The REAL Story of the First Social Encyclical

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at how a social encyclical should be read.  That, however, was not the point we set out to make, but an introduction to the main point.  We just wanted to be sure that our faithful readers understood that when we talk about a “social encyclical,” they know what we are talking about: a document on a natural law teaching that, while it may be expressed in religious terms, applies to the whole of society, not just Catholics.

“The Jobs We Need”

A while back, toward the end of June (the twenty-fourth, to be exact), the New York Times ran an editorial on “The Jobs We Need,” although it was evident from the fact that the piece was written by staff that they didn’t include themselves as part of us.  Anyway, we got to work and sent a letter to the editor that was never published, a slightly edited version of which we post here today:

An Eternal Question

One of the things we’ve noticed about people who call themselves capitalists or socialists is that far too often those who advocate or defend a system seem to have trouble defining it consistently, and sometimes at all.  It calls to mind what Alexis de Tocqueville said about socialism during the 1848 Revolution in France:

JTW Podcast: A Few Words on Personalism

Today we thought we'd try something a little different . . . rather than a whole lot different as we usually end up doing.  Seeing as how we have a book on "economic personalism" coming out soon, we thought we'd blogcast a video on personalism.  Don't be alarmed, however.  While we use the personalism of Pope John Paul II as the basis of our economic personalism, it's not a Catholic thing or even a religious thing, properly speaking.  You can either filter out the religious talk and opinions, or wait until we get the funding to do our own videos on personalism. . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 28

We admit that much of what is happening these days does not lend itself to brief news items.  Making matters worse, those events that are genuinely brief are not infrequently completely unrelated to the Just Third Way.  We did, however, manage to find a few things:

Citizens Land Cooperative

As we noted in the previous posting on this subject, distributism as presented by G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc had the right idea: a wide distribution of private property in capital, by which they did NOT mean a redistribution of what belongs to someone else.  (See the final comment in What’s Wrong With the World (1910).

Feudalism v. Distributism

Someone asked us recently whether we thought distributism and feudalism are pretty much the same thing.  Off the top of our head (or is that “heads”?) our first response is “no.”  After all, feudalism meant that most (if not all) land was “public” land, and people “held” the land in return for specified service(s) to the State, usually military service.  Land was not private property.

Job Security for (Personalist) Revolutionaries

A while back in response to an item touting Capital Homesteading as a possible way to bring people together and turn the economy around in our weekly Just Third Way news roundup, someone posted a comment to the effect that the original 1862 Homestead Act was (wait for it) . . . racist!  As a way of refuting our promotion of Capital Homesteading as a way of possibly establishing a little racial harmony and putting the economy back on a sound footing, the Righteous One went on to explain that the 1862 Act was “Whites Only,” and Black homesteaders were completely unheard of.

JYW Podcast: Stevenson on the Just Third Way

This week, as sort of a belated Independence Day celebration (very "sort of"), we have a video presentation of Just Third Way stalwart Guy "the Fulton Sheen Guy" Stevenson.  Sit back, watch, and enjoy:

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 27

Frankly, we don’t know what to think.  On one hand the “June Jobs Report” makes it sound as if the economy is booming, and the stock market is rising.  There is also the bit that there is an actual “worker shortage” as people refuse to take jobs as long as their unemployment benefits are paid; it seems that they are better off economically not working at all . . . at least, not that the authorities know about.  At the same time, we’re told the “jobs market” won’t recover for at least ten years.  What are we to believe, and what are we supposed to do?  Well, why not go the Just Third Way:

Was the State Made for Man, or Man for the State?

In the previous posting on this subject, we addressed the question whether the United States was founded as a “Christian nation,” and came up with the non-answer that it depends on what you mean by “Christian nation.”  We decided — that’s us, not you — that, yes, you could use that term if you didn’t mind saying something misleading, but it would be better to say that the United States was founded as a country that — with certain rather key exceptions — embodied respect for the dignity of the individual human person.

What Do You Mean By “Christian Nation”?

A couple of weeks ago an article appeared in The Christian Post on how America was departing from the values of the Founding Fathers of the United States.  The idea was that the principles espoused by the Founders were essentially Christian, and that therefore the United States is properly a “Christian nation.”

