"The cardinal sin of capitalism is greed, but the cardinal sin of socialism is power. I'm not sure there's a clear choice between those evils," Scalia said. "While I would not argue that capitalism as an economic system is inherently more Christian than socialism … it does seem to me that capitalism is more dependent on Christianity than socialism is. For in order for capitalism to work - in order for it to produce a good and a stable society - the traditional Christian virtues are essential."Keeping someone else's granny alive is just not worth it if it turns you into a sourpuss at tax time.
Scalia, who is Catholic, discussed how religious orders once took care of orphans and the elderly, which is now done in large part by "salaried social workers" and financed by tax dollars.
"The governmentalization of charity affects not just the donor but also the recipient. What was once asked as a favor is now demanded as an entitlement," he said. "The transformation of charity into legal entitlement has produced donors without love and recipients without gratitude. ... It's not my place or my purpose to criticize these developments, only to observe that they do not suggest the expanding role of government is good for Christianity."
Monday, September 9, 2013
Capitalism Dependent on Christianity? Or the Reverse?
It seems that Antonin Scalia is a crazy asshole:
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how religious orders once took care of orphans
By enslaving them, mostly. Does he really want to go there?
It amazes me how these people have developed the ability to be utterly unable to imagine life from a less privileged perspective. They absolutely refuse to acknowledge the realities of life as a poor, desperate and helpless citizen that they so cavalierly dismiss.
It's very much the same as when you point out that they're only christians as a geographic accident of birth, and had they been born in India or Indonesia or Tehran or Lagos they would wholeheartedly believe an entirely different set of mythologies...
I keep reading Scalia's remarks and looking for the down side of anything he says. It would be a good thing for people to believe they had a right to exist and that the gov should take a role in making sure every citizen is okay. The less need for charity is bad? Less Christianity? Less capitalism?
Seems like win/win/win/winwin/win/win/winwin/win/win/winwin/win/win/win to me...
It's not a win if people aren't grateful to their betters for being kept alive.
...what good is charity if you can't make the recipient feel inferior
The cardinal sin of capitalism is greed, but the cardinal sin of socialism is power.
Because money has totally no relationship to power. And what kind of endorsement is it for an economic system that it only works if everyone is virtuous? You'd think someone who believes in the Fall would see the problem.
Anyway, the same question always arises with these purse-lipped scolds: if you want to do charity, why the fuck don't you do it? Care for orphans and the elderly so well nobody ever thinks the government could do better. Make government funding redundant.
fish, it's the intersection of what he said and WHAT HE DOES (relentlessly work the system for the rich and powerful) that galls.
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I know thudner, I thought it funny that all the things Scalia was warning about seemed like good things to me.
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