Posted on 12/01/2013 6:43:58 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Pope Francis has authored his first letter and in it he makes a bold statement Tuesday, calling upon world leaders to fight unrestricted capitalism, which he called "a new tyranny." He also called for moving power away from the Vatican and renew of the Church.
In an 84 page document known as an apostolic exhortation, titled, "Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis explained some of his positions on key matters in a very official capacity. Among those positions was a warning that unfettered capitalism was a danger.
For Americans, especially conservatives, this may sound like an ominous sign, but it must be viewed in a Catholic light. Capitalism, if unchecked, enables the wealthy to become increasingly powerful without any substantial net benefit to the balance of society. It promotes a form of inequality in which only the wealthy profit by work and all others merely subsist.
Pope Francis referred to this as "a new tyranny" pointing out concerns that as capitalist movements gain ground, many people are being left behind, shut off from opportunity. Meanwhile, those with access to opportunity and wealth commit "idolatry of money" by doing that which is most profitable without regard for the rest of society.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
He’s a train wreck on the spiritual matters, too.
Trojan Horse pope.
The Pope saying unfettered capitalism is the new tyranny has less meaning than saying, "Pray for rain." In fact praying for rain may even be useful. Decrying something that doesn't exist is a waste of air.
I hope the Pope reaches higher in his career. If this is the best he can do, the Catholic Church is in for a long slide.
Now I know he’s nuts.
I can’t help but notice a similar sort of experience so far with Pope Francis.
I think for each man it's probably translation errors due to their speaking a non-native language, but still...curious.
They’ve been setting us up for this for 50 years.
We were warned.
There’s too much capitalizin’ goin’ on.
I believe the latest analysis of the Pope’s words, at least the one I read, says that a more precise translation is that he takes exception to rampant “consumerism” rather than “capitalism”. This seems more in line with my impression of his earlier statements.
I guess this church reaps their benefits first from the fruits of free markets?
RE: I can’t help but notice a similar sort of experience so far with Pope Francis.
The only way we can find out is for the Pope to CLARIFY what he said. Otherwise, someone will always say — “No, this is what he really meant”.
If he does not follow up with a more detailed clarification and leave people wondering... of what good then is a living magisterium?
Personally, I like the marketplace. And people should remember that the marketplace is not synonymous with Capitalism. In order for Capitalism to exist, you need governments and laws and regulations. Big Banks and Stock Markets and Global Trade would not exist without government involvement. Now, being a Conservative, I recognize that government corrupts everything it touches. Therefore, I think Capitalism inevitably progresses to what we have today: Fascism.
I don't like Socialism.
I don't like Fascism.
I don't like Capitalism -- I used to, but now that I think I understand it better, I no longer like Capitalism.
I like the marketplace. That means small and managed by the buyers and the sellers, with no need for bureaucrats to "help" run the show. I do not see this as a Libertarian position. I see it as a Distributist position, based on Christian economics, as laid out in "Rerum Novarum".
RE: I believe the latest analysis of the Pope’s words, at least the one I read, says that a more precise translation is that he takes exception to rampant “consumerism” rather than “capitalism”. This seems more in line with my impression of his earlier statements.
Any HONEST individual would be wise to hold off all comments and at least READ the text before he makes his conclusions. It can be found here:
Now, here’s my challenge to those whose first instinct is to shoot of their mouths ( or keyboards as the case may be )...
Search the entire text and tell me if you find the word “capitalism” in it.
Come on.... DO IT.
“Capitalism, if unchecked, enables the wealthy to become increasingly powerful without any substantial net benefit to the balance of society. It promotes a form of inequality in which only the wealthy profit by work and all others merely subsist.”
Either “capitalism” is simply a boogeyman word invented by the Catholics, or this is a statement of fact that can be subjected to verification.
What is the correlation between the degree of capitalism in countries and …
(1) the standard of living of the median average (or, 50th percentile) person? The Pope says zero (he says the masses of people live at the subsistence level). The facts say positive.
(2) the standard of living of the twentieth percentile person? The Pope says zero (he says the masses of people live at the subsistence level). The facts say positive.
(3) the life expectancy of the population. The Pope says negative. (He says unfettered capitalism kills (this is from another part of his Exhortation). The facts say positive.
The economic theory exposed by the Pope is that of Thomas Malthus and Karl Marx (and also the tree-huggers of today). According to this theory, there is an iron law of wages. If wages were to ever rise above the subsistence level, then more children would survive until reproductive age, populations would grow and the supply of labor with it, until wages were again pushed down to the subsistence level.
This was a valid viewpoint at the time Malthus developed it. Prior to capitalism, there was no sustained progress for the economic conditions of the masses of people. After plague or war, when population and labor supply fell, wages rose; and, when population and labor supply recovered, wages fell back down.
But, with capitalism, the accumulation of capital, divorced the productivity of labor from the fixed supply of land. After capitalism, productivity and wages became a function of the accumulation of capital and a function, indirectly, of the protection afforded property by law.
The article you posted said “capitalism” in the first paragraph and my comments were directed toward that, merely my attempt to say the same things you seem to be saying now. I agree that there’s far too much jerking of the knee going all over the world about everything he says.
**I believe the latest analysis of the Pope’s words, at least the one I read, says that a more precise translation is that he takes exception to rampant “consumerism” rather than “capitalism”.**
BTTT! The truth will eventually come out. Remember how everyone dissed Pope Benedict’s encyclicals too? Just a re=run of things past. The media is will to accept a mis-translation as truth......par for lamestream, that’s for sure.
Repeat After Me: Subsidiarity & Solidarity
Subsidiarity and Human Dignity
Does the USCCB Understand Subsidiarity?
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] The Principle of Subsidiarity
[CATHOLIC/ORTHODOX CAUCUS] Subsidiarity Over Social Justice
What is the USCCB’s problem with subsidiarity?
Subsidiarity: Where Justice and Freedom Coexist
Health reform still full of thorny problems for Catholics (Vasa comes out for subsidiarity)
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Subsidiarity, [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Catholic Word of the Day: SUBSIDIARITY, 06-11-09
Ive noticed that those who believe in the Pope will take any comment he makes, and bend and twist it to sound like its alright and that he is actually saying “this or that” he “didnt mean it the way he said it” etc. Just like the people who are for obama, they take what he does and twist it to make it sound like what he is doing is the “right thing”. It called willful ignorance. Its wanting to believe in a person so bad that they refuse to see what this person is actually up to.
(204) We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market. Growth in justice requires more than economic growth, while presupposing such growth: it requires decisions, programmes, mechanisms and processes specifically geared to a better distribution of income, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality.
The fact that he doesn't use Marx's word ("capitalism") to describe what he's condemning here doesn't mean he's not singing Marx's tune. He certainly is, in unambiguous terms.
Free-markets can't be trusted. "Trickle-down" economics don't work. Decisions, programs, mechanisms and processes specifically geared toward "better distribution of income" are now required to bring about a "growth in justice".
Are we really debating what this language means? On FreeRepublic? It's Marxism 101. And Bergoglio has the spiel down as well as any revolutionary college professor.
This is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's the obvious, logical conclusion.
LOL. Said like a thief.
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