How to Read a Social Encyclical

Contrary to popular opinion, Rerum Novarum was not the first social encyclical, nor did Catholic social teaching as such begin with Pope Leo XIII.  The social doctrine of the Catholic Church, of course, is as old as the Church itself.  It was not until the early nineteenth century, however, that social teachings were treated as a specialized area of study.

JTW Podcast: Our Global Justice Movement

 

This week host Dave Hamill has a conversation with Dan Parker of the Global Justice Movement . . . you know, the “Global Justice Movement” we mention once or twice on this blog.  Dan hails from Whitecourt in Alberta, Canada, where he comes out of the social credit movement.

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 26

Are you ready yet for a sane economy and social order?  Or do you think you can stick it out with the status quo a little longer?  If your mind still isn’t made up, maybe this will help bring you to a more reasonable frame of mind:

Distributism and Economic Personalism, Part II

In our last episode (i.e., the previous posting on this subject) we mentioned that when we got around to addressing this subject again that we’d try and get to the point.  So, let’s ask again, “Are distributism and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism compatible?”  Our starting point for today’s discussion is G.K. Chesterton’s description of distributism as a policy of widely distributed private ownership of capital, with a preference for small, family-owned farms and artisan businesses.

A Commons Question

A few weeks ago we had a question about “the Commons” that, prior to the Industrial Revolution and the enclosure movement, were a (if you’ll excuse the term) common feature of everyday life for many people.  We get different forms of this question periodically, so we figured it would be a good time to answer it in a blog posting.  The question?  Were the Commons an example of agrarian socialism, i.e., land owned in common by every member of a town or village?

Distributism and Economic Personalism, Part I

Every once in a while those of us who promote what we call the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism are asked whether what we’re talking about is compatible with “distributism.”  The quick and easy answer is, “That depends on what you mean by distributism.”  Frankly, quite a few people see no difference between distributism and Fabian, democratic, or Christian socialism.

Just Third Way Podcast: Economic Democracy

One of the problems associated with the continued lockdown of life (we mean, aside from all the other problems too numerous to mention. . . .) is the difficulty of trying to come up with something new and interesting for the weekly Just Third Way podcast . . . or reasonable facsimile thereof.  Obviously, we'd prefer all new material each week, but that ain't gonna happen with the resources at our disposal.  Fortunately, however, we do have a good supply of interesting material that, if not spot-on the Just Third Way, is related to it.

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 25

It is extremely difficult, but we will try to confine our weekly news items to “Just Third Way-specific” matter.  We realize it’s becoming increasingly popular to speak in despairing terms of “the New Normal” and moan about how bad things are going to be from now on, but that’s because people keep insisting on addressing the same old problems in the same old ways, instead of implementing the Just Third Way:

How Not to End Racism or Be Socially Just

As regular readers of this blog are aware, we have examined the thought and works of noted social justice advocate Msgr. John A. Ryan (1869-1945) of the Catholic University of America.  We wanted to measure the consistency of Msgr. Ryan’s social justice doctrine with the Just Third Way understanding of social justice.  We also looked at Msgr. Ryan’s activities in regard to Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, who seems to have been a special object of attention by Msgr. Ryan.

Eternal Vigilance Committees?

Although it’s still being hashed out, the whole “Defund the Police” movement demands some kind of response.  At first glance, it sounds like a typical hysterical overreaction to an injustice or some kind of immoral behavior, i.e., “throwing the baby out with the bath.”  In response to the abuses of private ownership in capitalism, socialism calls for the abolition of private property.  Because some people abused alcohol, the 18^th Amendment and the Volstead Act banned alcohol after nearly a century of effort.

The Dignity of Ownership

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, we began this discussion a month ago after seeing an article in a webzine about the dignity of work, phrased in such a way as to suggest that it was work itself, rather than the human person doing the work, that takes priority.

JTW Podcast: The Challenge with Russell Williams

For today's Just Third Way podcast we have a special treat in store for you.  Today we have an episode of The Challenge with your host Russell Williams from December 27, 2012 featuring Dr. Norman Kurland, president of the Center for Economic and Social Justice as his guest.  Enjoy!

