Analysis of the Panic of 1907

In the previous posting on this subject, we closed by noting that the financier J. Pierpont Morgan saved the country from the “Panic of 1907” . . . which he had caused in the first place.  Observant readers of this blog will not be slow to realize that a similar thing has happened with the recent bank failures.  The federal government has been quick to assure the public that it will guarantee that the rich people who had money in the bank will be rescued from wanting to have their cake and eat it, too . . . and coincidentally take more control over the financial system.

JTW Podcast: Just Third Way Home Economics

Usually when we talk about economics, what we really mean is political economy, the science of production, distribution, and consumption of marketable goods and services.  Most authorities divide political economy into macro- and microeconomics, a distinction that does not exist in binary economics, at least not as generally understood.  In Economic Personalism, microeconomics refers to the individual and family, while macroeconomics refers to everything else.

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 11

If you happen to be at least 150 years old, you will recall the Panic of 1907, a.k.a., “the Bankers’ Panic,” and not be surprised at the current spate of bank failures.  If you don’t happen to have reached the century and a half mark, you will, of course, be stunned and amazed, as well as baffled, that such a thing could happen on the eve of the Utopia that Keynes promised if we would just lie to ourselves for a century.  Of course, if we adopted the Economic Democracy Act, we wouldn’t have to lie at all, and could probably avoid problems like these:

The Panic of 1907

The recent bank failures have once again raised questions not only about the safety of the financial system, but its role in the economy.  What goes on in the world’s financial centers seems to have no connection to people’s daily lives and the need to secure food, clothing, shelter, and the other essentials of life.  What happens on Wall Street, stays on Wall Street . . . except when it seeps out to the real economy and destroys lives.

JTW Podcast: Natural Law Theory

Today we feature a short piece on Thomas Aquinas and natural law theory.  Although we might not agree with everything that the presenter says or how it’s said, Thomist (Aristotelian) natural law theory is the foundation of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism as applied in the Economic Democracy Act:

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 10

As usual, reports and predictions of economic disaster are coming as fast as glowing reports of economic health and growth.  What’s the real story?  Paradoxically, both reports and predictions could very easily be true . . . depending on who you are.  Like “the Great Reset” of Klause Schwab and the World Economic Forum which has capitalism for the rich and socialism for the poor, today’s economic growth benefits the rich, while the recession/depression affects the non-rich.  Of course, the Economic Democracy Act would benefit everyone, but no one seems to think of that.

What is a “Bank”?

Banking for most people is a little like pornography.  There is something not quite right about it, but a lot of people seem to like it and can’t seem to function without it, and they can’t define it, but they know it when they see it.

JTW Podcast: Fulton Sheen at UCLA

What, Notre Dame wasn’t good enough?  Just kidding, although we’d like to see something truly revolutionary come out of Academia instead of the increasing emphasis on “job training” at a time when AI is replacing even top professionals, leaving very little to do for the rest of us.  The obvious solution is the Economic Democracy Act, but nobody is or was discussing it, which leaves it up to the will bes:

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 09

 

Recently we saw a video in which a retired British major general kept insisting that we must appease Putin and allow him to keep Crimea and everything else he had managed to grab.  He was then honest enough to admit that if Putin were appeased in this fashion, it would probably be necessary to fight him or his successor again in five or ten years, but that was the price that had to be paid for peace.  Over a year ago people were saying Putin could not be stopped from taking all of Ukraine and so must be allowed to have it, now they are saying Russia will never surrender Crimea and must be allowed to have it.  Apparently, nothing succeeds best for a tyrant than people afraid to stand up to him.

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 09

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 09

What is the “Banking Principle”?

Frequently, we have made the statement that, where the so-called mainstream schools of economics (the Keynesian, Monetarist/Chicago, and the Austrian) are based on the “Currency Principle” and belong to the “Currency School,” the binary economic of Louis Kelso is based on the “Banking Principle” and belongs to the “Banking School.”  What does this mean?

