On Fridays, we bring you the best of our blog and the best of the web. This week’s roundup includes a Q&A with Peter Greer, an important piece from Hugh Whelchel on the value of work, an entertaining look at life without capitalism and more.
1. Q&A: Peter Greer on Poverty, HOPE International, and Economic Development: Peter Greer, president and CEO of HOPE International, answers questions for Values & Capitalism on alleviating physical and spiritual poverty and more.
It is nearly impossible to read Scripture and miss the clear command to care for the poor. We know that “if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:17). But there is less clarity about how to best care for the poor. At HOPE, we believe the way to have the greatest and long-term impact is through the gift of work.2. Presidential debate: Obama, Romney job rhetoric misses true value of work: Hugh Welchel of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics challenges the vision of self-centered work supported by President Obama and Mitt Romney in the debate, replacing it with a holistic, service-oriented approach.
If we want to restore the American economy, we obviously do need more jobs. But more importantly, we need to restore a vision of work that has been lost in this county – a vision of work that can make a positive, sustainable difference in our nation for the flourishing of all mankind as well as for the individual doing the work.3. It’s a Wonderful Life! (with capitalism): The Fund for American Studies delivers an entertaining parody with one young man getting the chance to see what his life would look like without capitalism. 4. The European Welfare State and Reality: Never the Two Shall Meet: RJ Moeller illustrates America’s philosophy of welfare as divorced from reality and untenable for the future.
…a lot of people have been instructed that collectivism is morally superior. Not that it works, but that it is good. A collective ethic is true. Collectivism is, well, fair. Statist economic policies like free healthcare, or a certain amount of legally guaranteed vacation, become part of a dynamic moral code that give Uncle Sam newfound power.5. Campaign 2012: Economy and Empowerment: George Weigel considers the moral and economic importance of cultivating a robust economy.
A robust economy makes honorable work possible for all who wish to be responsible for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. And work, according to Blessed John Paul II in the 1983 encyclical Laborem Exercens, is an expression of our participation in God’s sustaining “creation” of the world.