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 24

We are tempted to form a “Capital Homesteading Pool” to gamble on which leader(s) in which country(ies) will wise up first and implement Capital Homesteading or some other form of economic empowerment legislation instead of figuring out ways to spend more money that doesn’t exist.  We’re not against gambling — as recreation — but the idea of linking proposals for genuinely productive activity in any way to gambling is more than a little off-putting.  After all, we already have Wall Street and Congress, so why have another way to gamble?  Instead, here’s what this week has brought in the way of the Just Third Way:

The War Against Fulton Sheen (Continued)

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, Msgr. John A. Ryan was the instigator behind the sabotage of the academic career of Fulton J. Sheen at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in the late 1920s and early 1930s.  Nor (as we shall see) did Msgr. Ryan confine his campaign against Sheen to Academia.  As time went on, he was active in extracurricular activities intended to blacken Sheen’s name.

Getting Down to Solutions

A while ago on June 3 there was an interesting piece on the causes of the “civil unrest” following the death of George Floyd.  An article titled “The Solution” by Dale Ahlquist of “The Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton” appeared in Catholic World Report.

The War Against Fulton Sheen

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, there were two important stages in the development of social justice as understood in Aristotelian-Thomist philosophy.  The first was in the 1830s when, in response to the “new things” of socialism, modernism, and esotericism, Msgr. Aloysius Taparelli developed a principle of social justice.

Podcast: Getting (Meta) Physical, Part II

For today's podcast (or videocast), we present the second part of Mortimer Adler's talk on Aristotle's Metaphysics.  It's not very long and you might learn something:

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 23

Can anyone explain to us why, when the economy has been shut down, unemployment is at an all-time high, cities are being torn apart by rioting, looting, and burning, that the stock market is rocketing skyward?  We just checked: as of a moment ago as of this writing, the Dow was up 750 points.  No, you read that right, it’s not a typo.  And yet:

Interlude: A Short History of Social Justice

As described in the Wikipedia — which, despite its reputation, has its moments . . . this not being one of them — Msgr. John A. Ryan (1869-1945) of the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC “was a leading Catholic priest who was a noted moral theologian, professor, author and advocate of social justice.”

A Baffled Response

While the most frequent justification given for the explosion of violence accompanying the protests over the murder of George Floyd is a concern for racial justice, it is difficult for some of us to understand what looting and destroying black- (and white- and yellow- and green- and purple- and . . . ) owned businesses, burning churches, desecrating memorials, etc., etc., etc., has to do with racial justice, or anything else except rage.

“A Time of Great Trial”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the rise of Fulton Sheen at the Catholic University of America in the 1920s could only be called meteoric.  Not surprisingly, the advent of someone so obviously intellectually gifted not only shook up the faculty, it seems to have been taken as an actual threat, especially by those of a less orthodox and more modernist bent, such as Msgr. John A. Ryan.

JTW Podcast: Let's Get (Meta) Physical

In today's Just Third Way pod/videocast, we get metaphysical with Mortimer J. Adler, part one of two in which he discusses Aristotle's Metaphysics.  If all goes well, we will have part two of two next week.

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 22

It seems the worse things get, the higher the stock market goes.  That’s as may be, however.  What we’re interested in is what’s going on in the real world:

How Fulton Sheen Viciously Attacked Msgr. Ryan (Not)

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, Fulton J. Sheen left the Catholic University of America and transferred to the Louvain two years into a three year doctoral program due to the rapidly degenerating level of academic standards under the auspices of the noted Msgr. John A. Ryan.  Not surprisingly for one of his temper, Msgr. Ryan appears to have taken Sheen’s move as an insult or a personal attack of some kind.

The American Chesterton Annoys Msgr. New Deal

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that the Catholic Church’s so-called “Living (or Just) Wage Doctrine” of Msgr. John A. Ryan (or anyone else) is not exactly, er, kosher.  There is, of course, a “Living (or Just) Wage Discipline,” but not a doctrine.  You see, a doctrine is an unchanging principle, while a discipline is a changeable application of a doctrine.

The Living Wage and Social Justice

According to the Wikipedia entry on him, Msgr. John A. Ryan (author of A Living Wage, whom we met in the previous posting on this subject) was “a leading Catholic priest who was a noted moral theologian, professor, author and advocate of social justice.  Ryan lived during a decisive moment in the development of Catholic social teaching within the United States.”

JTW Podcast: Dr. Marwane El Alaooui

Today we have a very special Podcast from a CESJ "Fellow" who came to us from the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship program after he decided that CESJ offered the best "professional affiliation" — as did six other Fellows and a student intern from William and Mary!

