Johnboy on December 15, 2011 at 3:28 pm said: 1) point of info: US is a mixed economy 2) opinion: which sometimes exemplifies the worst side of its capitalistic element 3) as with government in general, we employ it precisely b/c we are not angels 4) so, it can always be easily critiqued over against idealist notions but less easily from a practical perspective, in my view Reply ↓ johnboy on December 16, 2011 at 6:39 am said: Your comment is awaiting moderation. In New Orleans, the monks at our local abbey make and sell wooden caskets and bake and give away bread loaves to the poor. At Gethsemani in Kentucky, the monks make and sell fruitcakes, fudge and cheese. Wouldn’t we find it rather perverted if, in those monasteries, those monks that produced the goods hoarded the incoming capital allocating only a nominal entitlement sum to the others who were sick, elderly, eremitic or choirmasters for the schola cantorum? I’m among the defenders of capitalism (highly regulated in a mixed economy) and can occasionally even defend a war. But in both cases, I cannot make a case for either that they are anything but necessary evils or, as we comfort ourselves in saying, just wars. And just wars have collateral damage that must be avoided and mitigated. And they have victims. Capitalism is too often an American Idol and it gets especially idolized by those who are born on third base who like to imagine that they hit a triple. Sure, it has some measure of meritocracy, if you were lucky enough to be given a bat, ball and glove. I just cannot see where Fr Richard is wrong on this one.
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