Pope Francis has frequently stated that ‘this economy kills.’ He has said it directly, and he has said it in various forms. His Laudato Si is a considered examination of the extent to which the prevailing economic system is implicated in the social, moral, and planetary unravelling underway in the world. The message and its warning was, of course, ignored, for the very reason that governments are not autonomous of the very economic power implicated in destroying the conditions of civilized life on Earth, but are in symbiotic relation with them. Governments do not govern. Instead, they are the political command centres of an accumulative regime, their role being to facilitate the process of accumulation. ‘Accumulate! Accumulate! That is Moses and all the prophets,’ wrote Marx in Capital. There is the new religion.
‘We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient Golden Calf has returned in new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.’ (Pope Francis).
‘The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor.’ (Pope Francis).
‘When we do things that lead us to idolatry, we become attached to things that distance us from God. We make another god with the gifts that the Lord has given us, with our intelligence, our will, our love, our heart.’
The Pope asked Christians to have the grace to recognize their own idols.
If Christianity is to have a future, then it lies in recovering its spiritual purpose within concrete social forms that nourish each and all here on Earth. There is no future in apologetics, whether of worldly or other-worldly form, and a religion that throws the poor and the marginalized under the Juggernaut of global capital has no future except as the most transparent of apologetics. Here is the reason why Pope Francis attracts the ire of conservatives, and it has naught to do with theological rectitude. In point of fact, Pope Francis has changed precious little in terms of doctrine. In further point of fact, there is nothing that Pope Francis is saying that departs from previous Popes. Hence I headed this piece with a quote from the previous, and supposedly traditionalist, Pope, Pope Benedict. Both Popes are traditionalist and radical. Such is the nature of Catholicism.
There is consistent condemnation for a murderous idolatry that violates all that is holy and continues demand human sacrifices for its worship. That is now becoming clear in the demand that lockdown be ended and the return to work begun. For return to work read the kick-start of the capitalist economy. It’s a serious problem. Note well the dependence of the working class upon the new economic idols, the engines of their exploitation and enslavement. That is how deep the contemporary malaise is. Marx considered the proletariat to be the ‘gravediggers’ of the capitalist system. Their desperation to return to work to earn money to pay bills indicates the extent to which the working class are more willing to dig their own graves than they are to confront the capital system.
The situation is regrettable but entirely predictable. Unfortunately, the liberal and environmental left is still fundamentally clueless when it comes to class analysis and class politics. There is still a presumption that the crises confronting the world will be resolved by governments taking decisions and enacting policies based on science, reason, and evidence. This is a dry-run for when climate crisis really starts to impact, and the auguries are not good. The working class are dependent on the capital system and are likely to align with it rather than consent to any austerian regime that government seeks to impose in their own interests.
Frankly, I despair of politics and find myself increasingly seeking solace in religion, at least that part of religion that remains true to its source. Pope Francis has issued a timely reminder to any Catholic who may have fallen for Trump’s incitement and are now protesting the social-distancing requirements in their state in a concern to return to ‘the economy’ and consumptive lifestyles of the past.
This is from Pope Francis' homily for today, the feast of Divine Mercy:
"On this feast of Divine Mercy, the most beautiful message comes from Thomas, the disciple who arrived late; he was the only one missing. But the Lord waited for Thomas. Mercy does not abandon those who stay behind. Now, while we are looking forward to a slow and arduous recovery from the pandemic, there is a danger that we will forget those who are left behind. The risk is that we may then be struck by an even worse virus, that of selfish indifference. A virus spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress. The present pandemic, however, reminds us that there are no differences or borders between those who suffer. We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family! Let us learn from the early Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles. It received mercy and lived with mercy: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). This is not some ideology: it is Christianity.
In that community, after the resurrection of Jesus, only one was left behind and the others waited for him. Today the opposite seems to be the case: a small part of the human family has moved ahead, while the majority has remained behind. Each of us could say: “These are complex problems, it is not my job to take care of the needy, others have to be concerned with it!”. Saint Faustina, after meeting Jesus, wrote: “In a soul that is suffering we should see Jesus on the cross, not a parasite and a burden… [Lord] you give us the chance to practise deeds of mercy, and we practise making judgements” (Diary, 6 September 1937). Yet she herself complained one day to Jesus that, in being merciful, one is thought to be naive. She said, “Lord, they often abuse my goodness”. And Jesus replied: “Never mind, don’t let it bother you, just be merciful to everyone always” (24 December 1937). To everyone: let us not think only of our interests, our vested interests. Let us welcome this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective future. Because without an all-embracing vision, there will be no future for anyone.
Today the simple and disarming love of Jesus revives the heart of his disciple. Like the apostle Thomas, let us accept mercy, the salvation of the world. And let us show mercy to those who are most vulnerable; for only in this way will we build a new world.’