JTW Podcast: Fulton Sheen on Firing Line

 

This week we're putting the late Fulton Sheen on the firing line . . . or was that Fulton Sheen on Firing Line?  In either case, you're bound to see something interesting, although not, perhap, as interesting (or at least as immediate) as the Economic Democracy Act:

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 08

Today is the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or (as some are putting it) Day 366 of Russia’s 10 day “special military operation.”  Given that no sane person believes claim of saving the world from gay Nazis through war crimes and atrocities, it seems reasonable to expect that the effort would have collapsed months ago.  Instead, Russia continues to push . . . well, if not forward, at least along, losing sometimes more soldiers in a week than it did in Afghanistan in ten year.  Of course, the rest of the world, locked into the economic insanity of Keynesian economics and accumulating more debt in nominal terms than the entire world did in a century before Keynesian economics came along, has nothing to brag about, as can be seen by the refusal to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but, like Putin, people still insist on implementing failed programs that never worked in the first place:

Was Henry George a Socialist?

In a recent email, someone stated, “Henry George was definitely NOT a Socialist.  Quite the contrary.  He wanted to untax labour and capital, treat land rents as the source of public revenue and restore the mediaeval system of financing the Crown through land rents.”

JTW Podcast: Fusion Power and Kilowatt Hour

We are not nuclear scientists, but we recognize the importance of power to any civilization, especially a technologically advanced one.  We also recognize the importance of a stable measure of value for a currency for any civilization, especially (again) a technologically advanced one.

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 07

Again this week we see a large number of problems that could be solved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act, but people still insist on implementing failed programs that never worked in the first place:

Some Thoughts on Credit

. . . social credit, that is, the brainchild of Major C.H. Douglas.  Recently we received a question asking whether we were familiar with “the Douglas Scheme,” as the Anglican Christian apologist C.S. Lewis rather pejoratively termed it.  Yes, we are familiar with Major Douglas and his social credit plan, which has nothing to do with what the Chinese have termed “social credit,’ although both rely on intrusive government control.

JTW Podcast: Embodiment of the Human Person

Continuing the series of videos on personalism, today we have Dr. John F. Crosby on “Understanding the Embodiment of the Human Person.”  He puts it in terms of Christianity, but being based on natural law, applies across the board.  In this video he talks about what Dr. Ralph McInerny of Notre Dame called “fideism,” the opposite but equal error of materialism.  Both are forms of “modernism” that separates faith and reason.

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 06

As usual, we have nothing spectacularly new to report, although the special segment on Hulu airing tonight might be of great interest.  Otherwise, the list of news items is tophevy with stories about people and situations that would e much better off with the Economic Democracy Act, but we may get there eventually:

A Keynesian Contradiction

The first principle of reason is that nothing can both “be” and “not be” at the same time under the same conditions.  This law or principle of (non) contradiction simply means that something cannot both exist and not exist at the same time, e.g., nothing can be a little bit dead.  Something is either dead or alive; Schrödinger’s cat is only half dead and half alive because there’s a fifty percent chance it’s either one, which is known for certain when the box is opened.

JTW Podcast: Intro to Thomistic Personalism

This week we follow up on last week’s podcast that featured the personalism of John Paul II, with a video of the Thomistic personalism . . . of John Paul II.  Okay, so we’re in a rut, or at least we’re not finding enough videos or other shows on the rest of the Just Third Way.  Again, 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. 05

It is very tempting to give the blogging equivalent of “Nothing to see here, move along,” when reporting on various events that advance the Just Third Way (rare) or actively inhibit or prevent the Just Third Way (far too common).  Sadly, too many people seem to be convinced that if we just continue to do what isn’t working and has never worked instead of adopting the Economic Democracy Act, things will be fine:

The Currency Principle

Nowhere is the pervasiveness of the “New Things” (rei novae) of modernism, socialism, and the New Age more obvious today than in the prevalence of Keynesian economic and monetary policies throughout the world.

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:

Standard Value and Price Level Illustrated

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at a possible solution to the problem of implementing a monetary standard when the commodity chosen as the standard has different prices in different regions.  We proposed that it should be feasible to use the highest price of a Kilowatt hour in the economy, which would have no adverse effect if (and only if) the Economic Democracy Act has been implemented, and all consumers of electricity own the electricity producer(s) in direct proportion to their usage.

