Anthony Annett of Fordham University articulates the differences between neoliberalism and Catholic social teaching. Here are some of those differences: Neoliberalism defines human motivation in terms of self-interest. Catholic social teaching defines human motivation in terms of “solidarity, reciprocity, and...
common good
Tocqueville said that “selfishness originates in blind instinct: individualism proceeds from erroneous judgment.” Both are at work in our mask wars.
What is happening to America? The Donald Trump presidency is primarily responsible this mess. He lifted the veil of civility and empowered the kind of people you see and hear about in the video I posted below. If the republic...
Do Americans still believe in the common good?
It’s a fair question. Here is Kentucky-based writer Silas House at The Atlantic: Refusing to sacrifice for the common good is an American problem, not just a Kentucky one; opposition to masking and vaccination is happening in such disparate places...
Practice virtue. Get vaccinated
On Wednesday I wrote a piece at Current titled, “Love Your Neighbor. Get Vaccinated.” I discussed the resistance to vaccines in the evangelical community and focused a significant portion of the piece on talk radio show host and author Eric...
“Without a commons, there is no common good”: What religion can teach the secular Left.
Over at Commonweal, David Albertson and Jason Blakeley argue that if the Left wants to succeed, they must address “the crisis of civic belonging.” Here is a taste: Much of the Left today is focused on proposing policies and dismantling structures....
“For Love of Neighbor: Politics for the Common Good”
Check out the trailer for this new film from the American Enterprise Institute: It follows the ways that Justin Giboney, Sarah Imboden, and Tim Scott are trying to bring their faith to bear on public life. I am especially happy...
Michelle Obama’s DNC convention speech was deeply Christian
After the first night of the Democratic National Convention I tuned into Fox News. Laura Ingraham was on the air and, as might be expected, she was trashing the convention. I stopped watching after about forty minutes of analysis from...
What COVID-19 exposed about the United States
All of these points come from Ed Yong’s recent piece at The Atlantic: “How the Pandemic Defeated America.” We under-fund public health. Our health-care system is weak. Too much of what we do spend on healthcare is wasted. We have not...
Conservative Culture Warriors Are Trying Figure Out How to Operate in our Current Moment
What do conservative, pro-Trump media pundits do when faced with a crisis that calls them to use their platforms to serve the common good? What happens when one’s entire brand is built on disparaging enemies? In a time of public...
“Promote the General Welfare”
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,...
Should Religious Liberty Be “The Most Important Public Issue?”
Some say it should be, but Baylor University English professor Alan Jacobs is not so sure. Here is a taste of his recent blog post: Stretch your mind and imagine a POTUS who supports religious liberty but who also pursues...
New Book: *Catholics and Evangelicals for the Common Good*
I just received this in the mail today: It was an honor to be part of the conversations that led to this collection....
Historian: A Lack of Trust in Social Institutions, Social Structures, and Each Other Leads to More Lethal Violence
Randolph Roth teaches history and sociology at The Ohio State University. Over at the Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail (originally published at The Washington Post), he offers a glimpse of his recent research on social trust and violence. Here is a taste: When we...
The Vocation of the Business Leader
Is Donald Trump a successful businessman? Not according to Catholic social teaching. As Anthony Arnett notes at dotCommonweal, the Vatican’s Vocation of the Business Leader requires that all business activity be oriented toward the common good. Pope Francis has called business...
The President of the American Enterprise Institute: Pope Francis Wants Your Soul!
One might expect the president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) to critique the message that Pope Francis delivered last month during his visit to the United States. The AEI, after all, is in the business of promoting free enterprise...