Plutocracy or Democracy?

[Wry Catcher]

How Bad Policies Brought Us a New Gilded Age.

It is clear by now that the state of the U.S. economy will be the primary issue in this year’s election. As voters and as Catholics, how should we evaluate the country’s economy and the government’s role in regulating it? More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential. This is a goal best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity. The Catholic tradition is not opposed to wealth, private property, or free markets. Their value, however, is instrumental rather than intrinsic; they are beneficial to the extent that they contribute to the good of all, creating a widely shared prosperity. To ensure they do this, markets need government. Laws are needed to enforce contracts, insure transparency, and prevent corruption, and regulation is needed to prevent what Benedict XVI calls the “scandalous speculation” in the financial sector that recklessly risks the security of those in the larger economy. According to John Paul II, markets must be “appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied.”

Read more at:

Plutocracy or Democracy? | Commonweal magazine

 

[Wry Catcher]

This really is an interesting read; a balanced perspective rather than the usual tripe posting daily on this message board.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Bump

 

[Wry Catcher]

Bump to third paragraph of the link:

Beyond these basic needs, church doctrine consistently cites equality as a core measure of economic well-being, warning that growing disparities in wealth not only violate basic principles of justice but create concentrations of power that threaten social cohesion and democratic integrity. Again and again, church teaching explicitly calls for the “redistribution” of wealth, and demands that government action show what John Paul II calls a “preference for the poor” by maintaining a safety net to protect the most vulnerable against poverty, homelessness, hunger, and poor access to health care.

See the first two and the link above at the OP

 

[Wry Catcher]

Lots of looks, not much in the way of feedback. The link makes a good deal of sense - at least to me - and I'm a non practicing agnostic Catholic who learned the Golden Rule in Catechism.

 

[Wry Catcher]

bump, please see the OP for a history of this thread.

 

[whitehall]

How Bad Policies Brought Us a New Gilded Age.

It is clear by now that the state of the U.S. economy will be the primary issue in this year’s election. As voters and as Catholics, how should we evaluate the country’s economy and the government’s role in regulating it? More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential. This is a goal best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity. The Catholic tradition is not opposed to wealth, private property, or free markets. Their value, however, is instrumental rather than intrinsic; they are beneficial to the extent that they contribute to the good of all, creating a widely shared prosperity. To ensure they do this, markets need government. Laws are needed to enforce contracts, insure transparency, and prevent corruption, and regulation is needed to prevent what Benedict XVI calls the “scandalous speculation” in the financial sector that recklessly risks the security of those in the larger economy. According to John Paul II, markets must be “appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied.”

Read more at:

Plutocracy or Democracy? | Commonweal magazine

Religious bigotry has always been a substantial part of left wing politics but they have managed to keep their seething hatred for Christians under control. Now that they realize their last chance for a socialist revolution is coming up in November you can bet your ass(ets) that left wing bigotry will come out of the closet in a last desperate effort and it ain't gonna be a pretty sight.

 

[Wry Catcher]

How Bad Policies Brought Us a New Gilded Age.

It is clear by now that the state of the U.S. economy will be the primary issue in this year’s election. As voters and as Catholics, how should we evaluate the country’s economy and the government’s role in regulating it? More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential. This is a goal best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity. The Catholic tradition is not opposed to wealth, private property, or free markets. Their value, however, is instrumental rather than intrinsic; they are beneficial to the extent that they contribute to the good of all, creating a widely shared prosperity. To ensure they do this, markets need government. Laws are needed to enforce contracts, insure transparency, and prevent corruption, and regulation is needed to prevent what Benedict XVI calls the “scandalous speculation” in the financial sector that recklessly risks the security of those in the larger economy. According to John Paul II, markets must be “appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied.”

Read more at:

Plutocracy or Democracy? | Commonweal magazine

Religious bigotry has always been a substantial part of left wing politics but they have managed to keep their seething hatred for Christians under control. Now that they realize their last chance for a socialist revolution is coming up in November you can bet your ass(ets) that left wing bigotry will come out of the closet in a last desperate effort and it ain't gonna be a pretty sight.

Fascinating. No, not your post; your abject partisanship.

 

[onecut39]

This really is an interesting read; a balanced perspective rather than the usual tripe posting daily on this message board.

In the past century Republicans hAve opposed EVERYTHING with the exception of about a twenty year period that saw the rise of the northern liberal Republican.

They are gone of course, extinct as the dodo bird.

 

[onecut39]

How Bad Policies Brought Us a New Gilded Age.

It is clear by now that the state of the U.S. economy will be the primary issue in this year’s election. As voters and as Catholics, how should we evaluate the country’s economy and the government’s role in regulating it? More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential. This is a goal best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity. The Catholic tradition is not opposed to wealth, private property, or free markets. Their value, however, is instrumental rather than intrinsic; they are beneficial to the extent that they contribute to the good of all, creating a widely shared prosperity. To ensure they do this, markets need government. Laws are needed to enforce contracts, insure transparency, and prevent corruption, and regulation is needed to prevent what Benedict XVI calls the “scandalous speculation” in the financial sector that recklessly risks the security of those in the larger economy. According to John Paul II, markets must be “appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied.”

