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I want to agree
with John's perspective. The problem with
Dee's view is that it creates really strong
property rights that are not limited by enough
moral constraints.
I have been impressed by
Catholic social thought for a long time, and I
want to introduce the notion of 'stewardship'
here. Property is not a bad thing, but it is
best to think of it as limited by the
obligations of stewardship. Those who have
property have obligations to other people and
to society as a whole. As Pope Leo XIII wrote,
he who has received many material blessings
"has received them for the purpose of using
them for the perfecting of his own nature,
and, at the same time, that he may employ
them, as the steward of God's providence, for
the benefit of others." (Rerum Novarum,
22)
Libertarians
forget that. Or it might be better to say
that they simply leave it out of their
equations. Of course, libertarians believe
in charity, and that's a good thing. But the
obligations of charity are not the same as
the obligations of stewardship. That's what
they are missing.
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