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 21

The Big News this week seems to be the debates about more “stimulus” in the trillions of dollars.  We keep wondering why when we first proposed allocating $2 trillion worth of capital credit to finance new capital formation to be broadly owned and in a non-inflationary way, it was called insanely risky.  Not like issuing $6 trillion or more of new money backed only by future tax collections that might never materialize.  And then there’s this:

Monsignor New Deal

To hear some people tell it, Monsignor John Augustine Ryan (1869-1945) was not only the greatest social justice advocate who ever lived, he saved the world by inspiring and instituting the New Deal in the 1930s.  Neither claim bears up on even the most cursory examination.  As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, public, academic, and political opinion had shifted away from an ownership system, and was firmly entrenched in the wage system.

Some Labor Problems

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that where Adam Smith said a thing is worth what the customer is willing to pay for it, David Ricardo said a thing is worth the labor it cost to produce it combined with its scarcity.  We then asked the forbidden question, What if it takes immense labor to produce a unique item that nobody wants?  That’s where the “labor theory of value” gets more than a little dicey.

The Labor Theory of Value

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good wife, must be in want of a job.”  That, of course, is the famous opening line from fictional author Gianny Austin’s apocryphal novel, Property and Prejudice, a comedy of manners in which ownership of the means of production (except for an economic or political élite) is depicted as being not quite polite, and the characters spend all their time cleverly positioning themselves for higher wages and fixed benefits, and then wondering why prices are so high and why other people keep telling them what to do.

R.M. Hutchins & M.J. Adler on "the Great Books"

Okay, this is not a video with Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer J. Adler, it's a video about Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer J. Adler and the "Great Books" program.  Enjoy!

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 20

The latest news is that “the government” (meaning desperate politicians) are considering pumping another $3 trillion so people have something to spend.  Of course, we’re still baffled why an additional $3 trillion backed by government debt that is rising skyward is more secure than the $2 trillion backed by private sector hard assets we propose for Capital Homesteading, but then, we’re not politicians or academics.  All we can do is talk what seems to be common sense:

Socialism v. Capitalism v. . . . What?

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that the phrases “the dignity of labor” and “the dignity of work” might be a little ambiguous, even misleading on occasion.  For example, what do we mean by “labor”?  Do we mean work . . . or do we mean the worker?  The dignity of work is substantially different from the dignity of the worker, so it makes a great deal of difference what we mean by “labor.”

Dignity of Work or Labor v. Human Dignity

Earlier this week, Catholic World Report, a webzine, ran an article, “Nonessential Workers” and the Essential Dignity of Work.”  Reading through the article, there seemed to be some confusion about different types of work, and even work as work, as well as the concept of dignity.  It seemed to paint the situation as a single issue in black and white, while in reality it is a number of issues that get into some very gray areas.

A Measure of Reform

In the previous posting on this subject, we posted another section of our recent CESJ position paper, “Universalizing Capital Ownership.”  Today we get to the final section of the paper, dealing with the short-term emergency measures we believe to be necessary, and a brief outline of the long-term reforms to the system that need to be carried out.  Of course, if you want to read the entire paper without having to go back and read the individual postings, just click on the link above to the full paper.  It’s pretty short.

The Theory of Happiness

In today's video cast, the "Great Books" philosopher Mortimer Adler discusses Aristotle's "theory of happiness" found in Book I of the Nichomachean Ethics.  And what has this got to do with the Just Third Way?  You'll see. . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 19

As the lockdown, shutdown, quarantine, or whatever you want to call it continues, so does the scarcity of real and workable ideas on what to do about it.  For example:

A New Monetary Paradigm

In the previous posting on this subject, we continued posting sections of our recent CESJ position paper, “Universalizing Capital Ownership.”  As we said before, of course, .  Of course, if you want to read the entire paper without waiting for the parts to be posted, just click on the link.

The Unacknowledged Right

In the previous posting on this subject, we started posting a recent CESJ position paper, “Universalizing Capital Ownership,” as a series.  Of course, if you want to read the paper in one go, just click on the link; it’s not very long, although putting up the whole thing as a blog posting is a bit much at one time.

