm to promote ESOPs. It eventually moved away from that practice after Louis Kelso’s death in 1991; Patricia Kelso retired from the firm the following year. Patricia Kelso was a passionate visionary. She argued that a system that provides ownership only to those who can afford it is neither fair nor sustainable. Her ideas carry special relevance today, when so much of the world’s wealth is concentrated in a very small number of hands while most of the population is economically insecure. Patricia argued there are practical, nonpartisan solutions to these problems.”
• August. The significant news item from August relates to the current interest in Connecticut in developing a pilot program to implement an experimental “Homeowners Equity Corporation” — of course, “experimental” isn’t quite the right word, as every part of the concept has been proven absolutely to work, but never in a way that helps ordinary people become owners. As we reported, “Another HEC of an Argument. The problem, of course, is that lacking ownership of capital or any chance of becoming a capital owner without years of reducing consumption by unrealistic amounts, many Americans have been led to believe that they can leverage the value of their home, buying more than they can really afford in the hope that the value will rise and they can ‘flip’ the home for a profit to cover the increased cost . . . whereupon they go and ‘invest’ the profits in another home, buying more than they can afford in the hope of repeating the maneuver. Unfortunately, as has happened too many times in the past (there is a good reason why the popular image of a haunted house is an overbuilt and overpriced Victorian monstrosity from the early 1890s — people bought houses they couldn’t afford and left town in the night when the mortgages went underwater). It’s happening again, just as it did in the early 2000s (and 1890s). People are making “huge gambles” buying houses they can’t afford in the hope of making a profit on them. The solution? How about the Homeowners Equity Corporation (HEC)? It’s a part of the Economic Democracy Act.”
Bagels
• September. For September, it’s not so much a news story as a CESJ fundraising opportunity. As explained by a contributor, “Microsoft Rewards. It might be worth a shot. Recently we heard from J.A., one of our faithful readers and CESJ members who had a suggestion for the CESJ core group. As one individual commented, ‘I thought J.A.’s suggestion for people to donate their Microsoft points from purchases to CESJ was a nice little blurb for your weekly News Notes. We want to highlight any initiative from people in or network to help CESJ and the cause. Here’s my slightly edited version of J.A.’s note:’ ‘Without effort (almost like the Economic Democracy Act), I’ve been earning Microsoft Rewards. It’s not much but every little bit helps. And imagine 100 people each donating their rewards. If only $5.00 a month, that’s a nice piece of change: office supplies and the electric bill. Or maybe a bagel. J.A.’”
• October. For October, the significant story is about saving . . . not the necessity of it, but the manner of it. Relying on past savings (cuts in consumption) can be disastrous, while relying on future savings (increases in production) can bring prosperity, as Louis Kelso demonstrated. As we reported, “How Much Should You Save? An article in BankingRates gives one expert’s opinion as to how much you should save (i.e., how much you should cut consumption) to have enough for retirement. According to Anita Kinoshita, ‘If you were debt free, had zero saved for retirement, and had no short-term savings planned, saving 20% of your post-tax income would mean you could retire in 37 years. Now, 20% saved (or invested) is arguably better than 0, but are you okay with being dependent on a paycheck for 37 more years?’ She modifies this a bit, but it still requires massive saving . . . which means massive cuts in consumption, and a consequent massive drop in GDP and a leap into a recession or depression. Notably, those countries that have massive individual saving are also massive exporters; in other words, other countries’ consumers are making up for domestic non-consumption. The solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act. and turn every producer into a consumer and vice versa.”
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| Ronald Reagan |
• November. In November we looked at the problem of rapidly advancing technology, especially AI, and its effect on labor income. As we reported, “Who Will Buy? Many eons ago, as then-governor Ronald Reagan liked to relate, the late labor statesman Walter Reuther, then-president of the United Auto Workers, was touring a largely automated Ford automobile factory and the Ford executive guiding Reuther through the plant joked that Reuther would have a hard time collecting union dues from the machines. Reuther immediately retorted, ‘You’ll have an even harder time selling them automobiles.’ As AI advances with quantum leaps and replaces jobs at an accelerating rate, this is starting to occur to more and more people. According to Business Insider, this has occurred even to the so-called “godfather of AI”: ‘[Bernie] Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, kicked off the discussion by asking whether multibillionaires like Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and Larry Ellison, a cofounder of Oracle, have considered the impact on working-class people when making enormous investments in AI and robotics. “They should be, but I don't think they are,” Hinton said in response, “And I think many of them haven't really absorbed canes, that if the workers don't get paid, there's nobody to buy their products, and they haven't really thought through the massive social disruption we'll get if we get very high unemployment.”’ Again, the solution is to link people’s income to ownership of capital, which is doing the production and get away from linking people’s income absolutely to ownership of labor, which is being phased out by advancing technology. And that’s yet another reason to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.”
