The stranger things get, the more they seem to stay the same. This, of course, argues that things are already so strange that they could hardly get more so. This, if nothing else, is a good reason to adopt the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible:
• Spanish Translation of Economic Personalism. Talk about perfect timing; the pope has turned into CESJ’s best salesman . . . sort of. With a new encyclical having the working title Magnifica Humanitas due out May 15, on the 135th anniversary of the groundbreaking Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Leo XIV has, in effect, thrown the gauntlet down to the modern age and raised issues many people thought were resolved with the advent of Keynesian economics and the New Deal . . . which doesn’t explain why many of the problems addressed by Keynes and the New Deal now seem worse than ever, not to mention the new problems that have cropped up recently. Possibly by coincidence, and possibly by divine intervention, CESJ’s new book, Personalismo Económico: Propiedad, Poder y Justicia para Cada Persona, the Spanish translation of Economic Personalism (free e-book of Economic Personalism is available here), is due out at the same time. We will keep you posted. Interestingly, judging from reports that have reached us of the contents of the new encyclical, it is a perfect segue into a project we have been proposing for some time: an encyclical on economic justice explaining the principles of economic and social justice on which CESJ is based, and which are described in this article we published soon after Pope Francis was elected. We draw your attention to one of the comments: “Excellent article, I’m so glad to finally read something on Catholic Social Teaching that makes logical sense. Thank you!” Perhaps Pope Leo XIV is aware of the Just Third Way and is setting things up for us. We’ll get to work on it. A follow-up encyclical on the upcoming centenary of Quadragesimo Anno in 2031 would seem to be a natural progression — and we may have just what the doctor(s) [of the Church] ordered — and from a non-religious perspective which should appeal to everyone, everywhere. It could also lead to adoption of the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| The notorious Tyrannosaurus Debt |
• Should We Worry About the National Debt? It seems like a no-brainer, but while some people are not worried at all about the size of the national debt, others keep sounding the alarm. (For the record, we are probably grouped among the alarmists.) Among the alarmists this week is CBS News. As it said in an article, “America’s national debt has surpassed the country’s gross domestic product for the first time since World War II, marking a stark increase in the government's fiscal burden. Debt held by the public stood at $31.27 trillion at the end of April, edging above the U.S. GDP of $31.22 trillion between April 2025 and March 2026, according to a recent analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.” Frankly, the only thing that is going to bring an end to this is the monetary and tax reforms in the Economic Democracy Act (EDA). Once the government is restricted to tax revenues for the wherewithal to run the state, and people can be productive enough to pay the entire cost of government, the debt can be paid down — eventually — and government kept within bounds.
• What’s So Suspicious? Just because some people seem to be extremely prescient in guessing exactly how the market is going to behave a short time before the president says or does something, other people are jumping up and down and complaining the ones who got lucky (or had a crystal ball) must be engaged in insider trading or some such silly thing. According to the Business Insider . . . odd coincidence, that . . . “Oil prices have plunged on reports that the US and Iran are nearing a peace deal, a development that paid off big for traders that happened to be shorting crude just ahead of the news. Data flagged by the The Kobeissi Letter shows that nearly $1 billion of crude oil shorts were opened roughly an hour before an Axios report that the US and Iran were nearing a deal to end the war. . . . Ex-JPMorgan quant, Marko Kolanovic, said [the data] showed ‘blatantly manipulated markets.’” What a bunch of whiners. Just because the Department of Justice is investigating another instance of incredible luck . . . Of course, if the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) were to be adopted, we wouldn’t have to worry about such things, but then what would we do for entertainment?
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| Dullsville |
• Rethinking Retirement Again. What is the perfect age to retire? How about “never”? We’re not joking; for some time, we’ve thought the whole idea of “retirement” ought to be reconsidered. It’s an artificial concept coming out of the wage system, in which someone is forced to work for X number of years in a job he or she hates, then can “retire” and do what he or she wants . . . at which time they are too tired, too poor, or too both to do anything. As reported in an article in Moneywise, “When it comes to retirement, timing is everything. If you leave the workforce too early, you could increase the chances of outliving your savings. And if you retire too late, you may find yourself more exposed to age-related health risks with less time to enjoy your golden years.” See what we mean? Adding to that, Fortune magazine just had an article saying how retirement is killing people . . . sort of. As the article states, “While economists sound alarms about Gen Z unemployment, new research points to a quieter crisis: Gen X workers retiring years before 65—and paying a steep cognitive price for it. . . . [and] new research suggests it’s not just money early retirees need to worry about, it’s also their health. A working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that among Americans ages 51 to 75, leaving employment led to cognitive decline, while consistent employment caused greater sustained cognition.” It seems that you get nailed whichever way you go. The only real solution is to get away from the whole jobs/income/wage system paradigm altogether, let people own capital that does the grunt work, while they do the work of civilization. And that can be done by adopting the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) as soon as possible.
• Jobs-Jobs-Jobs. We suppose it’s good news for quite a few people, but the eternal emphasis on jobs-jobs-jobs instead of ownership-income-independence is disheartening. Plus there may be a downside or two to adding jobs that isn’t immediately evident, despite what is reported in an article in Yahoo! Finance: “US job growth continued to strengthen in April as the unemployment rate remained flat, offering another sign that the labor market might be stabilizing. Payrolls rose by 115,000 last month, and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated a median gain of 65,000 jobs following March’s blockbuster increase of 178,000 roles, which was revised upward to 185,000. February’s jobs report was revised lower to a loss of 156,000 positions.” Of course, what no one is mentioning is the possibility that people are now willing to take jobs they resisted taking before due to worsening economic conditions — the jobs cited are mostly “blue collar” type jobs, many of which could easily disappear with the advance of AI. These could — and often do — disappear as fast as they were “created.” The only real answer is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| Gabi, the Mechanical Monk |
• I, Robot. It seems that the traditional Buddhist chant beginning, “Om,” has been changed to “Ohm.” As reported in Deseret News, “Gabi, the humanoid robot [is] now a Buddhist monk. . . . The robot’s inclusion in the ceremony, hosted by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, is part of a larger movement to make Buddhism more relevant to today’s youth, per the New York Times. ‘The ordination of a robot signifies that technology must be used in accordance with the values of compassion, wisdom and responsibility,” the order said in a statement, “and symbolizes new possibilities for the coexistence of humans and technology.’ . . . Hong Min-suk, a manager at the Jogye Order, told the Times he hoped Gabi would help spread Buddhism in a progressive era.” Ummm . . . okay. It sort of pulls the rug out from under the traditional idea of a religious vocation to have an artificial being programmed to take vows (what happened to free will?), but who are we to judge? We don’t know much about Buddhism, but it doesn’t seem quite, er, kosher. As the article goes on, “‘The ordination of a robot signifies that technology must be used in accordance with the values of compassion, wisdom and responsibility, the order said in a statement, “and symbolizes new possibilities for the coexistence of humans and technology.’” The move was not without controversy. Some Buddhists thought it “ridiculous and insulting,” and declared monastic vows require a sentient, living being capable of understanding moral discipline.” We hate to tell them, but that can be done easier simply by making human beings owners of robots, not turning robots into spiritual leaders for human beings. It seems more of a surrender than an advance. Still, how can human beings become owners of robots? By adopting the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• 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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