Possible Steps to Restart the Economy

Okay, when we last addressed this subject in a posting, we were in the middle of helping prepare a “subject paper” (or whatever you want to call it) on the Covid-19 virus and its economic impact.  The preparation of the paper proved to be a bit more involved than originally anticipated (although well worth the effort), so instead of closing this particular series of blog postings with a summary of the paper, we’ll end by serializing the paper itself.  Of course, if you want to read the whole paper at one go (it’s actually pretty short), you can do so by clicking on this link.

Just Third Way Podcast (Sort Of): Natural Law Theory

Today we have a short (ten minute) video on "natural law theory" which isn't bad, but it's not the best.  For one thing, it's poorly edited, with all pauses between thoughts edited out.  It tends to come off like a G&S patter trio after a bit.  There are also a number of factual errors, such as man being a social animal . . . no, political animal; we have determinable, not determinate natures.  On the whole, however, it's not bad, if you ignore the cutesy and clever language and edit out the oversimplifications and errors:

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 18

Purely by coincidence, most of the news items this week relate to the benefits of worker ownership.  We say “by coincidence,” for today is the “feast” (holiday in honor of) “Saint Joseph the Worker,” which was instituted in 1955 to counter the communists Numero Uno holiday in the workers’ calendar.  What the communists and everyone else seemed to forget, however, is that Saint Joseph was not just a worker, he was a worker-owner.  He may have been poor, but poor people can own capital, too:

The “Invisible Hand” Redux

In the previous posting on this subject, we started looking at the “Invisible Hand” of the much-excoriated Adam Smith, and realized that at least some of what Smith was accused of really had no basis in fact.  Interestingly, a fact we didn’t bring up is that, while Smith is generally portrayed as some kind of “High Priest of Capitalism” on the strength of a rather profound misunderstanding of his Invisible Hand argument, it turns out that he was actually far more labor-oriented than people suppose.

How to Have UBO (Universal Basic Ownership)

In the previous posting on this subject, we examined the case for Universal Basic Ownership as opposed to a Universal Basic Income.  We decided that Universal Basic Ownership was better on many grounds, one of the chief being the logical question as to where the money is supposed to come from.

“A Euphemism for Muddle-Headedness”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, the tendency on the part of many people these days is to assume that others are guilty until proven innocent, and even twist — or invent — what somebody said in order to be able to convict them of whatever we want them to be guilty.  Especially if we are guilty of the very thing of which we are accusing others (d’oh).

JTW Podcast No. 62: A Chat With Lisa Saleh

Today your host Dave Hamill has a chat with Lisa Saleh, a Hubert Humphrey Fellow affiliating with CESJ.  Lisa, who is from Yemen, has worked with Doctors Without Borders and other organizations, is interested in applying Just Third Way principles throughout the world, with an emphasis on public health policy.

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 17

Yup.  Unemployment claims just increased by another 4.4 million . . . and the stock market is up!  Exactly who (or what) is supposed to be producing the goods and services that make a profit that is allegedly reflected in the value of a company’s shares we don’t know, but, hey, who needs to work when your shares increase in value?  Unless, of course, you happen to undergo a reality check:

Versus the Virus

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, there is a slight problem when advancing technology displaces human labor from the production process.  It seems that when a machine replaces a human worker, the human worker loses his or her job and thus has no source of earned income until and unless he or she finds another job.

Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”

One of the more acceptable ways to make a name for yourself in the more liberal areas of Academia is to go after the moral philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790).  All you have to do is say the “right” things about Smith, thereby demonstrating you have the “right” attitude about capitalism and its purported high priest, and you will be accepted, or at least acceptable — assuming you don’t transgress any other unwritten law of the Groves of Academe.

Pope Francis and UBO

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that what appeared to be a call by Pope Francis to institute a “living wage” arrangement as an expedient for workers performing essential tasks during the Covid-19 lockdowns somehow got twisted into an endorsement of the Universal Basic Income as a permanent solution to the world’s economic woes.

JTW Podcast: Plato v. Aristotle

Today's pod/videocast is a Clash of the Titans.  In the near corner we have the Athenian Assassin, Plato, student of Socrates, who put words into his teacher's (Socrates's) mouth to give his own ideas credibility.  In the opposite corner we have the Macedonian Madman, Aristotle, teacher of Alexander T. Great and inspiration of St. Thomas "the Dumb Ox" Aquinas, who took the championship from the Manichean Siger the Brabant Battler with his Analogy of Being.