A slight problem of adequate funding.
• December. The more we hear about the so-called “Trump Accounts” (or the Trump Center for the Performing Arts, the Trump Class Battleships, the Trump Tariffs, the Trump-Epstein Rump Bump, or just about anything else), the less we like it. There just doesn’t seem to be any silver lining to this from a Just Third Way perspective. As we reported, “Oligarchic Obligations? Yes, with great power comes great responsibility . . . unless you can weasel out of it by substituting something cheaper. What is the chief obligation of a human being? To comply with nature and pursue the good. (That is, like, so profound and Aristotelian.) So, what does that mean in practical, i.e., economic, terms? It means carrying out acts of social justice and making it possible for everyone to become productive and take care of themselves. Are the so-called ‘Trump accounts’ acts of social justice? No way. They do nothing to change the system to empower people and leave people as dependent as before on the currently rich and powerful. Nowhere is this more evident than with the current administration’s plea to the ultra-wealthy to fund the accounts. As reported in the Washington Post, ‘The Trump administration wants to supplement taxpayers’ contributions to newborn stock market accounts by soliciting donations from some of the nation’s wealthiest people and corporations, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday. . . . Bessent said the administration was launching a “50-state challenge” to draw additional ultra-wealthy individuals to the cause. “The president is calling on our nation’s business leaders and philanthropic organizations to help us make America great again by securing the financial future of America’s children,” Bessent said.’ Bologna. It does nothing of the sort. This is simple redistribution and leaves the recipient dependent as before. The only real solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.”
• Greater Reset “Book Trailers”. We have produced two ninety-second “Book Trailers” for distribution (by whoever wants to distribute them), essentially minute-and-a-half commercials for The Greater Reset. There are two versions of the videos, one for “general audiences” and the other for “Catholic audiences”. Take your pick.
• The Greater Reset. CESJ’s book by members of CESJ’s core group, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law is, of course, available from the publisher, TAN Books, an imprint of Saint Benedict Press, and has already gotten a top review on that website. It can also be obtained from Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon, or by special order from your local “bricks and mortar” bookstore. The Greater Reset is the only book of which we’re aware on “the Great Reset” that presents an alternative instead of simply warning of the dangers inherent in a proposal that is contrary to natural law. It describes reality, rather than a Keynesian fantasy world. Please note that The Greater Reset is NOT a CESJ publication as such, and enquiries about quantity discounts and wholesale orders for resale must be sent to the publisher, Saint Benedict Press, NOT to CESJ.
• Economic Personalism Landing Page. A landing page for CESJ’s latest publication (now with an imprimatur), Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person, has been created and can be accessed by clicking on this link. Everyone is encouraged to visit the page and send the link out to their networks.
• Economic Personalism. When you purchase a copy of Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person, be sure you post a review after you’ve read it. It is available on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble at the cover price of $10 per copy. You can also download the free copy in .pdf available from the CESJ website. If you’d like to order in bulk (i.e., 52 or more copies) at the wholesale price, send an email to info@cesj.org for details. CESJ members get a $2 rebate per copy on submission of proof of purchase. Wholesale case lots of 52 copies are available at $350, plus shipping (whole case lots ONLY). Prices are in U.S. dollars.
• Sensus Fidelium Videos, Update. CESJ’s series of videos for Sensus Fidelium are doing very well, with over 155,000 total views. The latest Sensus Fidelium video is “The Five Levers of Change.” The video is part of the series on the book, Economic Personalism. The latest completed series on “the Great Reset” can be found on the “Playlist” for the series. The previous series of sixteen videos on socialism is available by clicking on the link: “Socialism, Modernism, and the New Age,” along with some book reviews and other selected topics. For “interfaith” presentations to a Catholic audience they’ve proved to be popular, edging up to 150,000 views to date. They aren’t really “Just Third Way videos,” but they do incorporate a Just Third Way perspective. You can access the playlist for the entire series. The point of the videos is to explain how socialism and socialist assumptions got such a stranglehold on the understanding of the role of the State and thus the interpretation of Catholic social teaching, and even the way non-Catholics and even non-Christians understand the roles of Church, State, and Family, and the human persons place in society.
Those are the happenings for this week, at least those that we know about. If you have an accomplishment that you think should be listed, send us a note about it at mgreaney [at] cesj [dot] org, and well see that it gets into the next “issue.” Due to imprudent and intemperate language on the part of some commentators, we removed temptation and disabled comments.
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