While the world situation seems to be getting more surreal by the hour, at least there may be a break coming with the election of a new pope . . . who might be open to hearing about the Economic Democracy Act:
Pope Leo XIV
• 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.
• Recession? What Recession? According to “the experts,” people who have loads of money and are speculating in the stock market are not worried about any recession . . . why should they? They have so much money it has ceased to mean anything to them. Money in essence is only supposed to be the means by which people exchange what they produce. It has become something considered valuable in and of itself, however, and thus a barrier instead of a help to people becoming productive. What is the solution? For every person to have access to the opportunity and means of being productive and thus able to consume, so money can be relegated to its proper place in people’s lives. This can best be done by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• A New Economic Message. It appears that to Make America Great Again for the rich few, the non-rich many are going to have to suck it up, pay more, and get less. That, anyway, is the latest message coming out of the current administration. The irony, of course, is that none of the policies is really necessary to make America or anywhere else great again, or even a good place to live. All that is necessary is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and greatness will follow.
• Fed Head a Fool? Now, we are the first to admit that we do not agree with the Keynesian policies of the Federal Reserve and thus the way Jerome Powell is running the institution. The fact is, though, while we disagree, we have to admit that he is trying to be consistent within his framework — and at least he has a framework. President Trump, however, is calling him a fool for not following orders that don’t make sense to him. For the POTUS to say such things does not set well; it suggests a certain lack of what the Romans called gravitas and dignitas. Of course, if we were talking to Powell, we would suggest he get behind the Economic Democracy Act., and we could discuss the reasons, pro and con, and not just call names. Name calling doesn’t solve anything, at least that we know of.
• My Way or the Highway. According to the CEO of Uber, if his drivers don’t like working for Uber, they can go somewhere else. You either take what he chooses to dish out, or you go hungry. That sounds pretty harsh for someone who relies on capital assets owned by his drivers for the success of his business. If everyone decided that yes, they could do better elsewhere — such as forming their own cooperative enterprise and getting both ownership and profits, he would be completely out of luck. Too bad he doesn’t know about 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.
#30#