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 16

Have you figured out why the stock market surges when things look the worst, and drops when it looks as if the situation might improve?  Neither have we.  So let’s get straight to this week’s news items:

Pope Francis and the UBI

A couple of days ago the media were once again ecstatic over yet another fundamental change in Catholic doctrine announced by Everybody’s Favorite Pope, Francis™.  It seems that in a radical move, EFPF™ has come down Big Time in favor of the Universal Basic Income, or UBI.  Or so the Usual Suspects very loudly claim. . . .

The Idea of Social Justice

Misunderstanding of the development of the concept of social justice to counter the “new things” of socialism, modernism, and the New Age is pervasive in our day.  Briefly, many people confuse the act of social justice with measures directed to the good of individuals, not to the common good.  The act of social justice is not, however, a substitute or supplement for individual justice or charity, but a corrective intended to restructure institutions to make it possible for the individual virtues to function so that individuals can meet their own needs through their own efforts.

“It Was Automation”

Years ago — 1963 to be exact — the late and sometime great Alan Sherman (1924-1973) released one of his trademark parodies, “Automation,” to the tune and somewhat twisted lyrics of “Fascination” (music from 1904, lyrics from 1905, featured in a gazillion films).  It was the second cut on the first side of Sherman’s My Son, the Nut album.

JTW Pod/Videocast: "A Student's Perspective"

For a change of pace this week, our Pod/Videocast features one of CESJ's student interns from a few years ago, Leda Kennedy.  This is an interesting take, especially considering the current shutdown of schools at all levels.  (By the way, CESJ is continuing its internship program as well as accepting volunteers; we're doing virtually everything . . . virtual.)

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 15

It is baffling how, at a time when 17 million Americans have lost their jobs in a single month, businesses are in trouble, and a few dozen other etc.s, the stock market keeps going up!  The only possible reason we can see is that the speculators expect the massive amounts of money creation proposed for “stimulus” to be channeled into the stock market.  This is after increasing government debt to $30 trillion.  That’s right.  $30 trillion . . . with no mention of how or if it’s going to be repaid.  Are there alternatives available?  Perhaps:

“Contrary to Sound Popular Feeling”

Back in 1789, Jean-Paul Marat, convicted thief, quack scientist, physician-by-purchase, and a prime mover behind the French Reign of Terror, stated his basic principle of social reconstruction: “When a man is in want of everything, he has a right to take from another the superfluity in which he is wallowing: nay, more, he has a right to cut his throat and devour his palpitating flesh.” (Jean-Paul Marat, as quoted in Warren H. Carroll’s The Guillotine and the Cross. Manassas, Virginia: Trinity Communications, 1986, 36.)  As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, Marat seemed to have the fundamental principle of what became known as socialism down to a T.

How to Stimulate an Economy

How much does stupidity cost? $2.2 trillion, evidently.  Frankly, as we saw in the previous posting on this subject, just printing up money will only make things (economically) worse.  What, however, should be done to stimulate the economy if just printing money and handing it out or investing it in the stock market will only make the problem worse?

“Never Was Heresy More Subtle”

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, socialism — whatever it turned out to be (depending on the particular variety espoused, promoted, or worshipped) — did not originally begin specifically as a reaction against capitalism.  Rather, it was against Christianity, most particularly the Catholic Church, although all of the “mainstream” churches, Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox, were targeted.

Why Do We Need Capital Homesteading?

Aside from what should be obvious by now as the economic shutdown continues and the federal government proposes to print trillions of dollars to buy things that haven't been produced, why do we need a "Capital Homestead Act"?  Norman Kurland, CESJ's President, offers a few reasons in a conversation with Russel Williams of The Challenge:

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 14

It is increasingly clear that no one has any realistic idea what to do about making an economy productive again, much less the best way to go about it.  Instead, this is the sort of thing that is going on:

Good Credit v. Bad Credit

As we may have mentioned one or two . . . dozen times before, we like it when somebody tosses us a question or a comment to which we can respond with a recyclable answer that can be turned into a blog posting.  Like this one regarding the prevalence of consumer credit debt among presumably affluent Americans who have suddenly found themselves bereft of that weekly paycheck they were living on from day to day, grossly supplemented with more than a modicum of consumer credit (edited for anonymity to protect the guilty):

Was Jesus the First Socialist?