JTW Podcast: Robert Ashford on Binary Economics

Last we had Norman Kurland and Robert Ashford talking about binary economics on Paula Gloria’s show.  This week we have Dr. Ashford soloing, but that just means we get a new and different perspective on Louis Kelso’s binary economics, which is the basis of the Economic Democracy Act:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 47

If there is one thing painfully evident from what is going on in the world, it is that few — if any — of the people we call “leaders” have a clue about what is going on in the world.  As you might expect from that, they spend most of their time implementing programs and solutions that have never worked, and then spend the rest of their time explaining why they didn’t work and why we need to keep on doing the same thing over and over to get different results.  Of course, the one thing they don’t consider is the one thing that has been proven to work.  If they actually wanted to be effective, they would adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

Standard Value and Price Level

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at what can happen if you impose a uniform monetary standard when the price of the standard is not uniform.  Of course, before any standard at all is considered, it is essential that the reserve currency be 100% or at least predominantly asset-backed . . . and “asset” does not include debt issued by the issuer of the reserve currency.

JTW Podcast: Joe and Joe with Mike and Dawn

In case you were wondering if the continuing series of podcasts with the two Joes was going to continue, here is the latest installment, talking about what (at least according to Tom Lehrer) we all deeply and sincerely believe in at this time of year . . . money.  Of course, if you want to bolster your (financial) faith, you might want to look into the Economic Democracy Act, after listening to the show, or just wait until the next installment:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 46

This week we did something a little unusual, at least for us.  Generally, we try to report news consistently, but this past week the news about Federal Reserve Follies was so contradictory that we decided to report the stories as they appeared, even those that contradicted themselves and each other.  After all, if the people in charge of the financial system wanted to make sense, they would adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

When to Institute a Fixed Monetary Standard

 

In the previous posting on this subject, we discussed the single most important precondition to returning a currency to a fixed standard, which is returning the reserve currency to full asset backing.  This naturally leads into today’s topic, which is what standard is best to use, and when to institute the chosen standard.

JTW Podcast: Kurland and Ashford on Binary Economics

For this week’s podcast we came across a video of Drs. Norman G. Kurland and Robert H.A. Ashford discussing the binary economics of Louis Kelso Paula Gloria’s show.  Of course, this was before we started talking about the Economic Democracy Act, but that is an application of binary economics, not binary economics itself:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 45

As usual, even though it’s the day after Thanksgiving, the experts and usual suspects are running themselves ragged doing everything they can to keep the economy and other people down instead of taking the just and easy way out and adopting the Economic Democracy Act:

How to Institute a Fixed Monetary Standard

The world today is plagued with a virtual tsunami of reserve currencies backed only with government debt and valued in terms of the faith and credit of the issuing government.  This creates several problems, any one of which is a disaster waiting to happen:

JTW Podcast: Technology vs Human Labor with Norman Kurland, Part II

Here is Part II of a “long-lost” treasure from a few years back.   As we noted two weeks ago, it was lost because we didn’t know that the recording of the show was available on YouTube.  The subject is, What is the role human beings will have once the machines take our jobs?  As a regular listener or reader, you will already know the answer: the Economic Democracy Act:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 44

Believe it or not, there are bright spots appearing on the horizon.  One is that the new Biafran government in exile has adopted the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism as its economic program.  Another is that a second Catholic newspaper has run a feature article on The Greater Reset, which is written around — you guessed it — the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism.  Both of these open up a number of possibilities to get the Just Third Way, especially as embodied in the Economic Democracy Act into the public arena as a topic for discussion:

Reflections on Biafra

This past Saturday several key people in the Biafran diaspora formed a Government in Exile.  This was not a publicity stunt, but a means of helping to bring the ongoing plight of oppressed groups in Nigeria to the attention of the world and to establish the foundations of a more just social order not just for Biafra, but for all people of the world.

JTW Podcast: Official Opening of Biafra House

On Saturday, November 12, 2022, the CESJ Core Group were the Guests of Honor at the inauguration of the Biafran Government in Exile and the opening of Biafra House.  Dr. Norman Kurland, president of CESJ, cut the ribbon and gave the keynote address, and for today’s podcast, we present the official video record of the event:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 43

While it’s tempting to say that the weekly news items exhibit a depressing sameness, we might also say that this is actually encouraging.  Why?  Because no one has yet implemented the Economic Democracy Act, so we don’t have to come up with any new solutions:

Federal Reserve Follies

On Halloween, the Wall Street Journal reported the frightening news that the government’s money machine, the Federal Reserve, has been losing money.  “How is this possible?” you ask in wonder.  How can an institution that creates money out of thin air for politicians to spend like drunken sailors on leave be losing money?

JTW Podcast: Technology vs Human Labor with Norman Kurland

Here is Part I of a “long-lost” treasure from a few years back.  It was lost because we didn’t know that the recording of the show was available on YouTube, but then, who really knows everything that’s up on YouTube?  Anyway, the subject is what is the role human beings will have once the machines take our jobs?  If you’re a regular reader or listener, the answer will not surprise you, although we’ve updated the terminology from “the Capital Homestead Act” to the Economic Democracy Act:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 42

Another week has gone by filled with missed opportunities to implement the Economic Democracy Act, so what else is new?  Well, as you can see, not much:

A Matter of Principle

A few years ago, we published a book about military history.  At the request of the publisher, it was written in a “popular” style, that is, in “story” form with very few footnotes, explanatory sidebars instead of appendices, that sort of thing.  Some people thought it was a very good book introducing them to obscure but important battles they had never heard of.

JTW Podcast: Why Not Biafran Independence?

 

This is a somewhat slanted account of the situation, but it gets many of the facts straight.  A lot of the terrorist events are overlooked.  One of the things not mentioned is the role something like the Economic Democracy Act could play in bringing peace to the region.  By the way, the Fulani were notorious for being the worst of the slave raiding African tribes, selling entire nations into slavery, while today appear to be linked to terrorism, including raiding Christian girls schools and kidnapping hundreds of girls:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 41

As the world gets crazier, the news items each week bear a striking similarity, with most people completely oblivious to the possibilities inherent in the Economic Democracy Act would to solve many of the problems:

Social Justice and Liberal Democracy, II

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at the origins of the term “social justice.”  While it has and continues to mean many things, Msgr. Luigi Taparelli gave the first consistent and “scientific” definition of social justice in the 1830s.  As he defined it, social justice is a “general virtue,” meaning — strictly speaking — that it is not a true virtue, but a principle guiding the practice of actual, “particular” virtues, such as prudence, fortitude, temperance and, above all, justice among the natural virtues, and faith, hope, and charity among the supernatural virtues.

JTW Podcast: Another Doomsday Recession Scenario

Today we have an analysis of the International Monetary Fund that a giant recession is coming . . . we don’t use the word “depression” anymore since Lord Keynes abolished it forever, but it’s still the exact same thing, only worse and longer-lasting.  If a recession turns out to be longer or deeper than anticipated, the experts quickly change the definition to avoid the d-word.  In any event, nobody at the IMG, the World Bank, or5 any of the world’s central banks stop to wonder whether it’s the Keynesian principles that are causing the problem that Keynesian economics is supposed to be solving . . . naw, that’d be too easy to fix by reading The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law, getting busy, and adopting the Economic Democracy Act:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 40

Where some things go from the ridiculous to the sublime, this week the news items generally go from the horrifying to the ludicrous.  Not to beat a live horse, but adopting the Economic Democracy Act would go a long way toward making news items like these a thing of the past:

Social Justice and Liberal Democracy

A popular meme floating around social media shows actor Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.”  The problem was bad enough with a single word in a work of fiction.  It gets much worse when it is many words in real life.

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 39

It is becoming increasingly evident that many of the more serious problems in the world could be solved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act., but it is also increasingly evident that none of them are considering it, seriously or not.  As a case in point consider the fact that Russian dictator Putin used up missiles earlier this week with a price tag of upwards of a billion dollars to kill a few civilians at a time when units of the Russian army are struggling for survival and starving for basic supplies, and the economy of the country is tanking.  And in other news:

The Logic of War

No, we’re not saying that war is logical, per se, but that within its own frame of reference there are certain things that make sense, but also a lot that doesn’t.  Much of modern “Currency Principle” economics is like that, where some of it makes sense within its own framework, but a lot that doesn’t, especially if you’re talking Keynesian economics.

JTW Podcast: Aquinas on Virtue, Part II

This is the second part of the podcast that we put up last week . . . and it doesn’t actually feature Aquinas, either.  Anyway, this is the second part of a discussion on what Aquinas meant by “virtue,” which you don’t have to accept, but it might get you to think a bit, and prepare you to read the book by Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 38

The weirdness continues throughout the world as our so-called leaders refuse even to consider adopting that the Economic Democracy Act.  In other news:

America’s Prince of Lunacy

You’ve probably noticed that the moment you think you’ve heard it all, somebody is bound to show up and prove you wrong.  For example, if you ever thought that today’s academics and politicians were crazier than bedbugs and nobody in history, except maybe Caligula and a few other loony toons, could match them.

JTW Podcast: Aquinas on Virtue, Part I

Okay, this podcast doesn’t really feature Thomas Aquinas, but somebody talking about Aquinas . . . but you knew that, right?  Anyway, this is the first part of a discussion on what Aquinas meant by “virtue,” which you don’t have to accept, but it might get you to think a bit, and prepare you to read the book by Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 37

 

As the world drifts faster into insanity . . . okay, gallops headlong . . . it becomes increasingly evident that the Economic Democracy Act is the only game in town that would put a stop to things like this:

Inflation or Deflation?

There’s an old joke about a hobo who comes to the back door of a farmhouse asking for a handout.  “Can you help a poor man out of his misery?” he asks the tired and overworked housewife.  “Certainly,” she replies.  “Would you rather be shot or hit with an ax?”

JTW Podcast: The Joe and Joe Show

This week we have a special podcast, one specifically about the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism, the Joe and Joe Show with special guests Dawn K. Brohawn, CESJ’s Director of Communications, and Michael D. Greaney, CESJ’s Director of Research, authors of The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 36

As usual, people are in a panic this week over economics and finance when the solution, the Economic Democracy Act, is staring them right in the face.  We know we’ve been saying this for years, but you never know when someone might start paying attention:

A Modest Meditation on Money

The other day we came across an article in Catholic World Report all about how we shouldn’t make a false god out of money, etc., so on, so forth.  Nothing to see here, move one, yaddah, yaddah.  No, this isn’t a lecture on Catholic or even religious views of money, other than to agree with St. Paul when he reminded Timothy that love of money is the root of all evil.  You can probably find the same thing expressed by most other faiths and philosophies in the world, so it’s not particularly Christian; it’s human.

JTW Podcast: The Politics of Aristotle

No, this is not a video about Aristotle’s political activities or opinions . . . at least, not in the modern sense.  Instead, this is a look at one professor’s opinion about a book Aristotle wrote called the Politics, meaning how human beings live together as “political animals”:

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 35

 

This week we again leave it to other media to cover the death of Queen Elizabeth II and specifics regarding the counteroffensive in Ukraine.  We, of course, aren’t ignoring Ukraine, but we are pointing out things that the major media have a habit of overlooking:

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.

JTW Podcast: Aristotle on Virtue

Okay, in today’s blog video, forget about the big words and the politically correct lingo and attitudes.  It’s a good overview of Aristotle and his theory that “virtue” is the habit of doing good.  This is the heart of western concepts of what it means to be fully human.  Was Aristotle completely correct?  Of course not, but he was on the right track.  (There was another video that was better for content, but the sound quality was very bad.)

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 34

A few things have crowded out Just Third Way-type news this week, such as the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the new offensives in Ukraine that are making astonishing gains.  Still, there are a few items of interest:

A University for Justice?

We’ve been doing a bit of reading in the works of Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Jerome Adler regarding the state of education today and thought it might be a good segue into a short presentation on “Justice University.”  JU has been around for a while, since 2008 in fact, but it never hurts to have a refresher course, especially since as Hutchins and Adler both noted, education is a lifelong process.

JTW Podcast: The Robert Maynard Hutchins Animated Cartoon

And now for something completely different.  Today we bring you Zuckerkandl! — the “!” is part of the title, by the way — starring the voice and image (more or less) of Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins, president and then chancellor of the University of Chicago, with Mortimer Adler one of the prime movers behind the Great Books program, educational reformer, and cartoon character . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 33

Once again, many of the news items this week make it obvious that the Economic Democracy Act is pretty much the only game in town if you want something that will actually work.  Otherwise, you’re stuck with:

What Does Democracy Mean?

