Posted on 05/20/2013 11:41:55 AM PDT by IBD editorial writer
Statism: Pope Francis seemed to have an economic blind spot, to say the least, when he urged more "state control" to cut global poverty Thursday. On the contrary — the biggest poverty-killer in history is free enterprise.Before we go further, let us say that we know that the pope does seem to have the best intentions and his devotion to the poor is indisputable. But it appears he has been infected by the local economic pathologies of his homeland, Argentina, and its liberation theology among the Jesuits, at least when he warned ambassadors about "the tyranny of money" and called for countries to impose more control over their economies to prevent "absolute autonomy" and foster the "common good." That policy prescription has already been tried in Argentina. It has driven millions of Argentines into poverty by destroying the value of their savings, both through raw expropriation as happened in 2008 with private pensions (the money was taken under the aegis of helping "the poor"), and by repeated currency devaluations — the product of a government printing money to pay for its expansion of power after there was nothing left to steal.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
It’s not just the Pope. Many benevolent people can’t seem to comprehend the simple truth that Free Markets Are Best Way To End Poverty.
Hey Pope-ey...how’d that increased government control work in, say...Italy? Or anyplace else its been tried including your home country.
Fact is, your way has not worked anywhere ever...thats “EVER”.
Stick with worrying about priests who can’t keep their hands out of altar boys pants....Free markets or capitalist markets have done more to lift humans out of poverty than any thing else. You should know it. heck, even the Chinese commies had to quit fighting the idea....
As much as I admire him, one must recognize that he comes from a country where they have never figured this out.
Unchecked capitalism had created “a new, invisible, and at times virtual, tyranny”, said the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.
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.
Agreed. He has said and done many good things in the short time he has been Pope but everything I hear him say about economics leads me to believe that he really does believe in Wefare State Socialism or at least state control of markets -- that is, this is no "misunderstanding" or something "taken out of context." Its what holds me back from truly admiring him. Socialism and a large state are great evils in the modern world. He needs to recognize that.
Not to slam the Pope by any means nor the late Mother Theresa, but all this help the poor crap does nothing but subsidize poverty. Subsidize something and you will always get more of it.
I can raise the blood pressure of many on the left and right by posing the question: “Who has helped more people escape from poverty, Mother Theresa or Bill Gates?”
While a very good and noble person, Mother Theresa still left the people in poverty. Bill Gates on the other hand created great wealth not only for himself and thousands of others but now has the infrastructure to help millions with medical aid and life improving technology.
The evil, greedy, and at times obnoxious, BG used capitalism to truly help the world.
A hand up is worth 1,000,000 hand outs.
The solution to poverty that free market economics offers is, the freedom of the individual.--i.e., laissez-faire capitalism--a system in which each individual pursues his own true interests and, at the same time, is necessarily led to promote the good of those with whom he deals, as the necessary condition of obtaining their voluntary cooperation. This is the engine for transforming poverty into prosperity. In its effectiveness in overcoming poverty, it surpasses the futile gestures of traditional, altruist/collectivist morality, which has been handed down unchanged in all essential since the Middle Ages.
Any tendency to support “state control” is indeed dangerous and does expose a major flaw in the Pope’s thinking. In fact, I would argue that this is a moral flaw. The Pope should know better; not only did he live in statist Argentina, but he could learn from Pope JP2’s vigorous stand against communism and the Vatican’s resistance (at least where possible) to Nazism and Fascism.
Government control of the economy always leads to despotism; I defy the Pope to find an example to the contrary.
And I gather then sponsoring a universal public opinion poll, to be evaluated according to the highest standards of life experience rationally reflected; and mathematics and science. It seems possible that your "average citizen" (whatever that is) is not thinking about such problems, and is not the least bit interested in such problems.
Now that he has been elevated as Pope Francis, do we expect him to completely change his mind about what renovation and respiritualization of the Holy Church really means and requires, and why it is necessary at the present time?
Much has been said about Pope Francis as a "renovator." But with the political progressive Left, a "renovator" is someone who changes things.
For the Chrisitian, a "renovator" is someone who fulfills things — the Lord, Who, in doing such, makes all things new.
Methinks the progressive Left has been launching pre-emptive media attacks on Pope Francis, for they do already know that he is NOT going to (further) bless their "lavender seminaries." Let alone any moral theory that attempts to accommodate same, in the Name of the Lord. [That is to say, "'in the name of "truth'," as humanly-devised.]
Thank you so much for the post, IBD editorial writer!
I dunno—this pope strikes me as darn peculiar.
The idea that governments control economies, and ought to control them, is almost universal outside the US and in fact almost universal inside the US.
Socialism always creates and sustains an oligarchy. Free economies create a ruling class that is inherently more fluid. But you’ll find precious few people who understand this inside or outside the US, in or out of the church.
The key to prosperity, as post 6 rightly says, is rule of law, and a moral society that sees itself committed to protecting the property of others without wanting to possess the property of others.
Wonder if the true free market folks still consider the EU “free market”? If so...they just flunked Free Market 101. And have no basis to criticize the Pope
Thomas Sowell modeled the situation as one in which there are four possibilities: Intending to do good and actually doing good, not intending to do good and actually not doing good - but also, intending to do good and actually not doing good, and not intending to do good, but actually doing good. “Liberals” tend to be big on intentions; if they intend to do good then they think that settles matters, and if you don’t intend to do good that also settles matters as far as they are concerned. Present “liberals” with a case of bad results from good intentions, or good results without good intentions, and the “liberal’s” response will be, “That does not compute."And unfortunately that temptation - actually, a self-righteousness tendency IMHO - seems to be a seductive error for more than one prominent Catholic.
It constantly amazes me how many otherwise well informed people on FR do not know this, but here goes again:
Roman Catholic priests are one of the very least likely clergy groups to be accused of pedophilia, and FAR less likely than the male population in general. Name your religion: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, most major Protestant denominations. All more common in those groups.
Furthermore, the vast, overwhelming majority of complaints of "pedophilia" against Catholic priests involved not "altar boys," or even children in the normal usage of the term, but consensual relationships between adult priests and gay teenagers. Of course such activity still amounts to statutory rape, but your reference is inaccurate at best.
It's not a numbers contest. Mother Theresa could never have been Bill Gates. She did the most with what she had to work with. But if you take the number of people she inspired by her example, I would still say she ended up saving more people than Bill Gates.
For the Chrisitian, a "renovator" is someone who fulfills things — the Lord, Who, in doing such, makes all things new.
Methinks the progressive Left has been launching pre-emptive media attacks on Pope Francis, for they do already know that he is NOT going to (further) bless their "lavender seminaries." Let alone any moral theory that attempts to accommodate same, in the Name of the Lord. [That is to say, "'in the name of "truth'," as humanly-devised.]
May God abundantly bless and guide this Pope!
Nonetheless, the Church actively engaged to hide, deny and obsfucate the issue. [As do other religions so caught...its almost a reflexive action, I concede.]
And it still does. ANY priest so caught has violated his vows, grievously. There is not supposed to be “consentual” sex at all...
Instead of expulsion, priests were reassigned and in some cases re-offended.
Not even close, and it is a numbers contest. The more you can bring out of poverty the more there are to give a hand up.
Its the old give a fish, teach to fish thing. Or provide a method to find the fish.
The poor crank out more poor than the producers on this planet can possibly give enough to help. However, if you help them obtain the education and skills to lift themselves, they not only improve their lives but can have an increase in self worth.
On that score, BG, has done head and shoulders over the give away people.
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