Millennial

Young Catholics, An Ancient Faith, A New Century

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Editor
  • Writers
    • Guest Writers
  • Journal
    • Book Reviews
    • Special Series
  • Blog
    • Around the Web
    • Quote of the Day
    • Interviews

Key Thoughts from “Erroneous Autonomy: The Catholic Case against Libertarianism” (Part 1)

June 9, 2014 Robert Christian

Last week, the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, where I am a graduate fellow, held one of the most important conferences of the year on Catholic Social Teaching. Panelists and speakers at the event, Erroneous Autonomy: The Catholic Case against Libertarianism, directly confronted an ideology that is deeply incompatible with the Catholic faith—libertarianism—and explained its myriad deficiencies.

Here are some excellent reviews of the conference from: Michael Sean Winters, David Gibson, and Joshua McElwee. Since libertarianism directly conflicts with the values that shape much of our writing at Millennial, we will highlight some of the key insights from the conference. In Part I, the focus is on the first panel, which included Millennial’s Meghan Clark and was expertly moderated by Our Sunday Visitor’s Greg Erlandson.

DSC04000

Meghan Clark (St. John’s, Millennial writer)

  • Solidarity exposes libertarianism as deficient.
  • The imago dei is the foundation of the equality of all.
  • To be a human person is to be in community.
  • As Pope Benedict XVI said, we must get over the intoxication of total autonomy.
  • No one is saved alone as an isolated individual.
  • “What do children need in order to thrive?” is not a question of charity. It’s a question of justice.
  • Subsidiarity means decisions are made at the proper level.
  • It’s difficult to dialogue when you are not speaking the same language.

Mary Hirschfeld (Villanova)

  • The fullness of human nature is found in social community.
  • Catholic social thought cannot be reconciled with Randianism or a “greed is good” mentality.
  • Subsidiarity matters. We must help the poor to be agents, not objects.
  • Markets often fail, but the state is not a panacea. We need to be open to both markets and state intervention to find solutions to complex problems.
  • The human person is what matters—not the goods that should serve the person.

Msgr. Stuart Swetland (Mt. St. Mary’s)

  • The Church teaches that both communism and libertarianism are built on faulty anthropology.
  • The family and the state are natural communities. Government is a necessary good.
  • A modern market economy needs regulation and public works.
  • Libertarianism privatizes faith, while Catholic teaching insists faith must impact culture.
  • There are no absolute property rights. The universal destination of goods means they must serve the common good.
  • Libertarians never consider the need for a family wage.
  • Why don’t libertarians talk about subsidiarity when it comes to big banks and corporations?
  • Powerful economic institutions are why the Church is calling for more government and world political authority.
  • Why not talk to libertarians? “We didn’t want to dialogue with communism as much as show that it had inadequate ideology.”

Kathy Saile (Center for Budget & Policy)

  • Quoting Michael Gerson, “There are few libertarians after hurricanes.”
  • The safety net cuts poverty in half.
  • The media’s political narrative of excessive spending is a caricature. The poor are left out in budget decisions.
  • Churches and charities alone can’t fill the gap in reducing poverty. Government plays vital role.
  • Catholic bishops have long supported tax policy that helps the poor and working poor.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

This entry was posted in Blog and tagged Catholic Social Teaching, Economic Justice, Economic Libertarianism, Libertarianism. Bookmark the permalink.

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Latest Posts

  • Quote of the Day
  • Pope Francis’ Prayer Intentions for April 2021: People Who Fight for Fundamental Human Rights
  • The Conservative and “Pro-Life” Catholic Leaders Who Are Backing Voter Suppression
  • 10 Years of Murder, Destruction, and Brutal Repression in Syria
  • Encounter, Solidarity, and the Common Good with Marcus Mescher

Sign up for our monthly newsletter

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

TWITTER

  • Pope Francis: “Our world needs a revolution of love! Let that revolution begin with you and your families!”… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 7 hours ago
Follow @MillennialJourn

Follow us on Instagram

No Instagram images were found.

Follow us on Pinterest

Check out recent articles and posts by:

Robert Christian / Sarah Christian / Meghan Clark / Anusia Dickow / Daniel DiLeo / Kate Gordon / Christopher Hale / Billy Kangas / Brian Keaney / Mike Jordan Laskey / Patrick Manning / Fabrice Musoni / Bethany Welch

Popular Topics:

Abortion Catholic Social Teaching Climate Change Economic Inequality Economic Justice Environment Family Issues Food Security Human Rights Immigration Interviews Joy Lent 2015 Love Mass Atrocities Mercy Millennials Pope Francis Poverty Pro-life Racism Refugees Social Justice Syria Whole Life

Search Millennial

Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    <span>%d</span> bloggers like this: