False dichotomy. Why can’t a free person be just as loved, and have just as satisfying a sense of dignity and purpose in work? It is more likely that a slave would lack such a sense, because his work is involuntary. It is also less likely that he is loved, because no one leaves someone he loves in slavery.
Economic necessity, according to the scriptures, was forced upon us by God, who exiled Adam from the garden and made him sweat and toil for his bread. We , though not guilty of the sin, must share the punishment. How’s that for injustice? For those of us who are free from faith in that fairy tale, the nature of our bodies entails labor. That’s just the way it is. But Capitalism has brought more freedom and prosperity, and longer lifespans, to more people than any other economic system yet devised.
The problem with the present day with our American capitalistic society has become influenced and infiltrated by corporatism and turned a simple free trade machine into a hyper-capitalistic bank cartel monster. The objective is to obtain more and more profit, the centrality of the economy now is profit at all costs, especially making things cheap by means of cheap/slave labor in 3rd world countries and selling big around the world. The original design of capitalism was to center the human person for the economy, for the human was the intrinsic value for the system. What was said “I work to live” is now “I live to work”. As CS. Lewis put it “put the first thing first”, the economy should always put the human person first before profits.
Robert is right, in the sense that to even make ends meat in this economy you must slave yourself. Presently in my business, we have to do 2-3 times more work then before the house bubble collapse in '08 and still are making less then before. The politicians and banksters have done well in subduing the world into the 9 to 5 mentality, and people know exactly what I mean by that. 9 to 5, groundhogs day, SSDD routine. Though I agree with GK. Chesterton on the joys of monotony, but only when it is something holy. The monotony that this present day capitalism has shackled people under a quasi-despot atmosphere, not a rule under one but of an oligarchy, and it’s getting worse every year. Though I love working, especially outside with manual labor, and I hate idleness, as it is the enemy of the soul, work is getting in the way of more important things such as Mass, family time, community activities, etc… and this is not gonna to keep going the way it is.
Something that came to my mind is how in school in religion class there was a handout about the nature of questioning and how it’s bad to question for the sake of questioning (i.e. the act of questioning I guess).An example of this I suppose is a question like if God can only offer you two things freedom or love which one would you choose?.
As long as the one doing the questioning is presenting the question in order to get an answer then it is extremely healthy to question. But presenting a question and being ignorant of the answer or not willing to accept any answer at all is fruitless, it’s contrary to the very nature of questioning. But a belief that discourages questioning the faith is usually a cult, no need to go into details why, and you should run like hell from those kinds of people.
To your question, I choose both because choosing freedom or love is not separate, but both are inseparable. In freedom we find love ever present and active and in love you will always find that freedom was the predecessor.
