Review: A Partisan Church | National Catholic Reporter

Review: A Partisan Church | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: In the world of political science, a neo-conservative is one who hold liberal, if not marxist views and later in life decides that path goes nowhere and finds conservatism, and because most were Jewish - neo-conservatism was based on protecting Israel through a muscular Israeli and American military policy in the region.  Of course, that does not necessarily apply to there three Catholic authors - although the reviewer, MSW, certainly qualifies on his Zionist views.  I might say Neo-Traditionalist is the more apt term, depending on whether their conservatism is about the Church or about Israel.



The good old days where Catholic philosophy led to the enlightenment and our American ideals is what we call a convenient fiction.  While St. Thomas Aquinas did prove the necessity of human freedom of choice in the nature of his soul, there was no political connotation applied at all - at least not until Rousseu - and I doubt Jean Jacques saw the connection either, although I make it frequently to justify my view of Catholic Libertarianism.  Erasmus was the quintessetial Christain Humanist, and it will be interesting to see if the author mentions him a source for American thought, although I have not seen any of our subjects at meetings of the Illuminati (which,again was not pro-hierarchy).  I try to emulate the idea of a Christian Humanism which sources morality not in an angry God, but one who means us to be perfectly human rather shoot for some inhuman ideal of personal sanctity (while ignoring the needs of others - opposing hierarchy is a bonus).  



Is there some Catholic link to John Locke?  I doubt it, he worked in reaction to Hobbes, who was no friend of Rome. The followers of Henry George like Locke, but their movement is not Catholic in the least.  Distributists like Locke and based their post collapse world in Medievalism, but not in the American experiment.  Chesterton, Belloc and Tolkien fit the Distributist bill, but they were not American nor do they predate the founding. Their project was in reaction to Leo's Rerum Novarum, but there is nothing particularly Americanist about it.  Finally, I have not seen any of our three subjects on Distributist web sites or lists. My guess is that the neoliberal friends of George Weigel (and maybe neoliberal is the best way to describe the three) raise a loud houl about his entertaining Distributism, since it is the enemy of their libertarian philosophy, although Distributism has massive libertarian implications.



There is one source of American political philosophy that we know is enlightenment based and had an influence on our Founding Fathers. The Masons.  I am pretty sure none of the three are lodge members, although as yet I have not defied the silliest Catholic doctrine on the books and opted to attend myself.  Again, no Catholic link.