A personalist point regarding economics
by Philip Harold
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
