News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 40

The fluctuations in the stock market are increasing in magnitude, which ought to concern people more than it does.  It doesn’t, but that won’t stop us from offering what we believe to be the best solution to the problem that many people simply refuse to acknowledge exists.  Financial trivia: most financial panics have taken place in the Fall, around September and October.  Just sayin’.

Are “The Rich” Criminals?, III: By What Authority?

Back in 1904, Robert Hugh Benson published his lengthiest novel, By What Authority?, a fictional account of England under Elizabeth I.  It’s so long that one purchaser claimed he bought it but never read it, and so gave it a “one star” review on Amazon without knowing what the book was even about.  It was just too big and cumbersome, according to him.  (His loss.)

Are “The Rich” Criminals?, II: Innocent Until PROVEN Guilty

Yesterday we raised the obvious question that arises when people claim that coerced redistribution of existing wealth belonging to “the rich” is the working of God’s law: how do we know that what we’re demanding is actually God’s law?  We concluded that, in accordance with reason, we cannot prove, that is, know, that something is, in strict fact, God’s law.  We cannot, therefore, claim to be enforcing God’s law when we cannot prove that it is, in fact, God’s law.

Are “The Rich” Criminals?, I: God’s Law

Recently we had a short essay on “distributive justice” accepted by Light and Heat Ministries.  You can find the piece here.  The point was one we’ve made many times in this blog: that “distributive justice” does not mean redistribution of existing wealth on the basis of need, but that each participant in a common endeavor receives output in strict proportion to the relative value of his or her input.  Redistribution may be essential as an expedient in an emergency, but it is not a solution to growing wealth and income gap, or to widespread poverty.

Some Thoughts on Money and Credit

Recently we had a reader ask a few questions about monetary policy under CESJ’s proposed Capital Homesteading program.  This is understandable, as the vast majority of experts in money, credit, banking, and finance are locked into “Currency School” assumptions, while the Just Third Way is based on “Banking School” assumptions.  Trying to understand the Banking School from the perspective of the Currency School is virtually impossible, as the Currency School takes some assumptions from the Banking School, but not all.

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 39

The stock market is, as usual, booming . . . which is oddly, the same thing we said a few weeks ago . . . and have been saying for quite some time.  That is, when we’re not noting a drastic plunge.  Why no one seems to be worried about the increased volatility of the market, and the fact that there seems to be nothing behind the much-touted “recovery” except for tremendous amounts of government debt and toxic assets is a little puzzling.

“Enthusiasm” and the Act of Social Justice

We’ve decided that the reason Monsignor Ronald Knox, the third member of the Chesterton-Sheen-Knox Reason Triumvirate, has been pretty much brushed aside is that he was a trifle too . . . we’ll say “sarcastic” at times.  “Unvarnished” or “uncomfortable” would be a better and probably more descriptive way of putting it, but whatever you call it, those intellectual zingers that Knox kept inserting into his writing seem to make people uneasy, and don’t give them anything to distort or twist all out of shape so they can misrepresent his thought.

Fulton J. Sheen on Natural and Supernatural, Capitalism and Socialism

A lot of people remember that the late Fulton Sheen had a “thing” about socialism.  He was agin’ it.  He didn’t like the way that the communist form of socialism tried to abolish God.  He also didn’t like the way that socialists played fast and loose with the truth, accusing others of the very thing of which they were guilty.  Not that he was all that enthusiastic about capitalism, however.

A Note on Subsidiarity and Social Justice

Some people define the concept of subsidiarity as the State doing whatever the individual cannot do for him- or herself.  More accurately, the Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary (a supporting, rather than subordinate) function.  The central authority thereby performs only those tasks that cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level.

Christian Roots of the Caliphate

One of the most disturbing things about the radical Islamic movement is the insistence on imposing Sharia (religious) Law under a new Caliphate, in which the head of state is also head of the religion, and government enforces purely religious doctrines and practices.  This violates the traditional separation of Church, State, and Family that characterizes political theory based on the laws and customs of the ancient Roman Res Publica — the Republic.

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 38

Things are starting to pick up in the Just Third Way as people come off their summer breaks and start back in on the work of civilization -- or, at least, saving civilization so its work can continue.  The events of this week may have been few in number, but they make up in significance what they lack in quantity:

The Ultimate Irony (Economically Speaking), or Opportunity?

