A Commentary on Capitalist Societies

How Christendom would Alleviate the "Class Privilege" we See Today

Medieval manuscript showing the hierarchy of society, The Church, The Nobility and Society.

NOTE: Before reading this it's important you go look at this web comic. It is what inspired this and is what will give you some context for the rest of the article. Now, on with the show!

Social climbers, to me, are something of a disease.

One can argue that living in a society where anyone can become anything is great. But the fact is, not everyone will become anything. People ultimately do what they can to survive. There’s an old quote from the Ancient world and I can’t remember who said it, but it was between several diplomats working out a treaty. One of the smaller nations therein felt like they were getting screwed over, but one of the diplomats from the stronger nation looked at him and said, “Right is only a question between two equals. The strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must.”

(The Christian Virgins Being Exposed to the Populace) by Felix Ressureccion Hidalgo, details the persecution of Christians in Ancient Rome.

Catholicism came around and changed all this, introducing the idea that all components in a society at all levels - though stratified - should work together in harmony for the benefit of all. That’s not to say this idea didn’t already exist, but it definitely wasn’t the purveying school of thought.

'Superiority of the warrior class. State 2.' Etching by Wenceslaus Hollar, (University of Toronto).

It accepts the reality that not everyone can or will be equal in power and ability, which is not only defined by personal attributes but the resources at your disposal and how you utilize them. If the male in this cartoon had squandered the opportunities given to him, he could have very well ended up in the place of the young lady. Likewise there are many stories of people like the young lady rising above their place in life to become great.

The knight whose family would thenceforth be called Jirón gives his horse to King Afonso VI of Castile. Painting by Carlos Luis Ribera. “Batalla de Zalaca, 1086″.

The movie “Prince of Egypt” is really popular around here, right? Good, because it’s one of the best Dreamworks films ever made. Remember the part where the old man is singing the song, “Heaven’s Eyes” to Moses? Remember the early lyrics where he describes how the smallest portions of something are its most important pieces? That’s essentially Catholic Social Philosophy. The peasant who sows in his field is no less important or valuable than the king upon who’s land he lives. Each one performs a necessary function. As such it was generally frowned upon for a lord to abuse his subjects. Just as the Bible might extort servants to be longsuffering with their masters, it also instructs the master to be merciful with his workmen and to not deprive them of what they are due. Also through the doctrine that all men are created by God with souls, a genuine idea of equality emerged.

Four Doctors of the Church.

This has been forgotten over the years. The French Revolution practically re-wrote the Medieval period and changed how we look at it. As the Bourbons eroded the rights of the nobility and jammed them all into the Pleasure Palace that was Versailles and they continued to enjoy all the rights and none of the responsibilities, resentment grew particularly as Bourbon leadership continued to centralize France. Probably the greatest change can be found in the Seven-Part Code, a system of laws originating in Medieval Spain that outline how a kingdom ought to be structured. Within the Code, “the People” are defined as all the members of a society, from the lowest to the highest. No distinction is made between the upper and lower classes in that regard. “The People” are not the Proletariat, they are the nation, and every single one is meant to work together for the good of society. Each with rights, privileges, and responsibilities. Equally valued.

Henry IV, Versailles Museum. With their adherence to the Divine Right of Kings, the destruction of the representative feudal system, and their continuous wars for power and the increasing of their own authority the Bourbon kings were more the architects of their own doom (like all tyrants are) more than any canard about Masonic Jewry. The human spirit naturally bucks against such oppression. Had the Bourbons been legitimate kings and not won the throne through conquest and the usurpation of the Catholic Faith, they would have had no reason to so violently increase royal power.

This is the reason class warfare as an idea is condemned by the Church. From a divine perspective it is also why envy and jealousy are considered sins; any society built on dog-eat-dog competition cannot thrive or develop in a healthy manner. It will also be prone to foreign sabotage. Consider how many “Worker’s Party” style movements were started by the USSR as a means to destabilize enemies.

French Revolutionaries at the Carmelite gate. “Nuns under Threat”, painting by Eugene de Blaas.

We must return to the ideas of Catholic Social Philosophy. Catholics must more arduously observe the tenants of their religion. To facilitate this we must not only recognize the plight of the lower classes but see them as important to the function of society. Those of the upper class must also be reminded of the immense duty and responsibility their position of power gives them. They truly hold the lives of their employees in their hands, and should not be callous towards their difficulties nor increase their burdens unduly. Overall a spirit of trust and cooperation must be built between the economic classes of America; only then will we be on the path to a better social order and an end to things like what the comic above describes.

The medieval concept of the Two Cities order below and salvation above, achieved by king and church working together.

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Portrait of St. Peter Canisius at his writing desk. – Netherlands, first half of 17th C.