M
markomalley
Guest
…no Catholic could subscribe even to moderate Socialism. The reason is that Socialism is founded on a doctrine of human society which is bounded by time and takes no account of any objective other than that of material well-being. Since, therefore, it proposes a form of social organization which aims solely at production, it places too severe a restraint on human liberty, at the same time flouting the true notion of social authority.May I just say that I am a democratic-socialist, yet I follow all the church’s teachings. Your political generalizations are incorrect, as are most Catholics’. Obama, to me, is the best president for our time. Don’t expect in this day and age that a decent, honest, and faithful politican will come along.
Pope John XXII, Mater et Magistra, 34
Forcible redistribution of wealth in order to achieve “equality” is just plain evil.(17) It must be first of all recognized that the condition of things inherent in human affairs must be borne with, for it is impossible to reduce civil society to one dead level. Socialists may in that intent do their utmost, but all striving against nature is in vain. There naturally exist among mankind manifold differences of the most important kind; people differ in capacity, skill, health, strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of unequal condition. Such inequality is far from being disadvantageous either to individuals or to the community.…As for socialism, my friend, you a greatly misunderstood. I believe in the distrubution of wealth, which essentially is socialism.
(38) First of all, there is the duty of safeguarding private property by legal enactment and protection. Most of all it is essential, where the passion of greed is so strong, to keep the populace within the line of duty; for, if all may justly strive to better their condition, neither justice nor the common good allows any individual to seize upon that which belongs to another, or, under the futile and shallow pretext of equality, to lay violent hands on other people’s possessions. Most true it is that by far the larger part of the workers prefer to better themselves by honest labor rather than by doing any wrong to others.
Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum
The key is not money. The key is what one DOES with money. Men are called to share their wealth…of their own free will.
I agree that monopolies are bad. For example, when telecom was a monopoly, service was lousy and rates were overly high. You can see the same with electric utilities. The cartel OPEC (a “trust”) is guilty of artificially manipulating the petroleum market to artificially maintain high prices.How can you accept the gap that has divided America due to the greedy outcome of merciless monopolies and trusts?
The worst form of monopoly, though, is government control…because the monopoly can be maintained through the force of law and enforced with the power of the military and the police.
Perhaps you can outline a few of the conservative viewpoints…I have yet to see any. Thanks.I really am neither socialist or capitalist… I’m mostly a liberal with a few conservative viewpoints.