capitalism

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    Distributism Versus Capitalism

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: Contrasts the support of certain Catholics for the Industrial Council Plan, which called for co-management, with Distributism’s advocacy for co-ownership as the only means to alleviate the injustices caused by industry. Quotes “Osservatore Romano” on its condemnation of capitalism. Repudiates the characterization of the Industrial Council Plan as ‘the Pope’s plan,’ by quoting Pius XII’s 1952 Christmas message opposing efforts to conform society to modern industry and praising economies emphasizing agriculture and the crafts. Laments the use of text books upholding industrial capitalism in Catholic schools and seminaries, and offers examples of the body of American Catholic thought “which sets its face against this godless system.”
    (DDLW #175) The Catholic Worker, Oct 1954, 1, 6.

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    Beyond Politics

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: Discusses the C.W.’s means to achieve a better social condition in comparison to communist means. Exhorts “the rich to become poor and the poor to become holy.” Criticizes capitalism’s unbalanced distribution of wealth and admits a certain compatability exists between Marx and Christianity. (DDLW #166). The Catholic Worker, November 1949, 1,2,4.

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    On Pilgrimage: January

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: Deep in winter at her daughter’s farm in West Virginia they await the birth of Tamar’s third child. Reflects on country life and a woman’s spirituality in the midst of small children and housework. Describes her efforts at prayer. Reflects on the handicrafts Tamar practices and the worth of a country economy, a way to be co-creators with God. Notes the duty to find joy and resist despair. Long quotes from Eric Gill on a decentralized economy. Keywords: family, poverty, personalism, distributism, capitalism, socialism, communism. (DDLW #476: Catholic Worker Books, New York, 1948, pp. 3-26.)