What do you think Pope John Paul II meant by this?

Question

"It is unacceptable to claim that after the fall of communism, capitalism is the only alternative."

In those days ret roach americans burned women at the stake for being witches...um, please, open your mind up and not so harsh my friend.

Answer 1

Do you remember in Dickens' "The Christmas Carol" when Ebenezer Scrooge was being asked for a donation to the poor?

"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.

"Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"

"They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."

"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge. ...

"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."

"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

Pure Capitalism is survival of the economic fittest. The economic unfit have no place in a pure Capitalistic economy. This philosophy goes entirely againest the Christian ethic of human dignity and love of neighbor.

The Catholic Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modern times with "communism" or "socialism."

She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of "capitalism," individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor.

Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning (Communism) perverts the basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law of the marketplace (Capitalism) fails social justice, for "there are many human needs which cannot be satisfied by the market."

Reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives, in keeping with a just hierarchy of values and a view to the common good, is to be commended.

A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. The disordered desire for money cannot but produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes of the many conflicts which disturb the social order.

A system that "subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups to the collective organization of production" is contrary to human dignity. Every practice that reduces persons to nothing more than a means of profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and contributes to the spread of atheism.

"You cannot serve God and mammon."

With love in Christ

Answer 2

He meant by this that there were two extremes, Capitalism and Communism. Neither of which are an acceptable alternative.
The world is not black and white, there are grey areas, and there has to be a middle ground between Capitalism and Communism.

Here in the US, we have socialized police, fire, postal services, to mention a few. If it were a TOTAL Capitalist society, only those who can pay for services, will receive them, like the US health care system, to some degree. What I bean by 'some degree,' is that yes, many municipal hospitals will treat anyone, but they will be charged for the services. This is not what it is like in most of the rest of the civilized world. Most countries provide health care free of charge.

People have to realize that they have to pay for these 'socialized' services, in their taxes. It's part of the dues they pay to live in any given society.

Answer 3

That he wants us all to go back to the Middle Ages and tithe to the church....

Or he could mean that the capitalist system is allowing for many homeless adults and child. That while few get ahead, many get left behind. He is trying to ask us to find a different system, and while he certainly didn't believe in Communism, he might not think Capitalism is the best answer in the long run.

Answer 4

That there is more than one economic/political system that is acceptable. However, I think he was more on the mark when he said this:

"You are priests, not social or political leaders. Let us not be under the illusion that we are serving the Gospel through an exaggerated interest in the wide field of temporal problems."
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/popejohnpa117377.html

Answer 5

it has to be a religious-based reference of tolerance..

to us..the Jews ..to Islamic Law..even the dynamics at work in the Soviet Union that want a return to the old ways...

he sees the mess we all are in..over political structure vs. religious zeal..

he is supposed to be a voice of reason..

his predecessor..sure helped pave the way for capitalism in the former Soviet Bloc..

Answer 6

This from the leader of a group that used to burn people at the stake for praying to the same God in a different manner?

Answer 7

He probably meant that the world should look toward globalism as an option. The Roman Catholic Church helps to enslave the people of this world into an evil globalist movement.

Answer 8

He is sort of right. Our society is run by a bunch of capitalists that have nothing in mind but $$$. True democracy without capitalism is the answer.

Answer 9

So there are alternatives. He could not think of another or did not want to. And he did not want to discredit or be against. What about the Vatican with its vast riches and resources.

Answer 10

Sounds literal to me.

Vince