I’ll stand correction on this, but among the four million and more words that I have written over the years I have never once made the claim that Jesus Christ was a socialist and that to be a Christian requires that you be a socialist. I see religion in terms of setting a transcendent standard that is above the politics of time and place, serving as a critical standard by which to evaluate that politics, as well as guide and orient it. I have heard religious leaders frequently challenge the equation of Christianity with socialism by quoting Jesus’ statement ‘my kingdom is not of this world’ repeatedly. I have heard the same leaders break their apolitical premise by arguing that Jesus advocates a capitalist economy. That’s complete rot and pure apologetics. A cursory examination of both Old and New Testaments indicate a kind of ethical and social regulation of the economy so as to ensure its just and equitable as well as efficient operation. The prescriptions bear no relation to the unrestrained markets advocated by those who seek to use the Bible to rationalize their libertarian economic doctrines.
But to those who say that now is the time to put aside a selfish and socially, morally, and ecologically destructive anarchic capitalism and embrace the teachings of Jesus, I would say that democratic socialism comes close, but not close enough if it is restricted to the institutional regulation of a fundamentally anarchic system of production.
As a general statement, the coronavirus crisis has indicated that whilst the sociability of human beings remains intact, and that people will turn to help each other when needs demand, the prevailing institutions, relations, and structures of dominant society are systemically non- and even anti-social. Human beings have been systematically separated from one another as discrete individuals, with the result that society struggles to muster the collective wit and institutional will to deal with collective problems when they arise.
There is a lack of unity at the heart of contemporary capitalist society. Indeed, there is disconnection and, with it, a callous disregard for too many. It is a well-established truth that we grow in care for those we treat well, and grow in indifference to, even dislike, contempt, and hatred for those whom we treat ill. Since this is so, the act of individual members of society to decide as a society to care for the poor, the marginalized, the needy of all kinds, has a redemptive effect on that society as a whole and draws us all back into connection with each other. This communitarian ethos stands in contradistinction to the conservative creed that we owe obligations to people only as a church and as individuals, voluntarily, in the form charity, entailing no legal force on the part of government, even democratically elected government with a mandate. In face of widespread social problems and deficiencies, the voluntarist principle becomes the plainest apologetics enabling the rich to evade their responsibilities and obligations (even permitting the rich to claim they have none in this regard). It is apparent that the collective issues we face are beyond the capacity of voluntarism, on the part of churches and individuals, to solve and require substantive governmental action, helping people to enable them take their part in society, find gainful employment, pay taxes, and in turn care for others on a system wide social basis.
The coronavirus crisis has made the need for collaboration and cooperation between individuals in society and between the nations on the planet. Human beings as social beings are interdependent. With the globalization of social relations we now live in an interdependent world. The crisis has also made clear how far prevailing institutions, relations, and structures are from the collaborative and cooperative forms required, both on a national and international basis. The prevailing institutional order is not fit for purpose. Rather than gear up to the scale of the problem, the most powerful governments – the USA – seek to withdraw and retreat. This is a blunder of epic proportions. The whole problem lies in the false philosophy which sees human beings as discrete pre-social, self-owning beings who contract into society to defend and advance self-interest, and contract out just as quickly and easily for the same reason. When practised on a society-wide and national scale, the effect is disastrous, serving to bring the whole down, unravelling inter-dependency and leaving all subordinate to the impact chaotic collective forces.
The crisis has revealed an alarming loss of trust and connection at the heart of contemporary social relations. The social instincts of human beings remain unimpaired. The point pertains to the way that social arrangements separate human beings from one another and have them compete against one another for scarce resources. The result is a loss of trust and connection. Hence the grotesque spectacle of conservative apologists of this system setting up critics in order to prove that liberals, progressives, and leftists are just as self-interested as the people they purport to criticize. Within a system that is designed to make people compete for scarce resources, of course people are self-interested – they are systematically forced to be. The trust and connection that is crucial to health and happiness have been gutted from society. Human beings remain social and cooperative beings, but there is now a need to recover that sociality at the institutional level. Because the present institutional make-up of society is not fit for purpose. Carry on like this and a) we will have a full-blown climate crisis sooner rather than later; and b) the world won’t be able to deal with it.
There is a need to develop greater connection, collaboration, cooperation, and coordination, both within societies and between nations. There is a need to develop the institutions and structures that facilitate such strategic social capacity.
The consistency of this message with socialism is clear. But how does it relate to the messages of Popes Benedict and Francis?
I argue the point by affirming transcendent standards as against conventionalism and social constructivism. This affirms truths and norms that are beyond the relativism of time and place, serving as a standard to check the institutions, laws, and practices prevailing in a determinate context, and seeking to orient them into conformity with ‘reality.’ Whilst there is a difference between science and religion, Nature and God, it is a difference of different ways of approaching the same reality. To put it simply, one speaks the language of fact and physical causality and explanation, the other speaks the language of value and inner moral motives. We need both and part of the human tragedy is the separation of fact and value to debilitating practical effect. Together, this issue resolves itself by way of human beings learning to conform themselves voluntarily, through the acquisition and exercise of the intellectual and moral virtues, to a reality that is something more than subjective will, choice, and social construction. It is imperative that human beings learn to work together beyond their immediate self-interest, and that implies the creation of social structures and institutions that draw individuals into connection and association, rather than set them apart in competition.