Although man, when excited by a certain arrogance and contumacy, has often striven to cast aside the reins of authority, yet never has he been able to arrive at the state of obeying no one. In every association and community of men necessity itself compels that some should hold pre-eminence; lest society, deprived of a prince or head, by which it is ruled, should come to dissolution and be prevented from attaining the end for which it was created and instituted.According to Catholic social teaching, the state has a positive, beneficial and necessary role to play in human society. It is a good thing -- and insofar as the ideology of libertarianism denials this fundamental truth, it is in conflict with the social teaching of the Catholic Church, a social teaching with flows from the Gospel itself.
Welcome! Formerly known as Libertas et Memoria, this is my blog on law, politics, faith, culture and the joys of the Inland Northwest.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Can a Catholic be a libertarian?
According to Pope Leo XIII, teaching authoritatively in his encyclical letter Diuturnum (On Civil Government), the answer appears to be: no.
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5 comments:
Thought you had stopped blogging-was your site down for awhile?
Carol-Christian Soldier
is your comment section taking comments-
and was your site inaccessible for awhile?
Carol-CS
Nope on both questions -- I've just been busy at work. Gotta pay the bills. Will be posting some more over the weekend, though. Cheers!
Dear Mark:
In this entry, you are proceeding on the assumption that a libertarian of necessity must reject government per se.
While I would agree with you that there are a number of libertarians who do hold that (untenable) position, not all do. I certainly do not. For my part, I believe that the only occasions in human history when we have seen liberty have been those in which there has been a limited constitutional republic, and where the majority of those living in that republic understand and agree with the principles of such government. In short, the British from 1700-1900 a.d., and the U.S. from 1787-1915 a.d.
Being both a libertarian conservative for the last two score years and an Eastern Catholic for the last 25, I am in the process of reviewing the latin magisterium to see whether the latter is in fact consistent with Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition. So far, my magic 8-ball is coming up with 'It is definitely so.' One hopes (or at least I do) that that trend will continue.
And thanking you for a wonderful weblog, I am
Very truly yours,
Bernard Brandt
Thanks for the thoughtful comment -- I appreciate your perspective on this topic and I am encouraged by such a well-thought out defense of a particular type of libertarianism. I would reply by noting that there is a difference between limited government constitutionalism and libertarian theory, although there is a significant overlap between the two. The problem with libertarianism is two fold: 1) it is an ideology, and as such it functions as a substitute for true religion; and 2) it is an ideology that is opposed to many of the government's legitimate functions, particularly in light of Catholic social teaching. I would recommend you read the social encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII, Benedict XV, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. Also the ad limina speech to the Philippine bishops by Pope John Paul I is very good on this as well. There is a great gulf between Catholicism and libertarianism. That is not a matter of opinion, that is a matter of fact. That does not mean that Catholics cannot favor limited govt., of course. It just means that they must do so in conformity with the Church's magisterium, not with an ideology borne out of the 19th century liberalism's revolt against tradition and authority.
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