New Catholic Freedom Newsletter (Updated 7-16-21)

Catholic Freedom

Issue 1

Brief Introductory Issue Aims and Principles July 15, 2021. (Updated July 16, 2021)

Free

(Issue 2 and future issues will be sold at $0.75 cents per copy)

The Catholic Freedom Newsletter Aims and Principals

1. The CF (Catholic Freedom) would like to see an economic society based on the ideas of Benjamin R. Tucker. Tucker advocated a market system that is neither capitalist nor state socialist but instead a system called Mutualism. Capitalism is a market system with employers that pay their employees a wage less than the full value on the market. The full value can only be determined if there is equality of opportunity on the market. Tucker recommended employers pay their employees the full value of their labor on a market with equality of opportunity. Equality of opportunity on the market can only exist when banks (known as Mutual Banks) offer interest at less than one percent (just to cover overhead costs and wages) in order that all people can have the opportunity to go into business for themselves. People also have to own land of their own in a fair way called ‘Occupancy and Use’. In ‘Occupancy and Use’ people only own land they physically live on and work in other words people have the right to owning a home and owning the land of their business but no more than that. When people have the option to go into business for themselves due to low interest and have access to their own property to live they are less likely to accept low wages because their needs to live are already met. Therefore employers would be forced to raise their wages to entice people to work for them therefore wages would rise to reflect their true value on the market and workers would receive their full value in wages. A market society where employers pay their employees the full value of their labor and where banks offer interest a less than one percent and where people own only the land they live and work on is called a Mutualist Market system. (For more information please see Benjamin Tucker’s ‘Instead of a Book’)

2. The CF would like to see society organized around ‘The Principle of Federation’ as recommended by P. J. Proudhon. Proudhon talked about Federation as organizing community and society governance through voluntary contract and direct democracy with instantly recallable delegates. (For more information please see ‘The Principle of Federation’ by P.J. Proudhon) A.

3. The CF supports the spirit of the Catholic views of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. In 2012 Day was labeled a ‘Servant of God’ by the Vatican. (Please see Dorothy Day -- 'A Saint For Our Times' by Sandra Yocum, University of Dayton, November 30, 2018 from The Conversation.) The CF is also supportive of the ideas of the Second Vatican Council. B.

4. The CF agrees with the 'Cafeteria Catholic' Catholic position of the magazine 'U.S. Catholic' founded by the Claretians who are a community of Roman Catholic priests and brothers founded in 1849 by St. Anthony Claret. St. Claret was appointed as Archbishop of Cuba by Pope Pius IX. (Please see: 'Proud to be a Cafeteria Catholic' by Isabella R. Moyer. U.S. Catholic magazine. Published July 21, 2015 and 'Cafeteria Catholics' by Father Jack Rathschmidt. U.S. Catholic magazine. Published July 29, 2008.) While the CF agrees generally with teachings of the Catholic Church, the CF disagrees on the position of Confession. The CF believes one way to have sins forgiven is definitely through confession to a priest, however the CF also believes that the sins of people can also be forgiven through their faith in Jesus directly without the need of a priest as an intermediary. C.

5. The CF is in agreement with anarcho-syndicalist Noam Chomsky’s methods of tactical voting and owning stock as valid compromises while living in a capitalist society. Please see (Saul, Heather. ‘Noam Chomsky tells those who refused to vote for Hillary Clinton to stop Donald Trump: You made a big mistake.’ The Independent. News: People. Nov. 25, 2016. And Schweizer, Peter. ‘Noam Chomsky, Closet Capitalist’ Hoover Digest. Jan. 30, 2006.)

6. As with Benjamin Tucker’s periodical ‘Liberty’ the CF is designed to reflect the ideas of its editor only.

Now that the Aims and Principles of Catholic Freedom have been laid out, when it is released Issue 2 will begin to present articles based off the Aims and Principles.

Notes:

A. Also of some interest are the views of Addison Brown. He believed wages of employers and employees should be voted on by a labor bureau. His system could be considered a form of moneyless individualist anarchism which he called Prior Choice Economics. For more information please see: Prior Choice Economics: The Way To Better Living For Everyone by Gabriel Green. The anonymous forward in the book is by Lucus Louize.

B. For more information on the Second Vatican Council please see: Jordan G. Teicher. ‘Why Is Vatican II So Important?’ NPR.org: Religion. 10-10-2012.

C. The CF believes in Mathew 6: 14-15 where Jesus states when you forgive others your sins are forgiven. “14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” In this case there is no need to confess to a priest to have sins forgiven because Jesus is clear in stating God itself will forgive sins if the person forgives others. The CF believes this system of karma stated in Mathew 7: 1-2: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” is a blessing of God to give people a chance to prove their worth to God by forgiving the evil done to them therefore rendering evil to their advantage because more evil is done to them and they forgive, the more they can have their sins forgiven and impress God and the Angels at the same time, also therefore having their prayers more likely answered as well. This is a good way to use and turn evil done against them to a person’s advantage.


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