Recently we came across a website purporting to be advocating “integralism,” which is a much-misused term for integrating one’s religious beliefs or philosophy into one’s daily life, the opposite of compartmentalization or schizophrenia.  This was a “Catholic” website and was rather blatant about demanding that the civil power be subordinated to the religious power (meaning the Catholic Church) in all things . . . suggesting they didn't have a clue about real integralism; they could have stepped right out of a Thomas Nast cartoon.

JTW Podcast: Robert Hutchins and John Dewey, Part III

Perhaps no two individuals have had a greater impact on American education than Robert Maynard Hutchins and John Dewey.  One person’s view of them is the subject of today’s podcast and the previous two (which are included for your convenience).  Even if you don’t agree with everything that is said (or how it is said), it might cause you to think and start wondering where we went wrong . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 32

If Russian president Putin is wondering how to extricate himself and Russia from Ukraine without ending up slightly less than alive, he might consider the Economic Democracy Act.  It probably wouldn’t get him off the hook for what he’s done, but it might mitigate the punishment, and keep him from being written off as the absolute worst ruler in the history of the world. It is, after all, one thing to be a bloodthirsty tyrant, but quite another to be an incompetent bloodthirsty tyrant:

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).

JTW Podcast: Robert Hutchins and John Dewey, Part II

Perhaps no two individuals have had a greater impact on American education than Robert Maynard Hutchins and John Dewey.  One person’s view of them is the subject of last week's and today’s podcast and to conclude in the next one.  Even if you don’t agree with everything that is said (or how it is said), it might cause you to think and start wondering where we went wrong . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 31

 

Just provoking Putin's fans and felons

As usual, we have a number of news items that wouldn’t even be news if world leaders would get busy and adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but then we’d have to think of something else to write about:

Economic Independence

On Monday, August 15, 2022, to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the end of British rule of (most of) India and set the goal for the full century mark coming up in twenty-five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “pledged to raise millions out of poverty and turn India into a developed country.”  (“Economic Vow Made on Independence Day,” Wall Street Journal, 08/16/22, A-16.)  He underscored his promise by declaring that “the world was looking toward India to help resolve global issues.”

JTW Podcast: Robert Hutchins and John Dewey, Part I

Perhaps no two individuals have had a greater impact on American education than Robert Maynard Hutchins and John Dewey.  One person’s view of them is the subject of today’s podcast and the next two.  Even if you don’t agree with everything that is said (or how it is said), it might cause you to think and start wondering where we went wrong . . .

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 30

A number of interesting developments this week that would probably be moot if some country adopted the Economic Democracy Act, but then there probably wouldn’t be anything to write about.  That not being the case:

What to Do About Taiwan

The Biden Administration’s apparent missteps with respect to China have been a source of great consolation to Trump supporters, with neither side considering whether any of it makes sense.  Of course, it must be admitted that Trump’s comments about Ukraine and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s “genius” in invading Ukraine, along with his various other troubles need something to divert attention.

JTW Podcast: Louis Kelso on Harold Channer Show

Today we have an interview with Louis O. Kelso on the Harold Channer Show from 1987.  In this show, Kelso is billed as the (co) author of Democracy and Economic Power, although he is better known as the co-author of The Capitalist Manifesto (1958) and The New Capitalists (1961).  The subtitle of the latter is significant: “

News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 29

On the bright side, if we had the Economic Democracy Act, there wouldn’t be anything to write about.  That not being the case:

Does Vladimir Putin REALLY Believe This?

 

Analyses of Putin’s annexation of Crimea, funding insurgency in the Donbas, and the current “special military operation” in Ukraine have been hampered by the fact that no one, including Putin, seems to know why it was started and what it is supposed to achieve, at least on a permanent or consistent basis.  Was it to liberate ethnic Russians?  Respond to NATO aggression?  Acquire territory?  De-nazify and de-militarize Ukraine?  Make Russia great again?  Or some other excuse?

JTW Podcast: The New Chronology

Putin is obsessed with something called “The New Chronology” . . . and that is . . ? “This world view is largely based on volumes of something called "The New Chronology," which is the brainchild mainly of two Russian authors, an academic and a mathematician respectively — Anatoly Fomenko and Gleb Nosovsky. One of the key premises is that dark forces tampered with all the history books in libraries across the globe at a certain point in time, wiping out or changing real versions of events and resetting dates.”  Get out your tinfoil hats and be ready for a surreal ride . . .