JTW Podcast: John Paul II’s Personalism

It’s not as clear as the presentation of the personalism of Pope John Paul II in The Greater Reset, but it might help people get a better understanding through a different perspective if they’ve already read The Greater Reset.  Of course, there is nothing in the video about economic personalism as applied in the Economic Democracy Act, but you can’t have everything:

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 04

What is so fascinating about the world situation these days is that a great many people are convinced that Russia has lost its war of conquest in Ukraine, yet Russia (or Russia’s insane dictator Putin) refuses to admit it has lost horribly and continues to sacrifice everything to save Putin’s face and gratify his ego.  The same goes for Putin’s worshipers in other countries who simply refuse to see the writing on the wall.  Is it, however, so crazy?  After all, governments still insist on implementing Keynesian economics as if it hadn’t failed nearly a century ago.  Keep on doing what has never worked and refuse to implement the Economic Democracy Act:

Neo-Colonialist Keynes

It is common to hear about neo-colonialism these days, but not too many people are aware that it’s not just a problem in former colonies, but throughout the entire world.  This is the fault of the architect of the modern global economy, John Maynard Keynes, whose version of socialized capitalism (really an application of Fabian socialism) was intended to keep the British power elite in place at the end of the nineteenth century.

JTW Podcast: Joe Blasi on Worker Ownership

The idea of workers owning the businesses where they work is not new. In America’s early years, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison believed that the best economic plan for the Republic was for citizens to have some ownership stake in the land, which was the main form of productive capital. This book traces the development of that share idea in American history and brings its message to

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 03

Not surprisingly, this week’s news items are generally focused on Ukraine’s need to get additional armaments and politicians complaining about the cost of doing so . . . without, evidently, considering the even greater cost of letting the war continue.  Our concern, of course, is how the Economic Democracy Act could help not only the rebuilding of Ukraine but assure that other countries will be paid for their aid:

Milieu Specialization

An aspect of social justice that many people overlook is what CESJ co-founder Father William J. Ferree, S.M., Ph.D. called “milieu specialization.”  This is a fancy way of saying that while human beings are generalists, they design specialized tools to carry out specific tasks.  As a rule, the more specialized the tool, the more efficient it is at performing a particular task, and the less efficient it is for performing any other task.

JTW Podcast: Aristotle on Distributive Justice

Many people today think that “distributive justice” means distribution based on need or high wages and benefits.  In Aristotelian and Thomist philosophy, however, the former is charity, while the latter falls under “commutative” or strict justice.  The idea that distributive justice means distributions based on need or is a form of “social justice” comes from nineteenth century socialism and has nothing to do with Aristotle’s concept of proportionality which governed his concept of distributive just . . . and Aristotle should know, as he invented the term.

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 02

Things are happening, but it seems to be a repeat of the same old thing only more so.  Despite that, the fact that things still manage to keep running in spite of the “knavish imbecility” of so many gives us hope that somebody may soon adopt the Economic Democracy Act that has any hope of being able to lay the foundation for resolving the problems:

You Can Bank On It

Most people, when they think of what a bank is, imagine a giant metal vault, something on the order of Uncle Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin, where people with money deposit cash and the bank lends it out to other people.  Well, it turns out that banking is substantially different from the image it has in the popular mind.

JTW Podcast: Robert Ashford and Edward Wolff on Paula Gloria

For this week’s podcast, we found an interview with Dr. Robert H.A. Ashford and Dr. Edward Wolff.  They don’t get into the Economic Democracy Act, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching:

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 01

The New Year is starting off with a bang . . . if by “bang” we mean the same thing, only on a different day.  Frankly, it is becoming more evident every day that only the Economic Democracy Act has any hope of being able to lay the foundation for resolving the problems:

Attack of the Killer Robots

The day of the killer robot is nigh, at least according to analysts of the current war Russia is waging against Ukraine.  It seems that advances in drone technology will soon allow both the Ukrainians and the Russians to employ self-directed drones to carry out strikes without having to worry about interference with their remote directional systems.

JTW Podcast: David Letterman’s “My Next Guest” with President Zelenskyy

Okay, so it’s not Late Night with David Letterman . . . it’s better.  Be sure to listen to this the whole way through, even the part where he says he’s from Indiana.  Of course, we’d have liked David to mention  the Economic Democracy Act, but we’ll get there, as soon as we meet with Oxana Markarova . . . who went to school in Indiana. . . . in any event, the joke Zelenskyy tells at 21:43 is worth the entire video:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 50

Today we present the second half of our annual news roundup.  As we noted last week, someone suggested that we forgo it this year in favor of something much shorter and confined to one week, but we already had this written, so here goes.  In any event, the important thing is that we move forward to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but we’re getting there:

Ends, Means, and Might Makes Right

It may be open to debate (but not much), but the prevailing modern philosophy of modern times is that the end justifies the means . . . which translates into “might makes right.”  If you don’t agree with that assessment, think about it for a moment.  If someone wants something badly enough and is willing to run roughshod over everything and everybody in his or her way to get it, then — if he or she is strong enough to get it — that proves the means used were fully justified, regardless of where the chips fell.  It worked; therefore, it was good.

JTW Podcast: President Zelenskyy’s Speech to Congress

We don’t have anything to add to what President Zelenskyy said, except that adding the Economic Democracy Act to the mix for Ukraine would be an unbeatable combination::

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 49

 

Today we present the first half of our annual news roundup.  Someone suggested that we forgo it this year in favor of something much shorter and confined to one week, but we already had this written, so here goes.  In any event, the important thing is that we move forward to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but we’re getting there:

Rights and Wrongs About Rights

Recently in a discussion about something else entirely a question came up about rights and duties.  This is an important topic in the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism, for “personalism” derives from “person,” and “person” — legally speaking — is that which has rights.  This is important in the greater scheme of things because it is by exercising rights (especially life, liberty, and private property) that we become “virtuous,” that is, more fully human . . . which, according to Aristotle and other philosophers, is the reason and purpose of life.

JTW Podcast: Robert Ashford on Binary Economics Revisited

Last we had Robert Ashford talking about binary economics on Paula Gloria’s show.  This week we have Dr. Ashford again, which helps us understand why the Economic Democracy Act is so important:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 48

For a slight change in pace this week, there a few — very few  indications that things could turn around.  This does not mean that things will turn around, but that there is a possibility that they could turn around.  Of course (you know what’s coming) the possibility would be greater if there would be a strong push to adopt the Economic Democracy Act . . . but one step at a time: