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The Church and the Libertarian
Worried about the state of American politics and the still-tottering economy? In his new book The Church and the Libertarian, Catholic pro-life attorney, popular Remnant columnist, and widely published author Christopher A. Ferrara provides a Catholic answer to the crisis.
Ferrara explores the question: Can one be a faithful Catholic and a "laissez-faire" libertarian? He warns against Catholic acceptance of yet another version of "More Better Liberalism," when it is Liberalism, both political and economic, that has destroyed Christian civilization and brought the entire Western world to the brink of total ruin.
Far more than a tale of woe, however, this book presents a stunning positive case for Catholic Social Teaching as the one way back to civilizational sanity. The Church and the Libertarian presents practical ways of restoring true liberty in present circumstances, including a Catholic vision of "microeconomic life" in a world veering madly toward both political and economic collectivism, the latter imposed by so-called “free” market entrepreneurs as much as it is by government.
Ferrara explores the question: Can one be a faithful Catholic and a "laissez-faire" libertarian? He warns against Catholic acceptance of yet another version of "More Better Liberalism," when it is Liberalism, both political and economic, that has destroyed Christian civilization and brought the entire Western world to the brink of total ruin.
Far more than a tale of woe, however, this book presents a stunning positive case for Catholic Social Teaching as the one way back to civilizational sanity. The Church and the Libertarian presents practical ways of restoring true liberty in present circumstances, including a Catholic vision of "microeconomic life" in a world veering madly toward both political and economic collectivism, the latter imposed by so-called “free” market entrepreneurs as much as it is by government.
383 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2010
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About the author
Christopher A. Ferrara
15 books33 followersA Roman Catholic attorney, pro-life activist, and journalist. He is the founder and current president of the American Catholic Lawyers Association. He is also a regular columnist of The Remnant, a traditionalist Catholic newspaper.
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May 29, 2013
This book was stupendous, a real eye opener for those read it and consider its words from a position of genuine understanding rather than a militant ideologue. I read this book exactly because I came back to the Faith because I thought the Church was so compatible with Libertarianism from its foundations, but as I became more Catholic I realized I started cringing at the thought of what Full-blown Libertarianism would mean as well, and so I eventually adopted Distributism which has some Libertarian parallels. Nonetheless, this book lays out the Problem of Austro-Libertarianism perfectly, for example:
(1) The Austrian School Pulls a Slight of Hand, although explicitly stating that it is a "Value-Free Science" through the authors research and investigation we see it is in fact an implicitly Value-Laden Moral Philosophy that is Contrarian to Catholic Teaching: A Consequentialist and Machiavellian Ethos, which in hindsight should not surprise me, because I always cringed at how Ayn Rand's (an Author-Philosopher that Austrian School Hails as a Queen of the Market) characters in her books are always struck to heart with a Machiavellian mentality.
(2) The Austrian obsession with a Pure Free-Market is just that an Irrational Obsession that can only exist in a Platonic Form rather than a practical concrete reality, which sounds eeirely similar to their Socialist ideologue counterparts who say that Socialism is never really realized. Also this Obsession, founded by 2 Jewish Agnostics, ironically enough proves itself as something that has taken on a Religious dimension, which is essentially Idolatry, since the Religious-brand of Austrians claim see the Market forces as Providential.
(3) Finally, the author shuts down any associations between Church Teaching and Socialism as well as Neo-Liberalism, show that in fact Church Teaching is a 3rd Way Transcending the False Dichotomy between the 2 Liberalism's of Capitalism and Socialism. The book also makes a strong well-argued case that in the grand irony of it all, it is the Austrian school that has taken upon itself the very Collectivist-Cult like appearance it rails against so much.
(4) To be sure the author makes the most Crucial point namely, how can one Truly believe in the Spiritual Component of Man if one holds a philosophy that sees man as just another commodity to be bought, sold, and traded. Not to mention holds a view that allows society (through massive and unjust wealth and power inequalities to use contractual agreements) to utterly ignore and by-pass a mans inherently Religious Yearnings, yearnings which are Transcendental that go beyond the stifling effects of a purely materialistic value system.
(5) The author also lays some ground work as well to begin the process of saving Western Civilization from itself and the barbarians which are no longer outside the city walls but rule the city instead.
(1) The Austrian School Pulls a Slight of Hand, although explicitly stating that it is a "Value-Free Science" through the authors research and investigation we see it is in fact an implicitly Value-Laden Moral Philosophy that is Contrarian to Catholic Teaching: A Consequentialist and Machiavellian Ethos, which in hindsight should not surprise me, because I always cringed at how Ayn Rand's (an Author-Philosopher that Austrian School Hails as a Queen of the Market) characters in her books are always struck to heart with a Machiavellian mentality.
(2) The Austrian obsession with a Pure Free-Market is just that an Irrational Obsession that can only exist in a Platonic Form rather than a practical concrete reality, which sounds eeirely similar to their Socialist ideologue counterparts who say that Socialism is never really realized. Also this Obsession, founded by 2 Jewish Agnostics, ironically enough proves itself as something that has taken on a Religious dimension, which is essentially Idolatry, since the Religious-brand of Austrians claim see the Market forces as Providential.
(3) Finally, the author shuts down any associations between Church Teaching and Socialism as well as Neo-Liberalism, show that in fact Church Teaching is a 3rd Way Transcending the False Dichotomy between the 2 Liberalism's of Capitalism and Socialism. The book also makes a strong well-argued case that in the grand irony of it all, it is the Austrian school that has taken upon itself the very Collectivist-Cult like appearance it rails against so much.
(4) To be sure the author makes the most Crucial point namely, how can one Truly believe in the Spiritual Component of Man if one holds a philosophy that sees man as just another commodity to be bought, sold, and traded. Not to mention holds a view that allows society (through massive and unjust wealth and power inequalities to use contractual agreements) to utterly ignore and by-pass a mans inherently Religious Yearnings, yearnings which are Transcendental that go beyond the stifling effects of a purely materialistic value system.
(5) The author also lays some ground work as well to begin the process of saving Western Civilization from itself and the barbarians which are no longer outside the city walls but rule the city instead.
Displaying 1 of 1 review