Quick answer: no.  The idea — in those terms — first appeared in the early nineteenth century, which (as we saw in the previous posting on this subject) was when socialists were trying to garner as many “implied ethical endorsements” as they could to sell their system.  It’s an interesting story.

Private Property According to Fulton Sheen

In his 1940 classic, Freedom Under God, Fulton J. Sheen had a few pithy things to say about private property.  Almost nothing in economics, finance, and political economy is more misunderstood than private property.  The sole exception is money and credit, which are simply two different forms of the same thing: promises and the keeping of promises. (“Money and Credit are essentially of the same nature; Money being only the highest and most general form of Credit.” Henry Dunning Macleod, The Theory of Credit. Longmans, Green and Co., 1894, 82.) Furthermore, private property and money are inextricably linked. (Irving Fisher, The Purchasing Power of Money.  New York: Macmillan, 1931, 4-6.)

Stoking the Fire

For a change of pace, we're presenting a video today on a subject we know very little about, but is well-worth considering: weening the United States (and every other country) off of the fossil fuels.  As we said, this is not our area of expertise, so we can't really judge the feasibility of the idea.  It just sounds like a good one:

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 13

With the stock market bouncing around like a rubber ball and the rest of the news almost completely focused on the pandemic, it’s hard to find news items directly related to the Just Third Way.  That is why we’re not going to do it:

More How Not to Stimulate an Economy

In the previous posting on this subject, we gave a few reasons as to why printing up money and handing it out (or even spending it on things that don’t generate a payback) is a really bad idea.  We also mentioned that when we addressed the subject again, we would present what (in our opinion) ought to be done . . . so here goes. . . .

How to Argue With a Socialist (If He is G.B. Shaw)

Once upon a time there were two people who liked to argue with each other.  There is nothing wrong with that, except one of them was a socialist and inclined to take any unfair advantage to win an argument.  The other (who was not a socialist) didn’t care about winning the argument as long as he persuaded others of the truth or reasonableness of his position.  Naturally enough, the two managed to argue for nearly twenty years without the one actually winning the argument, or the other persuading him of anything.

How Not to Stimulate an Economy

As of this writing, the $1 trillion stimulus package has crashed and burned in Congress.  That’s a good thing.  Not that we can afford to let the economy go its not-so-merry way, but remedial action should alleviate the symptoms and cure the disease, not make matters worse.

Fulton Sheen Rides Again!

Well . . . Fulton Sheen was born in El Paso . . . Illinois, so the "rides again" isn't entirely out of left field.  It's even somewhat appropriate.  In any event, this week we bring you yet another "Catholic-catholic" message from "America's Archbishop" suitable for people of all faiths and philosophies . . . although you do have to do a little "filtering" of the "Catholic language" to get to the universal, small-c catholic message.

Own the Future: A True Cure for an Ailing Economy

Guest Blog by Gary Reber

Michael Bloomberg has penned an editorial column in which he calls for embarking on the largest public investment in infrastructure in generations, with government issuing new money to finance this. This money will be backed, as it is today, by government debt, repayable with future taxpayer dollars.

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 12

Giving in to popular demand (and the lack of news in other areas), our Just Third Way news items lean a little bit in the direction of the Covid-19 pandemic . . . but without giving recommendations on how to prevent it.  What we’re concerned with (from the Just Third Way perspective, not personally) is the economic and financial responses being proposed, some of which strike us as possibly unwise:

A Primer on Panics

Financial panic, that is.  With the stock market going up and down like a yoyo, many people are giving in to panic.  The irony is that while some panic over the effects of the Covid-19 virus is understandable if not entirely rational, the frenzy over the financial markets is completely irrational.  People appear to be confusing the secondary stock market with the primary productive market.

What, Then, Does Cardinal Ratzinger Mean?

Back in 1864, the Reverend Charles Kingsley, considered a leader in the Christian socialist movement, a modernist, and a proponent of what he called “Muscular Christianity” (and others called “Sanctimonious Obnoxious Religious Bullying”), accused Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman of both lying and promoting lying as a virtue . . . based on some rather distorted (to put it mildly) versions of Newman’s sermons as a Protestant and one or two false allegations and accusations.

Did Cardinal Ratzinger Endorse Socialism?

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, there has been a veritable tsunami of authorities — usually self-appointed — insisting that “democratic” (or any other kind of) socialism is not merely consistent with Christian social teaching, but is the purest form of it.  The evidence presented . . . okay, asserted without a shred of evidence . . . was that C.S. Lewis “approved” of socialism.