Once in a while we get comments from Austrian school economists about how binary economics is completely off the wall, a cluster of errors, inflationary nonsense . . . you see the drift.  When people disagree on matters monetary, pretty much anything goes if it undermines the other person’s position.

Buying Time, II: When the Solution is the Solution

Yesterday we looked at the problem of viewing redistribution as a solution instead of as an expedient to buy time on the way to developing and implementing a solution.  We decided that, consistent with common sense and Say’s Law of Markets (which is an application of principles of common sense, e.g., you can’t consume something that hasn’t been produced), viewing redistribution in any form as anything other than a short term expedient is not a good idea.

Buying Time, I: When the Solution is the Problem

Many people agree that something must be done, and done now, about the growing wealth and income gap.  When you add other problems, such as the mounting debt crises (government, student, and consumer), the alleged “recovery” from the “Great Recession/Depression,” spreading political instability, and a host of others, you end up with a seemingly hopeless situation.

A Question of Semantics: “Capital” v. “Capital-ism”

Every so often someone expresses concern over CESJ’s use of the word “capital.”  Isn’t this a bad word?  Wouldn’t it be better to use a friendlier term like “productive” or “creative” wealth?  After all, we don’t want to alienate potential supporters who are rightfully outraged at the abuses we see in the capitalist system.

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 37

The stock market is, as usual, booming . . . which is odd, considering just how many people are without both capital and jobs, how big the debt has grown (pushing $134 trillion as of noon today, if you include both “funded” and “unfunded” liabilities), and the way the government insists on spending money it doesn’t have like a drunken sailor on leave.

Fulton Sheen Suspended . . . Again?, V: Possible Source of the Solution

With the recent news about Fulton Sheen’s “cause” for canonization being suspended, we are faced with the possibility of a very Chestertonian paradox relating to the “American Chesterton”: the bad news of the suspension could be very good news, indeed.  It could, in our opinion, be a signal that the American hierarchy is finally going to be forced to deal with the problems created by Monsignor John A. Ryan and settle them, once and for all.

Fulton Sheen Suspended . . . Again?, IV: Source of the Problem

In a purely speculative exercise, and assuming that the whole fight over his corpse is a diversion, we’ve been putting forth what we think are some reasons why Fulton Sheen’s “cause” for canonization may have been put on hold.  Oddly enough, we think we might have come up with a plausible reason — keeping in mind that “plausible” does not mean “probable,” and that “probable” does not mean “I-really-want-this-to-have-happened-therefore-it-did.

Fulton Sheen Suspended . . . Again?, III: Faith v. Reason . . . Again?

Yesterday we reviewed very briefly Fulton Sheen’s stand on the natural law, justice, charity, and all that sort of thing.  We believe that he is fully consistent with the principles of the Just Third Way . . . or that the principles of the Just Third Way are fully consistent with him; whichever way you want to take it.

Fulton Sheen Suspended . . . Again?, II: Not to Worry

Last week we started discussing the recent suspension of the “cause” of Fulton Sheen.  Naturally, we covered why on earth it was even newsworthy for the Just Third Way: he was a champion of reason and justice.  That should be enough. We also mentioned why the suspension of his “cause” is a matter of concern even to a non-religious organization.

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 36

The “experts” are now starting to predict a “fallback” or “correction” in the stock market.  This is something we’ve been warning about for some time.  Like most “booms,” the rapid, even drastic increase in stock prices unconnected with a sound economy, full production, and widespread capital ownership in an economy in which capital grossly out-produces labor has a very hollow sound when thumped, accounting for that booming sound.

Fulton Sheen Suspended . . . Again?, I: What’s the Story?

Last week we learned that the “cause” for Fulton Sheen’s canonization has been suspended.  This was a surprising and disappointing development, even to non-Catholics who would like to see such a great thinker and champion of justice honored.

Enthusiasm!

Item Number 6 on the CESJ Code of Ethics is Enthusiasm.  As the Code states, “Fear not the heat, excitement or intensity of debate. This passion is healthy and natural for those committed to the pursuit of the Truth. Don’t throw cold water on the normal exhilaration and emotions people feel when they are reaching out to the borders of reason and new ideas.”

No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition!, II: Social Justice is the Solution

Yesterday we looked at what you can’t do: mix politics and religion.  When we start basing things in the realm of natural law, or human positive law based on the natural law, on faith, we’re just asking for trouble.

