Perspectives of a Wanderer

I have been reading The Catholic Worker Movement by Mark and Louise Zwick and just completed the chapter “The Common Good vs Individualism”.  In the chapter, this passage stood out:

Peter and Dorothy especially quoted Tawney’s Religion and the Rise of Modern Capitalism, which shows the dramatic changes in concepts away from the common good. Tawney contended that what happened in the historical process generated by the Reformation was the movement of the focus of exchange from the social solidarity group (common good) to the individual. He argued that the social character of wealth that had been the essence of medieval doctrine was lost through the unexpected development of economic individualism that sprang to a large extent from the notion of private interpretation of Sacred Scripture. In their eagerness to rid the world of the corruption of the Catholic Church at the time, the reformers replaced the church teaching of solidarity with the teaching of individual salvation without good works. As Tawney put it, “Individualism in religion led insensibly, if not quite logically, to an individualist morality, and an individualist morality to a disparagement of the significance of the social fabric as compared with personal character.”

In England and in the young United States, with time and pressure from merchants, Puritanism (the outgrowth of Calvinism) added a “halo of ethical sanctification to the appeal of economic expediency, and offered a moral creed in which the duties of religion and the calls of business ended their long estrangement in an unanticipated reconciliation.” Gradually, the Reformation idea that individual conscience decides led to the practical conclusion that might be thought of as whatever works, whatever is comfortable, whatever makes a profit. Those in trade argued that “business affairs should be left to be settled by businessmen, unhampered by the intrusions of an antiquated morality or by misconceived arguments of public policy.” Economics became separated from ethics. The contrast with earlier Christian teaching on the sin of avarice is striking. The church had always taught that greed, the implementation of the desire to gain more and more wealth, was one of the capital sins, and the idea of acquiring wealth was limited by a body of moral rules imposed under the sanction of religious authority. (pg 141-142)

I would tend to agree in the above assessment.  Protestantism has fragmented Christianity to the point where, in some cases, it is completely detached from its roots.  This allows for the the individual to interpret what Christianity is to fit with what they want, not what  it is.  This individualism is what has given root to the social ills of Relativism and Materialism (via Capitalism).

Furthermore, earlier in the chapter, Peter Maurin (one of the founders of the Catholic Workers Movement with Dorothy Day) believed that “socialism would not have existed if not for the excesses of capitalism (pg 135).  I would tend to agree with this premise also since tends to be a backlash when there are excesses in any system.

With Socialism and Global Capitalism combining forces these day with their incestuous relationship, I think we may be starting to see  a backlash to both systems.  What replaces it will depend on who presents the best alternative.   I believe by combining aspects of the Distributism, Catholic Workers, and Catholic Land movements (along with some others which I have not researched yet), I think we Catholics could provide a viable alternatives to both Socialism and Capitalism.

Another good example of Socialism and Global Capitalism are in an incestuous relationship.  From the Distributist Review:

Handmade Toy Alliance

Handmade toys may soon be illegal in the United States.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that they would already be illegal, if toymakers and others hadn’t gotten together and fought back. Now they need our help.

Illegal handmade toys?

Illegal handmade toys may sound like an embarrassing attempt at satire. Or the more embarrassing ravings of an unembarrassed consipracy theorist. But it’s the sober fact. As the toymakers explain:

Read more

A large Chinese Company cause the toy scare and what does the US do? Go after the Chinese? No, they go after the little person in the US that competes with the Chinese Company. This is a perfect example of Socialism and Global Capitalism conspiring for domination. This is also why they both must be stopped and replaced by a Governmental/Economic/and Societal structure based on Catholic Social and Moral Doctrines.

While driving on Friday, I was listening to the news (I rarely listen to the Ministry of Propaganda but I was trying to get the traffic report) and they had a segment on the job market.  It stated that there has been job growth, but in jobs that require a “higher education”(i.e. a college education).  The ones that do not need a “higher education” are quickly disappearing.

This got me to thinking.  The Economy, in fact society as a whole, these days seems to be more geared towards those with a “higher education”.  Those jobs (and those who do not or cannot for various reasons pursue a “higher education”) are looked down on by society and it shows in the job market.  This is only exacerbated by the plague of Global Capitalism that, if it is possible, shifts those undesirable jobs overseas to places where higher education is less available or non-existent except for a privileged few.   As for the ones that cannot be shipped over, like construction, they are becoming harder and harder to fill and exacerbates other problems which is a topic for another thread.

For a true distributive economy/society to work, we need to change this perception but, how to do it is the question.  This I do not have the answer to.

A second question, while and after changing the perception, is how to create a pool of qualified workers.  Yes, there are trade schools but there is not nearly enough to adequately provide training and, it seems, you cannot get jobs in these field unless to get the training first.  Again, there is a perception that “formal education” is needed.

I believe the answer to the second question can be found in the guild system and the apprenticeships that were part of the system.   By providing a “hands-on” training with a qualified master, the apprentice would get the training and the job experience he would need for their trade of choice.  It would also reduce the need for the trade schools to turn out qualified candidates.

Things will need to “change” and we need to start those changes now.

While checking out anything new on the The Distributist Review, the entry The Midas Touch caught my attention.

In the entry, it goes on about the Capital quest for “Financial Wealth” can, and actually destroys, Real Wealth.    One section sums this up:

Now, it is not my place to tell the villagers what they should do. It is neither my village nor my country, and these are decisions which only the people of Rosia Montana and the government of Romania can make. But whether the villagers decide to stay or go, the decision they make is a sign and symbol of something much wider, and part of something much greater. To be specific, it is part of a great joke about capitalism. But it is a joke that no one seems to get. So here is the punchline: Rosia Montana is a place of great natural wealth, BUT THERE IS NO INCOME (as one of the villagers in the film put it). Now, here is a place that has received every gift that a loving God could bestow on any piece of ground: mountains full of minerals, valleys full of farms, pastures full of animals, rivers full of fish. It is a place that could—and has—supported tens of thousands in peace and prosperity, but under capitalism, it cannot provide work for a thousand. An area that should be prosperous and happy becomes an area of forced idleness. There is wealth, real wealth, but there are no jobs, and people, young people especially—that is, the future—feel they must leave. And if they leave with a few Euros provided by the Canadians, who can blame them?

This shows the conflict between Capitalism’s thirst for “Financial Wealth” and Real Wealth.  “Financial wealth” is about greed for a few while real wealth is about providing for the many.   This is how screwed up the world is these days.  In addition, the article goes on to recount how the quest for “financial wealth” in one area can destroy real wealth in a much wider area.  The example given, a gold mine in Baia Mare in northern Romania, is eerily similar to the similar to what can happen in Rosia Montana.

This is a prime example of why I am now against Capitalism, especially Global Capitalism, in its present state and now call myself a Distributist.

This is a follow up on the entry: From the Distributist Review: Cultivating a Local Food System

I have been reading Flee to the Fields by Dr. Tobias Lanz which is a collection of articles and chapters by various original proponents of the Catholic Land Movement.  One common theme seems to be that of making sure that the people that participated in the movement were properly trained.   It got me to think that modern society has made mankind very reliant, if not totally reliant, on others for survival.

For the most part, we get money from either the employers or the government (which also can be the employer) and we use that money to obtain all our necessities to survive.  It has gotten to the point where we cannot fend for ourselves.  Most of us have never grown our own vegetables/fruit, raised our own animals or hunted for meat, or even fished. I have grown vegetables/fruit and fished (however, I never have prepared what I have caught).

This is a major problem for survival if any disaster happens that would disrupt the supply of goods and must be remedied sooner than later.   One thing the Catholic Land Movement and Distributism have in common is local and personal self-sufficiency.  While we cannot actually learn total self-sufficiency from those movements, they can be used as models for setting up the framework for becoming self-sufficient.

Normally, I do not do entries that include the article in the title, but this one could be interesting. The following is the beginning of an entry over at The Distributist Review:

Cultivating a Local Food System

As the War Mercantilist Socialism economy continues its downward grind, one of the most important tasks for distributists is to ensure local food security. I see six important elements that work together to support local food security:

(1) preparing meals from basic ingredients,
(2) frugal supermarket shopping,
(3) gardening,
(4) food storage,
(5) home preservation of food.
(6) buying local foods,

My posts in this Distributist Review over the next couple months will look at each of these aspects in detail. Since it is hard to “order” these principles in terms of “most important”, I have listed them in a “functional” order. In other words, if you are coming at this brand new, this is probably the order of development for most households.

Self-sufficiency is a key element of both the Catholic Land and Distributists movement. The article got me to thinking how much garbage we put into ourselves and how, with a little time, we can make much of the same things ourselves that are less expensive and more healthy.

The article mentions making your own bread.   If you really looked at the ingredients that are in store bought breads, you would be shocked and alarmed.  I am considering getting a bread machine (there is a reason for getting a machine rather than using the oven that I will not go into here) and start making bread myself.  That way I can control the size and content of the bread.

In addition, I am thinking of getting books on how to make other food items like tomato sauce (more like marinara sauce).

It will be interesting to see where these ensuing articles will go.

Recently, there have been reports that Pope Benedict XVI will be releasing a new encyclical titled Caritas in Veritate (Charity upon Truthfulness) in June.

While I will not speculate about it actual contents, this is reported to be a social encyclical and should be interesting in light of the changes in the past number of years.   There are some of us who are hoping this encyclical will provide clear direction in how to process in light of the social ills that have infected society like the plague. The cause of these ills, in my opinion,  are Relativism, Capitalism, Socialsm, Materialism, and Liberalism.

We will see.

I am starting to come to the realization that the solution to society’s ills due to rampant Relativism, Materialism, Capitalism, Liberalism, and Socialism may lay in the Catholic movements of the past.

There have been a number of times where western civilization went astray or was in imminent danger of collapse.  Some of these include the fall of Rome, the Black Death of the 14th century and the protestant revolt.  It was the Catholic Church that either held civilization together or brought it back to the Truth. Even in other time where the circumstances were not that dire, the Catholic Church has been there to right the way when things have gotten off track.

Today’s situation is much like the time around the fall of the Roman Empire.  Immorality was rampant and the “barbarians” were invading.  Today it is a little different though.  The “barbarians” are causing the immorality.  Yes, I am calling the Relativists, Materialists, Capitalists, Liberals, and Socialists the “barbarians” of today’s world.

Now, back to the movements and how they may help.  There have been many throughout the last 2,000 years and we must explore which one can do the most good today.  When looking at the movement, we must not only look at the ones that were a resounding success, but ones that had little or no success and even those that were utter and complete failures.  What did not work in the past, may work now.

Three that I am exploring right now are relatively new movements.  They are the Catholic Workers, Catholic Land, and Distributism movements.  I am exploring these since mainly related to the economic ills brought on my Capitalism, Socialism and Materialism.  I truly believe that much, if not all the answers, to the economic destruction and injustices can be found in three movements.

As for the social decay brought on by all of the aforementioned, I am still searching for keys to solve those.  Part of the solution probably can be found in the three movements, but I still see the need to look further.

The solution and/or solutions need to be found soon or a second “fall of Rome” is in the future.