I guess Francis didn't get the memo about socialist governments murdering more than 200 million of their own citizens since 1900 in the name of the "common good."
He states the position as to why I am NOT a Catholic
In a modern division of labor economy, the earning of money becomes an essential aspect of productive activity. This is because in order to live in such an economy, one must obtain the goods and services of other people. Those goods and services are not given away for free, nor, to any significant extent are they, or could they be, obtained through barter. To obtain the goods and services of others, one must possess money. Thus, if one's productive activity is to be appropriate to life in a division of labor society, that is, to be the means of obtaining the goods and services of others, it is essential that it be moneymaking. Only then, does one's activity make it possible for one to share in the benefits of a division of labor society.
I know the pope means well, and I fully believe he is very moral and just man.
I also know that the pope has about as much ability to make economic judgements as does the Obamadork about making any judgement at all.
Seems like everyone in a top position wants to preach socialism, but always with someone else’s money. What you give to one person, you take from another, either directly (taxes) or indirectly (inflation). America has stood out by allowing people the opportunity to succeed, and I believe our citizens have benefited by that. I will grant the Pope one thing, and that is we create a false class based on wealth. However, Americans have long realized that class and money are not the same thing. Take away media coverage of the rich and most are hollow shells of humanity. But take away capitalism and the opportunity to succeed and we have two classes consisting of a small upper class of corrupt government officials and a very large lower class of poor. Which is better? And if capitalism is so bad, why have we contributed so much to poorer nations?
This article is long on attribution, but short on actual quotes.
I’d guess he really does believe 1 Timothy 6:10.
Now please, don't get me wrong. I know the RC church does a lot for the poor. But if the Pope is going to go down this road, he'd better make some changes in how the RC manages it's own money first.
Oh crap. We’ve got a socialist / communist as Pope.
This will not end well.
I fear his holiness has confused "unchecked capitalism" with corrupt socialism. It is the loss of the rule of law and the loss of equality of opportunity, not capitalism, which leads to inequality of wealth.
Inequality in itself is not a bad thing but within limits a good thing. Without inequality there can be no incentive, no striving for improvement. Inequality is an indication of economic health, it reflects progress which must inevitably be uneven. Extreme inequality is almost always the result of government interference and corruption and it produces not just richer rich people but poorer poor people.
Inequality is not an evil if it means that the rich are richer while the poor are not poorer.
I don’t like this pope - he comes from the school of Rev Wright - Liberation Theology, aka Marxism.
This is NOT a matter of Faith or Morals and shows a complete lack of understanding of Capitalism.
Socialism creates Tyranny.
Capitalism creates opportunity.
Governments are NOT charities and to the extent the pretend to be, they have stolen your freedom, at the price of power and control. (Freedoms such as Religious liberty...)
I guess he hasn’t figured out where all that money comes from in those little baskets they pass around every Sunday.
You can bet your bottom dollar those baskets are the first things that get cut when it comes time to tighten most families belts when people like him get in charge.
It seems the monastery’s ECON 101 class was napped through by this guy...
So people who have real jobs are assumed not to know how to do the right thing, while people who DON'T have real jobs and whose salaries are paid for by the labor of others are assumed to be capable and have only the best of intentions??? How does this guy manage to shovel his Total in his mouth in the morning without stabbing himself in the eye?
I would suggest waiting to see what he actually said. And waiting further to see what he actually does.
There is a bit of naivete in his comments about money. On the other hand, there is also considerable naivete in the pure Ayn Rand view of things. If it’s everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost, that doesn’t work out very well either.
What you want is a free market with players who are decently moral and just. Well, you aren’t going to get either one completely in the real world. The market ceases to be free when you have big money players cheating at the top. And it ceases to be moral when you have big money players full of greed, raised by the public school system, and educated by Hollywood and the bong smokers.
So, you need some regulation. But some regulation soon becomes crooked, big government, crony regulation. All you can do is try to set up checks and balances, and try to educate people to behave better than they do. I think that’s what the Pope is trying to do. He’s not the head of the International Treasury Department. He’s one of the providers of moral advice to individuals and governments. He’s telling Catholics not to put money first, but to put God first.
And, of course, the press will distort everything he says.
Now that would describe China, a communist/atheist country.
I guess the Pope would like the government to be the god and provide all for the people.
What Francis said is consistent with the positions of recent popes, including John Paul II, and the official position of the church. Vatican Council II upheld the principle of the universal ownership of all goods and emphatically said, If one is in extreme necessity, he has the right to procure for himself what he needs out of the riches of others.(Gaudium et Spes, Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, Para. 69)
I recently read this short paper and recommend it for anyone interested in this subject.
“Papal Promotion of Collective Ownership and Theft” by Richard Bennett (former Roman Catholic priest) and Robert J. Nicholson
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/articles/sorted/01_On_Catholicism/Papal_Economics.pdf