the University Concourse
Volume V, Issue 8
May 4, 2000
Table of Contents

Send this article to a friend


This piece is part of a larger section called 'Short takes'.
To see all of that section, click on these lines.

A personalist point regarding economics

Mr. Thomas Storck and I are in nearly total agreement as regards economics and morality. His comments in the last issue of the Concourse were an excellent effort toward bringing dogmatic economic liberals to the insight of serious problems with the capitalist spirit.

I would just add one point to Mr. Storck's insights, and that is a clear sense of personalism. We must keep in mind that politics deals with persons who can know why they choose one course of action over another. The ultimate goal is not "moving men and women to act justly," but rather encouraging them to desire justice and to act justly because they have an insight into why it is right. This point must be very clear when talking about distributism or other kinds of political action. When a valid insight (such as the problems with capitalism, which the distributists understand) is obtained, there is a temptation to immediately implement the idea. This impatience circumvents the arduous task of leading others to gain the insight and desire a change of life, which is the only acceptable way in dealing with free citizens in the political order. Though political action has its role to play, this goal is in fact better achieved through cultural channels such as writing--the method Mr. Storck has currently employed.

Philip Harold: FUS senior, philosophy major


Related Articles:
• What is distributism?, Thomas Storck (V,5)
• Towards a humane economy: a reply to Thomas Storck, Philip Harold (V,6)
• (re)Distributism (re)Considered, Joseph Zoric (V,6)
• Inner life of society determines value of economic systems, Daniel Ellis (V,7)
• The good of distributism: a reply to critics, Thomas Storck (V,7)
• Distributism or the Free Economy?, Kevin Schmiesing (V,8)
  • A personalist point regarding economics, Philip Harold (V,8)
• The legitimacy of wealth, Genevieve Belland (VI,1)
• Distributism, state power and papal teachings, Thomas Storck (VI,1)
• Broadening the Distributism Discussion, Philip Harold (VI,2)
• A different interpretation of the social encyclicals, David Schmiesing (VI,2)
• The economic role of the medieval guilds: continuing the distributism discussion., Thomas Storck (VII,1)
• Social credit: a distributist reform of the financial system, Oliver Heydorn (VIII,1)
• The unfeasibility of the Social Credit solution, Gabriel Martinez (VIII,2)
• Kudos to Heydorn, Thomas Storck (VIII,2)
• Social Credit is no alternative, Joseph Zoric (VIII,2)


By the same author:
• Towards a humane economy: a reply to Thomas Storck, (V,6)
  • A personalist point regarding economics, (V,8)
• Broadening the Distributism Discussion, (VI,2)


[back to top]

© The University Concourse, May 4, 2000