Read more at:

Plutocracy or Democracy? | Commonweal magazine

Religious bigotry has always been a substantial part of left wing politics but they have managed to keep their seething hatred for Christians under control. Now that they realize their last chance for a socialist revolution is coming up in November you can bet your ass(ets) that left wing bigotry will come out of the closet in a last desperate effort and it ain't gonna be a pretty sight.

Fascinating. No, not your post; your abject partisanship.

Not to mention it is completely fact free.

 

[Wiseacre]

Doesn't look like a balanced perspective to me. I would agree though, that the governance we've got now and for a long time has not been good enough. But don't kid yourself, it ain't easy to legislate or regulate fairness without a negative impact on the economic well-being of society. I have no doubt some on the right over-emphasize the impact and some on the left take the under or even no impact at all. These days we don't seem to have as many moderates in the middle as we used to.

 

[BreezeWood]

More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential.

In the words of John Paul II ... why is John Paul II the subject for Catholicism 2012 and the 2012 US election?

 

[Wry Catcher]

More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential.

In the words of John Paul II ... why is John Paul II the subject for Catholicism 2012 and the 2012 US election?

I suppose because his words are a counter-point to Mitt Romney and the New Right.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Seems there is little interest in a thoughtful essay on the current state of politics in our country. I suppose the potential that one might change their perspective is troublesome, and given their intractable defense of all ideas which challenge them it is not a surprise.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

"...best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity."

Amen

 

[Wry Catcher]

"...best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity."

Amen

You're not only dumb frank, you are dishonest too.

The essay is well-balanced (as opposed to Frank who is unbalanced) and framed by Christian Ethics. Frank's dishonesty is exposed by his attempt to slant the essay by cherry picking a sentence which support his narrow approach to everything (judging by his many, many - too many - posts).



In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential. This is a goal best realized, furthermore, through a vibrant market economy based on private property, the economic arrangement that most efficiently creates wealth, respects human initiative, and allows people to support themselves and their families with dignity. The Catholic tradition is not opposed to wealth, private property, or free markets. Their value, however, is instrumental rather than intrinsic; they are beneficial to the extent that they contribute to the good of all, creating a widely shared prosperity. To ensure they do this, markets need government. Laws are needed to enforce contracts, insure transparency, and prevent corruption, and regulation is needed to prevent what Benedict XVI calls the “scandalous speculation” in the financial sector that recklessly risks the security of those in the larger economy. According to John Paul II, markets must be “appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied.”

Beyond these basic needs, church doctrine consistently cites equality as a core measure of economic well-being, warning that growing disparities in wealth not only violate basic principles of justice but create concentrations of power that threaten social cohesion and democratic integrity. Again and again, church teaching explicitly calls for the “redistribution” of wealth, and demands that government action show what John Paul II calls a “preference for the poor” by maintaining a safety net to protect the most vulnerable against poverty, homelessness, hunger, and poor access to health care.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

First things first, Freddo.

Unless you have a vibrant, growing, prosperous economy then there's no point in discussion how to provide for anyone. Progressives assault at the foundation of our economy render everything else meaningless.

Surely, even you can understand that?!

 

[Wry Catcher]

First things first, Freddo.

Unless you have a vibrant, growing, prosperous economy then there's no point in discussion how to provide for anyone. Progressives assault at the foundation of our economy render everything else meaningless.

Surely, even you can understand that?!

I do, and I understand this post is your feeble intent to censor how I exposed your dishonesty - everyone knows your dumb - in a post above. Do you even know what "intrinsic" means?

 

[BreezeWood]

More than a century of Catholic social doctrine, drawn together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

In the words of John Paul II, the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” is that of the “universal destination of goods,” which requires that all persons have access to sufficient goods to live in dignity and develop to their fullest potential.

In the words of John Paul II ... why is John Paul II the subject for Catholicism 2012 and the 2012 US election?

I suppose because his words are a counter-point to Mitt Romney and the New Right.

expressed most recently in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, provides some basic standards.

... provides some basic standards. ...

but those (basic standards) remain secondary to both John Paul II and Benedict XVI positions on reproductive rights - that have superseded their "concerns" for the disadvantaged in the economy by supporting the politicians in agreement with their reproductive rights - being those same individuals opposed to their economic policies and placing those disadvantaged "without objection" to the mercy of the Plutocratic objectives.

I suppose because his words are a counter-point to Mitt Romney and the New Right.

if only John Paul II and Benedict XVI actions were true / real.

"without objection" meaning they have not fought equally so against economic abuse as they have for the restrictive rights of reproduction as in fact an abandonment of one for the other and in fact their actual decisions have been counterproductive in both regards.

 

[PratchettFan]

This really is an interesting read; a balanced perspective rather than the usual tripe posting daily on this message board.

In the past century Republicans hAve opposed EVERYTHING with the exception of about a twenty year period that saw the rise of the northern liberal Republican.

They are gone of course, extinct as the dodo bird.

I am not.