No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition!, I: Don’t Mix Politics and Religion

A while back one of our readers made some comment to the effect that what the world needs now is another Inquisition to whip people (and things) into shape, and get some morality back in society.  We assume our reader meant the actual Inquisition, not one of the various myths that have grown up around the institution.  (Cf. Edward Peters, Inquisition. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1989.)

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 35

One year ago this week CESJ published the Just Third Way Edition of Fulton J. Sheen’s Freedom Under God.  If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, be sure to do so.  Quantities are not limited — we encourage you to purchase as many as meet your needs — but Sheen’s message has an increasing importance and immediacy for today, and the sooner word gets out, the better.

“Owner Take All”

A week or so ago, Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson gave his opinion of the current economic situation and what should be done about it in “Owner-take-all” (The Washington Post, 08/28/14, A17).  On looking through our records, we realized that we had written a number of similar letters to the Post regarding similar opinions expressed by Mr. Meyerson in previous, also similar columns.

Happy Capital Day!, III: How to Make Everyone an Owner

Finishing off our Capital Day Trilogy, today we look at the 800-pound gorilla in the room: if capital ownership is so good, and the rights of private property are to “be held sacred and inviolable” (Rerum Novarum, § 46), how are people without capital supposed to get capital if they can’t get it from the people with capital?

Happy Capital Day!, II: The Capital Question

In the late 1860s, the English political economist William Thomas Thornton published On Labour: Its Wrongful Claims and Rightful Dues, Its Actual Present and Possible Future, which he revised in 1870.  In the book, Thornton recognized that both workers and owners of capital have rights.  The problem was how to sort them out and deal with everyone justly.

Happy Capital Day!, I: The Theories of Labor

We’re anticipating a little, but we think that today should be celebrated as “Capital Day,” or (if you prefer) as “Widespread Direct Ownership of Capital Day” (“WDOOCD”), which just rolls off the tongue.  The only question in the minds of our millions of viewers is . . . why?

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 34

Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of the Just Third Way Edition of Fulton J. Sheen’s Freedom Under God.  If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, be sure to do so.  Quantities are not limited — we encourage you to purchase as many as meet your needs — but Sheen’s message has an increasing importance and immediacy for today, and the sooner word gets out, the better.  In the meantime:

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

What with matters in Texas and Missouri and points outside and in-between boiling over (or at least coming to a simmer), perhaps we need to take a look at what Mortimer J. Adler (co-author with Louis O. Kelso of The Capitalist Manifesto and The New Capitalists) considered one of the most serious philosophical mistakes of the modern age: the confusion over the difference between knowledge (which is always true) and opinion (which may be true, but has not been proved).

Tax Inversion v. Tax Evasion

As we understand it (as it was brought forcibly to mind with the Great Tim Horton’s v. Burger King Controversy . . . Timbits, anyone?), if a U.S. company moves its headquarters to another country, it can pay corporate income taxes at a lower rate.  Given that the United States now ranks number one of countries in the industrialized world with high corporate tax rates, this is a great incentive to move (even more) industry out of the country.

A Legal Amateur’s Look at Roe v. Wade

Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, or even if you just plain don’t care, you should be concerned with the legal reasoning in the landmark case, Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)).  The decision was a remarkable one in many respects, at least as it appears to someone who, while not an attorney, has some familiarity with constitutional law and basic logic.

“Can’t Feed ’Em? Don’t Breed ’Em.”

The title of this posting is something that’s appearing on bumper stickers lately.  Or it could have been around for a while.  We tend to concentrate on the traffic and other things than bumpers when we’re driving.  That staring eyeball from President Obama’s campaign didn’t help any.  It’s kind of creepy.  Anyway —

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 33

The stock market is, of course, booming, although there doesn’t seem to be much of anything there except a lot of sound and the fury, signifying nothing.  After the event-filled trip to Cleveland, this has been a quiet week for the network:

Votes, Jobs, and Welfare

We missed it, but that’s nothing unusual.  On August 18, 1920, Tennessee ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote.  (And, as we might expect, there was a flurry of cartoons showing women refusing to state their ages in order to prove they were of age. . . . 1920s humor.)  Of course, Wyoming had extended the franchise to women decades before, but that was the Wild West, where men were men and women were glad of it, so it didn’t count.

Midsummer Tutorial on Social Justice, III: Civil Society v. Domestic Society

Today we conclude our brief series on social justice.  (We told you it was going to be brief.)  So far we’ve covered the definition of social justice, and why social justice and individual charity are two different things.  To grossly oversimplify, social justice is directed to the common good, while individual charity takes care of individual goods when individuals can't take care of their own goods.