Oh, Look! Another Fulton Sheen Podcast!

The good thing about Fulton Sheen is that although he was a Catholic figure (we avoid the words "intellectual" or — worse — "world's first televangelist"), he appealed to virtually everyone with a basic grounding in common sense and a natural law orientation.  That is why, although CESJ is an interfaith organization, we find Sheen's work very compatible with the message of the Just Third Way.  It's also lucky for us that although the "Catholic Hour" radio show was planned to feature a number of different speakers, it rapidly developed into a "Fulton Sheen Hour."

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 11

It seems almost incredible, but the situation today and that of two hundred years ago are so similar as to make it look as if we’re replaying the past with a vengeance.  Society is dissolving in chaos, socialism is being offered as a panacea, and a very bad, even destructive understanding of money and credit virtually rules the world:

Whence Cometh This Rush of Socialism?

In the previous posting on this subject we looked at the evidence — such as it was — that we could dig up to support the contention that the Christian apologist C.S. Lewis approved of socialism in any form.  Admittedly, the evidence we found was remarkably weak, not to say unconvincing, but we had to do the work ourselves as the individuals making the claim were a trifle shy about providing their own evidence.

Did C.S. Lewis Approve of Socialism?

We got into a little argument a short time ago about socialism, capitalism, and Christianity.  Coming across a FaceBook placard or whatever you call ’em that proclaimed, “Capitalism causes socialism”, we made the mistake of putting our two-and-a-half cents in, although you would have thought that by now we would have learned our lesson about trying to argue with people who think assertion is argument and personal insults are proof.

The Problem of Social Justice

We come to the final installment of our series explaining the Core Values of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ).  If you read the list of CESJ’s Core Values in order you will notice that they go more or less in a logical order, a progression from the Source of it all, to the main goal of CESJ . . . of life itself, as a matter of fact.

Fulton Sheen Again!

"Of Sheen Never Enough"?  We won't go that far, but it's nice to see a Christian clergyman of any denomination in the 20th or 21st centuries who comes out so strong against the "new things" of modernism, socialism, and the New Age . . . without attacking the modernists, socialists, and the New Agers (although that hasn't stopped them from going after anyone who disagrees with them, or who they think disagrees with them, or who will disagree with them, or who might disagree with them, or whose tie they don't like, or. . . .)

News from the Network, Vol. 13, No. 10

Should we mention the stock market gyrations and the effect of the corona virus?  No.  If we do, we’ll just be wrong, as the situation changes so fast that there’s no way to be accurate except in hindsight.  We’ll just ask if you really need that much toilet paper?  Otherwise, let’s see what’s happening on the Just Third Way front:

A Disagreement or Two

In the previous posting on this subject we began addressing a series of questions and comments, nine in all from a faithful reader.  As we covered the material in depth in previous postings, we answered them with brief clarifications.  Most of the issues seemed to be semantic, so we only needed to give brief responses.  We covered the first five in the previous posting, and get to the remaining four today:

Some Questions on Social Virtue

As we may have mentioned once or twice, we occasionally get questions from our readers.  When these are substantive — as most of them are (the complainers just issue, er, complaints and then run away) — we can use our answers as blog postings.  This saves us a lot of work, or at least some brain time trying to think up something that will instruct as well as edify without offending too many people except for modernists, socialists, and New Agers . . . but they’re offended all the time, anyway.

Social Justice and the Common Good

In the previous posting on this subject we asked whether a society can maintain itself when the vast majority of people are cut off from participation in the common good by lack of capital ownership — and answered our own question with a “no.”  Some people will object to this, citing the fact that there have been many societies throughout history in which the great mass of people owned nothing but their labor.

Fulton Sheen on the Crisis

Last week to semi-popular acclaim we presented a 1943 "Catholic Hour" broadcast by then-Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen, "The Thing We Are Fighting Against."  This week we follow up on that with another random selection from Sheen's Catholic Hour shows, "War and Revolution," from January 3 (or 31, it's not clear), 1943, the first in the series on "the Crisis in Christendom" . . . not the college in Northern Virginia (necessarily . . . unless they want to admit something!), but what is left of western civilization against the onslaught of the "New Things" against which Sheen struggled his entire career: