A blog post from a philosopher that I enjoy reading. For the sake accountability, I will state right that he writes from a conservative Catholic point of view which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea:
http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2015/09/...ty-si.html
In the next part, a quote from the 1878 encyclical mentioned above is quoted that refers to why socialism is to be rejected
Don't want to bog down the rest of the post with long ass quotes so I will give a brief tl;dr of what the rest of the post says. The author of the post draws a distinction between concern for the less fortunate and concern with making everyone equal and points out that even though the two ideas are commonly thought to be interchangeable they are in fact not. The author of the post also furthers quotes the encyclical which acknowledges that there is indeed a difference between human beings in terms of intelligence, ability, talent and that this is just the natural order of things.
A common thread of discussion is the notion of equality and how it has been abused in order to further agendas that aren't beneficial to society at large so I thought this post could lead to further discussion. What exactly should be due to a person by virtue of him being a human being and what should only be due to him based on his ability?
http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2015/09/...ty-si.html
Quote:Quote:
From a natural law point of view, we have a grave duty to help those who are in poverty. But we are also obliged to recognize that inequality is simply part of the natural order of things. The two things -- poverty and inequality -- simply have nothing essentially to do with one another. Pope Leo XIII expressed this position eloquently in his 1878 encyclical on socialism, Quod Apostolici Muneris, which vigorously reaffirms the duty of the rich to aid the poor, but also vigorously condemns socialism, which he calls “evil,” “depraved” and a “plague.” And one of the problems he has with it is precisely its egalitarianism:
In the next part, a quote from the 1878 encyclical mentioned above is quoted that refers to why socialism is to be rejected
Quote:Quote:
[W]hile the socialists would destroy the “right” of property, alleging it to be a human invention altogether opposed to the inborn equality of man, and, claiming a community of goods, argue that poverty should not be peaceably endured, and that the property and privileges of the rich may be rightly invaded, the Church, with much greater wisdom and good sense, recognizes the inequality among men, who are born with different powers of body and mind, inequality in actual possession, also, and holds that the right of property and of ownership, which springs from nature itself, must not be touched and stands inviolate. (Emphasis added)
Don't want to bog down the rest of the post with long ass quotes so I will give a brief tl;dr of what the rest of the post says. The author of the post draws a distinction between concern for the less fortunate and concern with making everyone equal and points out that even though the two ideas are commonly thought to be interchangeable they are in fact not. The author of the post also furthers quotes the encyclical which acknowledges that there is indeed a difference between human beings in terms of intelligence, ability, talent and that this is just the natural order of things.
A common thread of discussion is the notion of equality and how it has been abused in order to further agendas that aren't beneficial to society at large so I thought this post could lead to further discussion. What exactly should be due to a person by virtue of him being a human being and what should only be due to him based on his ability?