Free is Beautiful – Catholic & Libertarian - Why Catholics should be libertarian

What does Jesus have to say to support the welfare state? During his ministry, Jesus spoke many times of the poor. He talked about of the last judgment when he would commend those who help others, especially the poor: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matt. 25: 34–35. He condemned those who would invite to...

By Randy England Vote4 0

No matter how well a government might behave in most matters, no modern state (except perhaps one: the Vatican) avoids aggression as a means of accomplishing the "good." Even the "good" government—which never initiates violence except to finance its good-deed-doing—finds itself making the moral choice condemned by St. Paul in Romans 3:8: that of doing evil that good may come of it. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nNGXTON7Qc]

By Randy England Vote11 1

Sometimes I post an article in my criminal law blog that is of interest to libertarians. Here is my three-part article on taking power back from the state:

By Randy England Vote0 1

Some of my earlier posts explore the importance of liberty and free will in turning human beings into saints. In “God gives free will to make virtuous people,” we understand the inevitability of evil in a universe where God wanted good men rather than robots. In “Mind Your Own Business,” God’s oddly libertarian permissiveness regarding the evil in this world is not an invitation for men to fill the gap and to rule others lives in God’s place. Nobody likes a “busybody. “ The scriptures make it clear that the meddling of these bottom-feeders is not listed among the virtues. The Venerable Fulton J. Sheen...

By Randy England Vote8 1

Few trends are more damaging than the relentless march of the state into every area of life. With each passing year, the state brazenly exposes its contempt for the dignity of the individual and--by its violence --testifies to its own illegitimacy. The Church recognizes that while man is a social creature, he himself is prior to society; prior to the state. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized by it.” CCC 1930....

By Randy England Vote8 3

More and more, American Catholics are coming to understand the essential compatibility between Catholicism and libertarianism. The great virtue of libertarianism is the respect it accords one's neighbor. As we are told in the book of Tobit 4:15: “Do to no one what you yourself dislike,” a command we recognize as a corollary to the Golden rule. This makes libertarianism the one political philosophy that truly takes human dignity and free will seriously. At the same time, some Catholics see the liberty movement as a threat to both the Church and society. Until recently, opposition to libertarianism in both Catholic and...

By Randy England Vote11 8

There is a legal principle that arose long ago: Ignorance of the law is no excuse. This principle prevents those charged with violating the law from claiming they did not know about the law. If a person could escape liability by such excuse, criminals could seldom be made responsible for their actions. This maxim is not as unfair as it seems where the criminal law is only used to prevent and punish harm to other people. In those cases, it hardly matters whether a person knows exactly what the written law says. He already knows that if he is...

By Randy England Vote8 7

Frédéric Bastiat (pronounced “bahst-ja”) (1801 – 1850) was a French Catholic, born in the Atlantic seaport of Bayonne, France near the border with Spain. He was orphaned at the age of nine and raised to work in his family’s export business. Bastiat had a youthful fling with religious skepticism, but that “skepticism was short lived and Bastiat soon returned to the traditional Catholic faith.” George Charles Rocher III, Frédéric Bastiat: A Man Alone At twenty-four, his grandfather died, leaving him the family estate in the inland town of Mugron where he would spend twenty years as a gentleman farmer, reading...

By Randy England Vote14 3

God respects our free will and permits us to live our lives for better or worse, but we ought not think His forbearance signals an opening for us to step in and interfere with our neighbors' lives. On the contrary, many scriptural passages condemn meddling in the affairs of others. When others threaten or harm us, we have a right to protect ourselves, our property and our loved ones. It is our affair. We may even come to the aid of a stranger who is being robbed, but with a caveat: The further we are from a problem, the more we...

By Randy England Vote4 1

Hello world!

By Randy England Vote11 3

Free is Beautiful - Catholic & Libertarian

Jesus on the redistribution of wealth Jan 15, 2019

Romans 3:8 and the State – Doing evil 24/7 that good may come of it. Feb 8, 2015

Jury Nullification – The power to do what is right. Jan 12, 2015

Archbishop Fulton Sheen: No freedom, No virtue Dec 22, 2014

Liberty and the Catholic principle of “subsidiarity.” Dec 6, 2014

How can a pro-life Catholic be a libertarian? Nov 28, 2014

Ignorance of the law is no excuse Nov 15, 2014

Frédéric Bastiat, Libertarian Catholic Nov 13, 2014

Mind your own business Nov 2, 2014

J.R.R. Tolkien – Catholic Anarchist Oct 30, 2014