From our friends at The Society For Distributism comes this great announcement:
Garden City, NY, USA. A conference hosted and sponsored by the Nassau Community College for Catholic Studies in Long Island, New York, is confirmed for April 4th, 2009 at the College Center Building. The debate will present and contrast the Capitalist, Socialist, and Distributist positions in economics. The Conference, Catholicism and Economics, will present and compare the intellectual arguments about the compatibility of Catholicism with, respectively, democratic socialism, democratic capitalism, and distributism.
Thomas Storck will speak for the distributist position. Dr. Charles Clark will be the speaker on democratic socialism. Michael Novak will be the main speaker for the democratic capitalist position.
From 11:30am until 12:30pm there will be a luncheon for all in attendance (speakers and audience) including sandwiches, salads, cake, coffee/tea/cold beverages. Following lunch, there will be a brief tribute to the recently deceased Catholic scholars, Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., and Msgr. Michael Wrenn. The debate will begin at 1pm with a half hour presentation by each participant. Subsequently, there will be an opportunity for the participants to respond critically to one another, with a brief summary statement made by each main speaker. Dr. Stephen M. Krason, President of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, will close the event with a short reflection on the conference from the perspective of Heinrich Pesch and Solidarism. The event will conclude by 4:30pm.
Thomas Storck is an author, a member of the Editorial Board of the Chesterton Review and of The Society for Distributism.
Dr. Charles M.A. Clark is a Professor in the Department of Economics and Finance, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, St. John's University, Jamaica, Queens, New York.
Michael Novak is the George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute of Washington, D.C.
Stephen M. Krason is Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.
All conference attendees must register. In order to register for the conference, contact:
Nassau Community College
Office of Life Long Learning
One Education Drive
Garden City, New York, 11530
1-516-572-7472.
The Office of Life Long Learning will send you registration material and a mandatory parking permit through the mail. Parking on campus without a valid permit could result in being issued a parking ticket. Those lost on campus and in need of directions to the College Center Building can contact the Office of Public Safety, 1-516-572-7100.
For more information, contact:
Richard Aleman
The Society for Distributism
P.O. Box 37
Hicksville, NY 11802
1-516-508-1871
societyfordistributism@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
On behalf of Jovan and myself, we at the Voice wish you all a Merry Christmas!
May the Holy Family keep you safe and well all the New Year!
May the Holy Family keep you safe and well all the New Year!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Cry For Madagascar
As I wrote in The Distributist Review slightly over two years ago, Madagascar had the potential to become a Distributist state and still does. Recent events have put that possibility farther away than it should.
Daewoo Industries, one of South Korea's largest and most influential, has signed a deal with the island's government that appalls. The multinational conglomerate signed a 99 year lease with the Tananarive government for millions of acres of arable land. How many millions? They're equal to half – literally half – of all the arable land in the country. The size of which is equal to the entire nation of Belgium! The BBC reports on it HERE. And the influential South Korean blog The Marmot's Hole goes into further detail on it HERE.
Why? Thanks to the idiotic rush to speculate on world food prices – and the disaster it inflicted on world food supplies – nations like South Korea want to protect itself from any similar calamity. So it has turned to Africa to use it's largely untapped mineral and agricultural wealth to feed it's people. The Communist Chinese are doing similar projects regarding the Dark Continent's mineral wealth, especially with its fellow Marxist counterparts in Zimbabwe.
This is neo-colonialism returning to Africa, albeit under a more economic-oriented disguise. And such things must not be allowed to continue. Like all the other nations of the world, the people of Madagascar must be taught of Distributism. The God-given insights of Belloc, Chesterton, Schumacher and Solzhenitsyn and those who come after them have a desperate need to be applied.
South Korea and Madagascar could have a better economic relationship than what they've settled upon now. And that would under Distributism, not neo-colonialism.
Daewoo Industries, one of South Korea's largest and most influential, has signed a deal with the island's government that appalls. The multinational conglomerate signed a 99 year lease with the Tananarive government for millions of acres of arable land. How many millions? They're equal to half – literally half – of all the arable land in the country. The size of which is equal to the entire nation of Belgium! The BBC reports on it HERE. And the influential South Korean blog The Marmot's Hole goes into further detail on it HERE.
Why? Thanks to the idiotic rush to speculate on world food prices – and the disaster it inflicted on world food supplies – nations like South Korea want to protect itself from any similar calamity. So it has turned to Africa to use it's largely untapped mineral and agricultural wealth to feed it's people. The Communist Chinese are doing similar projects regarding the Dark Continent's mineral wealth, especially with its fellow Marxist counterparts in Zimbabwe.
This is neo-colonialism returning to Africa, albeit under a more economic-oriented disguise. And such things must not be allowed to continue. Like all the other nations of the world, the people of Madagascar must be taught of Distributism. The God-given insights of Belloc, Chesterton, Schumacher and Solzhenitsyn and those who come after them have a desperate need to be applied.
South Korea and Madagascar could have a better economic relationship than what they've settled upon now. And that would under Distributism, not neo-colonialism.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
DEFEND LIFE IN LUXEMBOURG!
According to this report HERE from the BBC, the Parliament of Luxembourg is planning to cut power from the sovereign, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Henri. The London Times also reports on this horrid bill HERE. And why?
Because he won't sign a law that allows the evils of euthanasia to rum rampant in that tiny country.
An alliance of Socialist, Liberal and Green deputies pushed through this bill by a 30 to 26 margin. And the Christian Social party, though it opposes this evil bill, will not do anything to stand in the way of this bill's implementation. So they will “trim” the power of the Grand Duke instead.
His Royal Highness, who's family is descended from St. Louis IX – the greatest of all French kings, opposed the euthanasia bill for "reasons of conscience". Then the Grand Duke's conscience is well-formed indeed on this issue. For euthanasia is part of the typical eugenics agenda that both Globalists and Sexual Revolutionaries demand for every country. And so-called “mercy killing” is anything but merciful, for it treats the life of the elderly, mentally ill and sick as less than human.
Belloc and Chesterton, in the early days of the Distributist League, fought similar measures brewing in the British Parliament. Chesterton in his work Eugenics and Other Evils thundered against this revival of the crimes of Herod the Great in the Twentieth Century.
Protecting the traditional family and the sanctity of life is a key tenet of Distributist Thought. And like subsidiarity, it is non-negotiable.
What can we do to push this back? Along with prayer, which is the necessary beginning of all good action, contact the Luxembourg Parliament by e-mail, postcard and letter. Be brief and polite. But demand they leave the Grand Duke and the Constitution alone. And don't put the euthanasia bill into law...ever! And spread the word to pro-lifers worldwide and get them to do the same!
Don't let the Socialists and their allies triumph in Luxembourg. Defend the defenseless and defend the Grand Duke!
Because he won't sign a law that allows the evils of euthanasia to rum rampant in that tiny country.
An alliance of Socialist, Liberal and Green deputies pushed through this bill by a 30 to 26 margin. And the Christian Social party, though it opposes this evil bill, will not do anything to stand in the way of this bill's implementation. So they will “trim” the power of the Grand Duke instead.
His Royal Highness, who's family is descended from St. Louis IX – the greatest of all French kings, opposed the euthanasia bill for "reasons of conscience". Then the Grand Duke's conscience is well-formed indeed on this issue. For euthanasia is part of the typical eugenics agenda that both Globalists and Sexual Revolutionaries demand for every country. And so-called “mercy killing” is anything but merciful, for it treats the life of the elderly, mentally ill and sick as less than human.
Belloc and Chesterton, in the early days of the Distributist League, fought similar measures brewing in the British Parliament. Chesterton in his work Eugenics and Other Evils thundered against this revival of the crimes of Herod the Great in the Twentieth Century.
Protecting the traditional family and the sanctity of life is a key tenet of Distributist Thought. And like subsidiarity, it is non-negotiable.
What can we do to push this back? Along with prayer, which is the necessary beginning of all good action, contact the Luxembourg Parliament by e-mail, postcard and letter. Be brief and polite. But demand they leave the Grand Duke and the Constitution alone. And don't put the euthanasia bill into law...ever! And spread the word to pro-lifers worldwide and get them to do the same!
Don't let the Socialists and their allies triumph in Luxembourg. Defend the defenseless and defend the Grand Duke!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
NO AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT!
Do you remember when Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca came to the U.S. Government, hat in hand, to ask for Federal bailout money? Even though it went against Constitutional laws, Uncle Same approved and gave Chrysler said money. Iacocca was hailed at an economic hero and a business genius.
What did we, the American public, get out of this? The “K” Car.
For years, many Americans have complained of not-so-good quality and worse out of American-made cars. The usual reasons get trotted out like old horses from some dilapidated barn.
The unions are blamed, thanks to their high salaries and health and pension plans.
The chairmen and governing boards are blamed, thanks to their sky-high salaries and bonuses.
Engineers and lower level executives are blamed, sitting on discoveries that could increase fuel efficiency and safety for reasons of greed or power or both.
All of these have their places in the growing demise of American car manufacturing, no doubt about it. But there are also another reason why more Americans have turned to foreign models. And that is lack of domestic competition.
Smaller rivals like AMC, Nash, Studebaker and Checker were eliminated, one by one, thanks to the Big Three and Big Government joining together to squeeze them out. Especially upstarts like Tucker and his Torpedo, incorporating then unheard-of features like safety belts and the engine in the rear, were squished before they got off the ground. The DeLorean sports car is another good example.
If Washington and the Big Three in the auto industry would get out of the way, we could have more domestic competition in the marketplace from smaller rivals. More and more bailouts, as is proposed for the auto industry like it was for the banking industry, does nothing for the market economy in this country.
So from a Distributist perspective, several things need to be done.
One, the Congress must vote NO on the proposed auto industry bailout. It is unconstitutional, and won't guarantee that the Big Three automakers won't make the same mistakes that brought them to where they are now.
Two, the auto unions should not only fight for worker ownership in their companies, but also worker management of the same. There should be worker-representatives on the governing board of the auto makers, giving the working man and woman a say on how the company should be run.
Three, the Big Three should be broken up into smaller companies, so as to reduce the specter of domestic monopoly in this industry.
Four, any Federal restrictions on smaller car manufacturers – written in favor of the Big Three – should be repealed.
The American auto industry, like so many others in the manufacturing sector, must be rebuilt on a foundation that favors smaller scale production, built on a cooperative basis, eliminate Socialist micro-management and over regulation, and promotes worker ownership and management of these companies.
The Voice asks our readers to call their Congressmen and Senators, and demand they vote NO on any proposed Federal bailout of the Big Three automakers.
What did we, the American public, get out of this? The “K” Car.
For years, many Americans have complained of not-so-good quality and worse out of American-made cars. The usual reasons get trotted out like old horses from some dilapidated barn.
The unions are blamed, thanks to their high salaries and health and pension plans.
The chairmen and governing boards are blamed, thanks to their sky-high salaries and bonuses.
Engineers and lower level executives are blamed, sitting on discoveries that could increase fuel efficiency and safety for reasons of greed or power or both.
All of these have their places in the growing demise of American car manufacturing, no doubt about it. But there are also another reason why more Americans have turned to foreign models. And that is lack of domestic competition.
Smaller rivals like AMC, Nash, Studebaker and Checker were eliminated, one by one, thanks to the Big Three and Big Government joining together to squeeze them out. Especially upstarts like Tucker and his Torpedo, incorporating then unheard-of features like safety belts and the engine in the rear, were squished before they got off the ground. The DeLorean sports car is another good example.
If Washington and the Big Three in the auto industry would get out of the way, we could have more domestic competition in the marketplace from smaller rivals. More and more bailouts, as is proposed for the auto industry like it was for the banking industry, does nothing for the market economy in this country.
So from a Distributist perspective, several things need to be done.
One, the Congress must vote NO on the proposed auto industry bailout. It is unconstitutional, and won't guarantee that the Big Three automakers won't make the same mistakes that brought them to where they are now.
Two, the auto unions should not only fight for worker ownership in their companies, but also worker management of the same. There should be worker-representatives on the governing board of the auto makers, giving the working man and woman a say on how the company should be run.
Three, the Big Three should be broken up into smaller companies, so as to reduce the specter of domestic monopoly in this industry.
Four, any Federal restrictions on smaller car manufacturers – written in favor of the Big Three – should be repealed.
The American auto industry, like so many others in the manufacturing sector, must be rebuilt on a foundation that favors smaller scale production, built on a cooperative basis, eliminate Socialist micro-management and over regulation, and promotes worker ownership and management of these companies.
The Voice asks our readers to call their Congressmen and Senators, and demand they vote NO on any proposed Federal bailout of the Big Three automakers.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Twenty Tips To Survive The Next Depression
Our colleague Bob Waldrop from the Oklahoma Food Cooperative has put up a list of twenty things you can do NOW to prepare for the economic hard times ahead.
These are general strategies that you can start doing today, as well as teach any willing neighbor interested in this. Go HERE to learn more about them.
These are general strategies that you can start doing today, as well as teach any willing neighbor interested in this. Go HERE to learn more about them.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Solzhenitsyn, Distributist
From our colleagues at The Distributist Review, here is an excellent essay by Richard Aleman about the late Russian author and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It talks of his reaching the same conclusions about BOTH Socialism and Capitalism that many others have taken, whether or not they read Belloc and Chesterton.
You can read the essay HERE.
You can read the essay HERE.
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