Midsummer Tutorial on Social Justice, II: Individual Virtue v. Social Virtue

Yesterday we began our refresher course on social justice.  We looked at what social justice is.  Today we look at what social justice is not, that is, how it is distinguished from individual justice and, especially, individual charity.  This can get a little complex.  The most important thing to realize here is that there is a difference between individual goods and social goods, and thus individual justice and social justice.

Midsummer Tutorial on Social Justice, I: Introduction

It’s common these days (or any days, for that matter) to read or hear something to the effect that feeding the hungry, paying a living wage, providing healthcare, or any multitude of other things is “social justice.”  Trying to abstract the nature of social justice from such statements or declarations, we reasonably conclude that “social justice” means meeting people’s needs on a large scale, rather than looking after people individually or on a small scale.

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 32

The Big News this week is the CESJ core group’s trip to Cleveland, Ohio.  A great deal of work was done on this trip.  The schedule was so full that both sightseeing tours were cancelled, no visits or calls were made to friends and family, but the results were well worth it.  The only downside was that somebody forgot to set up a meeting with Drew Carey to discuss how much better Cleveland could rock under the Just Third Way:

Womb With a View

Last week the buzz around some FaceBook groups was all about recent advances in the technology of artificial wombs.  With reservations, we think that this could be a good thing.  It has the potential to address certain concerns that come up when discussing a “pro-life economic agenda” geared toward removing all economic pressure or justification for abortion.

The Pursuit of Happiness

A (very) short time after we posted Monday’s blog concerning the Fulton Sheen’s call for an economic declaration of independence, we got a comment from a reader.  As he said, “My American Government teacher in high school always insisted that ‘pursuit of happiness’ meant the pursuit of property. Would you agree with that?”

Does Social Justice Lead Away from God?

A week or so ago we received a link to a review of An Anxious Age: The Post Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of America (New York: Image Books, 2014), by Joseph Bottum, former editor of First Things magazine.  The review raised some questions about the general understanding of social justice in our society.

A Declaration of Economic Independence

In 1940, the late Fulton J. Sheen had a few comments on what he meant by “Freedom Under God,” which — by no coincidence — just happened to be the title of the book he was writing at the time.  In the chapter on “Communism, Capitalism, and Liberty” on page 75 of the 2013 Just Third Way Edition, Sheen listed what he called “the Three Declarations”:

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 31

The Summer Slow Down has not hit the Just Third Way.  The CESJ Fellow from Belgium has been working very productively, contacts are being made, and outreach efforts are increasing.  Last week’s press release about the naming of Father John Trigilio and Deacon Joseph Gorini to the CESJ Board of Counselors was picked up by a number of media outlets, while other potential contacts and alliances are being surfaced all the time:

Church, State, and Humanity, VII: The Solution

When everything is up for grabs, and there is no concept of anything resembling an absolute, then society will dissolve in chaos.  This can be gradual, as we have seen in the United States, or almost in the blink of an eye, as we saw in post-World War I Germany and Austria-Hungary.  Once the solid anchor of private property is gone from a society, pure moral relativism always takes over, especially if order is restored by someone or a group that forces its personal vision on the rest of society, as Hitler and the Nazis did in the 1930s.

Church, State, and Humanity, VI: The Effect on Civil and Religious Society

As we have seen in this series, there is massive confusion these days over the respective roles of faith and reason, charity and justice, supernatural law and natural law, where rights come from, who has them, and the meaning and purpose of life.  (We don’t get into the small issues on this blog!)

Church, State, and Humanity, V: The Source of Rights

In the previous two postings in this series, we outlined what happens when people begin distorting the concepts of Church and State to achieve some private end or realize a personal goal or interpretation.  This, of course, violates one of the principal “laws” of social justice, that the common good (that vast network of institutions within which humanity acquires and develops virtue) must remain inviolate:

Church, State, and Humanity, IV: A Fundamental Change in the Idea of Religion

Last week we saw that, as a result of the application of bad ideas about natural law, virtue, and the role of the State, the whole concept of civil society has changed.  People — human beings — are no longer considered sovereign, with inalienable rights that automatically define them as persons.

News from the Network, Vol. 7, No. 30

While a number of other things have happened this week, the big news from the network is that two key people have accepted appointments to the CESJ Board of Counselors. Please feel free to copy the press release or link to it: