That Krazy Keynesian Math I, Prevarication and Productiveness

 To some people, economics is not merely the dismal science (thanks to the Reverend Thomas Malthus), but also the incomprehensible science . . . with increasing numbers of potential and former votaries insisting it is no longer a science, if it ever was.  Of course, followers of Keynes who always knew the Master’s economics were a religion and not a science remain solidly entrenched in their faith . . . despite the lack of a solid moral or even rational foundation.

Economic Personalism and Distributism, Part II: Analysis

    In last week’s posting on this subject, we briefly answered four questions posed by a professor about distributism and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism: 1) What lead you to become a proponent of this economic system in the first place? 2) What are a few of the most important principles of this economic system? 3) What do you see as the major advantages of this system? 4) What are the major challenges?

Economic Personalism and Distributism, Part I: Questions and Answers

  Recently a genuine college professor got in touch with us and asked us if we would mind answering a few questions about the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism.  He wanted to know how it stacks up against “distributism.”  Yes, we are aware that some (former) distributists now insist on calling the system developed by G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc “localism.”

Kelso v. Keynes on Money

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, many people seem to confuse God and money, as well as religion and finance.  This, in the modern age suffused with what people like Mortimer J. Adler have delicately referred to as “philosophical mistakes,” is a disaster, whether the result of Belloc’s purported accusation of “knavish imbecility,” unthinking self-interest, or deliberate and considered villainy.

How to Understand Money

    In the introduction to one of his satiric songs written for the late, great show That Was the Week That Was (“TW3”) performed and recorded at the late, great “Hungry I” nightclub in San Francisco (the one that closed in 1970, not the strip club that replaced it . . . sort of), the late, great Tom Lehrer made the obvious and characteristic (“Seldom has any point to make except the obvious”) ironic comment that his Christmas Carol celebrated what everyone deeply and sincerely believes in: Money.  Of course, St. Paul made a similar comment in one or other of his letters to somebody or other, that love of money is the root of all evil.

Do You Grok Kelso’s “Second Income Plan”?

 It’s a bit of cultural trivia from Robert Heinlein’s 1961 science fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land (it’s a Biblical reference), a with-it neologism that never really caught on, but had a certain vogue into the seventies among geeks and others (like us) grouped among the quasi-normal: “grok.”

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, IV: “Negative Reception”

 In the three previous postings on this subject, we have been examining (as the title of this posting suggests) why mainstream economists reject Binary Economics.  So far, we have looked at 1) Lack of Empirical and Econometric Support, 2) Heterodox and Non-Conventional Framework, and 3) Criticism of Core Concepts, Particularly “Productiveness”.  Today we look at perhaps the weakest reason, even though some in the modern world give it the greatest weight: Negative Reception by Prominent Economists: the “Non amo te, Sabidi” (“I do not like thee, Doctor Fell”) syndrome:

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, II: Heterodox and Non-Conventional

 As John Maynard Keynes famously declared in the conclusion of his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (which is not general or much of a theory, and — being obsessed with the Fabian socialist doctrine of “full employment” — has little to do with the real meaning of interest and money),

Fight Fiercely, Harvard

 Those of you who remember the very early songs by Tom Lehrer will be familiar with the gentlemanly fight song he wrote for his alma mater, Harvard.  If not, well you can listen to it here, if you are (or ah) really anxious to hear it.  That, however, is not the point of today’s posting.

Where is Pope Leo XIV Coming From?

The election of a new pope has repercussions far beyond the Catholic Church, Christianity, and even all religion.  Especially since the Catholic Church became a truly international organization with the loss of the Papal States in the 19^th century, people of goodwill everywhere look to the head of the Catholic Church as a voice for good, even if they do not always agree with what he says.

The Framework of Economic Justice: Reconnecting Persons to Society

Today’s blog posting is a selection from the book, Economic Personalism, which you can get free from the CESJ website, or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Combining Louis Kelso’s innovation in economics and finance, and with Mortimer Adler the clearly defined principles of economic justice, along with Pius XI’s revolution in social philosophy lays the groundwork for economic personalism. In this way, economic institutions — including the policies and laws governing those institutions — can be structured in a way the respects the dignity of every person. The result is a Just Third Way that transcends the flaws inherent in collectivism that manifests as socialism, and individualism that finds expression in capitalism.

The Framework of Economic Justice: Social Justice, the Feedback and Corrective Principle

Today’s blog posting is a selection from the book, Economic Personalism, which you can get free from the CESJ website, or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Today’s posting requires a little explanation.  In general, social justice is the virtue that acts directly on the common good and indirectly on individual good.  The idea that social justice is simply a replacement for individual charity and justice when those two virtues fail to operate or operate effectively is a complete misunderstanding of social justice.

The Framework of Economic Justice: The Out-Take Principle

Today’s blog posting is a selection from the book, Economic Personalism, which you can get free from the CESJ website, or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Today we look at distributive justice, the “out-take principle” that governs distributions from a common endeavor.  Distributive justice, in one sense, is an individual virtue built on commutative justice, commutative justice being the most basic form of justice.

The Framework of Economic Justice: The Input Principle

Today’s blog posting is a selection from the book, Economic Personalism, which you can get free from the CESJ website, or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Focus on Africa

Every week, it seems, brings another atrocity story out of Africa.  For people outside Africa, it’s a news item, but for those in Africa, it’s a daily occurrence.  Rather than sit around and say how terrible it is before going on to the next horror the news media delight in bringing to us, it may be time to do something about it.

Human Rights v. Property Rights

Some time ago we took part in a conference during which a participant made the statement that he was for human rights, not property rights.  This, while it garnered a large measure of applause, didn’t make any sense.  It was a little like saying he was all for meals but was against eating.  The startling fact that surprises so many people, especially today, is that property is a human right; only human beings are natural persons, and therefore only human beings have rights.

Culture Wars

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.

The State of American Education

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).

Can Distributism Rebuild Ukraine?

 

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.

The Very Model of a Modern Chestertonian

Our previous posting on this subject was an expansion of a comment we made on an article, “Catholics and Race in American History,” on the website of the Catholic World Report, a Catholic webzine.  We thought we were agreeing with the author, Kevin Schmiesing, but adding a few interesting tidbits we’ve uncovered in our research as well as a little analysis of our own.