Milbank's Understanding of Conservatism

To me though it is stumbling block for any conservative and Christian Postliberalism to continue to believe in capitalism (as opposed to the market). I continue to think that real conservatism, as Ruskin saw, requires a commitment to mutualist socialism in some guise.

— john milbank (@johnmilbank3) August 26, 2021

This Is Why Socialism Will Gain Support

New @Bankrate report shows 1/3 of millennials having a tough time getting credit, especially during the #CCPvirus pandemic. But that's not stopping them from racking up more debt. @CreditCardsCom expert @tedrossman told @news_ntd there are better alternatives this holiday season. pic.twitter.com/3hZwxRPLiP

— Phil Zou (@ReporterPhilZou) November 27, 2020

The Future is Female!

"So, we have to stop thinking just as #coops. We must create solidarity systems, be consciously part of the solidarity economy, and support and practice social justice." — Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, brilliant as always. https://t.co/1MixUBiiAH cc @NewEconomics pic.twitter.com/CtzP1lUoqI

— Phila Co-op Alliance (@PhillyCoops) October 25, 2020

The (D)s are Counting on This

After Trump the (R)s will not be populist enough.

“When one-in-four Americans want to eliminate capitalism and embrace socialism, we know that we have failed to educate about the historical and moral failings of these ideologies.” https://t.co/vGsRZnllQa

— Intellectual Takeout (@intellectualTO) October 24, 2020

Not Really an Endorsement of David Bentley Hart

Though in Milbank's mind it is. For me, such praise and endorsement for the reasons presented can only evoke suspicion and maybe even a condemnation of Hart's ideas.

Namaste, you can read it here: @johnmilbank3: https://t.co/hgS36G9sGj Talk to you soon. 🤖

— Thread Reader App (@threadreaderapp) September 6, 2020

Eugene Debs

For much of the quarantine, I've been working on a big project on Eugene Debs. Here's the first major product of that: a 6,000-plus word essay I wrote on the famed socialist's life, legacy, and continuing relevance.https://t.co/Uz0TbXkyUW

— Shawn Gude 🌹 (@shawngude) September 2, 2020

Tory Socialism?

Tory Socialism is on the rise. https://t.co/Me2On9EWda

— john milbank (@johnmilbank3) September 1, 2020

Socialism as a Consequence of COVID-19

#COVIDー19 brought socialism to America - Nassim Taleb @nntaleb https://t.co/J39gyJUftd через @YouTube @bssynergy #COVID #blackswan #whiteswan #antifragility #coronavirus #economy #future #CoronaCrisis

— SophieCo (@SophieCo_RT) August 9, 2020

Amity Shlaes, Great Society: A New History

Hope Leman interviews Amity Shlaes on the latter's important new historical study of LBJ's "Great Society." On the great idealists of the 60's (many from strong Catholic backgrounds): "they were lovable people, meant well, and hurt they people they loved."https://t.co/F9RH2rVC3w

— Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) July 29, 2020

On lil Benji's show.

Really Low-Hanging Fruit

Fr. Bryan Massingale

Scholar-priest-activist Bryan Massingale on the state of Catholic approaches to racism: pic.twitter.com/IlCs9t5HBv

— Institute for Christian Socialism (@smashmammon) June 14, 2020

Commonweal interview

I challenge them to think of this: if it were up to people of color, racism would have been over and done, resolved a long time ago. The only reason that racism continues to persist is because white people benefit from it.

I note the disjunction between “multicultural chatter” and “sacred.” “Sacred” had nothing to do with “multicultural”. Being “sacred” means speaking in a white idiom, praying in a white idiom, using European hymns. It’s this normative whiteness that’s ubiquitous in the Catholic Church—which is its greatest hindrance to dealing effectively with issues of race.

Normative whiteness; if you don't like the ecclesial culture, petition to make your own. If you reject assimilation, then show you have the necessary qualities to successfully inculturate Christianity into your own culture. Don't hide behind your collar or your academic title or tell me that you have a necessary vocation to teach whites about their racism. Actions, not words. Fr. Massingale is more an identitarian activist academic than a Christian presbyter, and it is pathetic that some Christians or Latins would hold him up as a credible voice on white racism.

I still remember that attempt to create a distinct African-American Roman Catholic ritual tradition. How is that parish doing these days?

At this point separation, with all of the difficulties that may require with respect to resettlement and apportioning territory, may be the only peaceful solution.

Roman Catholic Socialism?

The Sam Rocha vs. Trent Horn debate on Catholic socialism (https://t.co/9M30dxU7Yi) was OK, but it didn't get down to the issues that I find most interesting.

— Pater Edmund (@sancrucensis) June 12, 2020

Christopher Caldwell on Sweden

Interview with Trent Horn

CWR: Catholicism and Socialism: Comrades or Enemies?
“True socialism is wrong,” says Trent Horn, co-author of Can a Catholic Be a Socialist?, “because it denies the natural right to own private property, the natural role of the family to provide for itself, and the natural order of the State…”

Ignatius Press

Related:

Mondragon

7 Lessons on the Sovereignty of Labor (Resilience)



Related:
Worker Self-Directed Enterprises: The Cure for Capitalism (Resilience)

Martin van Creveld on International Women's Day

When the Women Come Marching In

AmConMag: Stop Throwing Around the ‘Socialist’ Label by Paul Gottfried
It doesn’t do justice to the politically correct radicalism of today.

Leon Hadar Reviews The Cold War: A World History by Odd Arne Westad

AmConMag: The World the Cold War Built by Leon Hadar

A new book says the conflict began in the late 19th century and subsumed even World War II as our defining event.

Penguin
Kirkus Reviews

Vox Day Debates Greg Johnson

Thomas Fleming on Obamacare

An examination of first principles...
Obamacare: Charity or Marxism
Part 2
Part 3
Conclusion

A Marxist(?) Critique of Localism

Book of the Day: Why Small-Scale Alternatives Won’t Change The World

In the abstract, we can choose both. By going back to the land, we can create communities of resistance that provide the material and moral strength to resist neoliberalism. However, by not confronting capitalism, this localist form of citizenship fails on every level: ethical, practical and political.

Ethically, localism lets capitalists pass the costs of their failures to workers. Why be so quick to abandon the schools, hospitals and factories that have defined contemporary society? Workers fought for the good education, healthcare and jobs that capitalist governments are trying to eliminate. 

Practically, localities can’t recreate the amenities and infrastructure of an advanced society: the mass transit, renewable energy and dense urban development needed to transform to a low-carbon economy are impossible without the vast, international coordination of resources and technical know-how.

Politically, localism dodges important strategic questions: how do we oppose attacks on pensions, wages and services that workers have fought for? How do we deal with entrenched forms of state and corporate power, which have no problem with tiny cooperatives and the occasional black-masked riot, but whose profits and stability are genuinely threatened by a general strike?

The localist from-below vision empowers people as everything from consumers to producers but, crucially, not as citizens. This is because a citizen is a fundamentally political being who engages with the issues of people who don’t have the opportunity or luxury to drop out. 

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