Tired of being offered a choice between candidates who imagine they have the right to rule everyone else by force, when--in reality--their only skill is getting and holding office.
The Angelic Doctor taught that criminal punishment “belongs to those sins chiefly whereby one’s neighbor is injured. Thus," he explains, "human law prohibits murder, theft and such like."
Randy England is a writer, retired criminal defense lawyer and member of St. Peter Catholic Church in Jefferson City, Missouri. He is a former prosecutor and grew up near St. Louis, Missouri.
Critics on the left like to talk of disparities of wealth, income or living conditions. As libertarians, we can acknowledge that inequalities exist in society and they may (or may not) be unjust or “sinful.” Inequalities among people may exist for natural, inherent reasons that are neither unjust nor remediable. Other inequalities–often caused by the
Some say that no Catholic can be a libertarian because libertarians reject the common good. The great throwaway complaint of Christian—often Catholic—opponents of libertarianism is that libertarians care nothing for the “common good.” When in need of a twitter-sized attack on liberty, they give us a quick, “because . . . the common good.” However
The political left always equates individualism with selfishness. Individualism is a broad concept. As Catholics, we are not individualists in any religious or ethical sense. Regarding Church teaching on faith and morals, Catholic libertarians voluntarily embrace these precepts of the Church, else they would not be Catholic. Libertarian individualism lies on the spectrum between two
Catholics who object to libertarianism tend to base their objections upon misunderstandings about what libertarianism is. Complaint #1: There is more to life than liberty One complaint is that libertarianism is insufficient as a guide to Christian life. In other words, the critic claims (rightly) that the non-aggression principle is not the answer to every
Discrimination laws—as applied to private parties—play on the fear that, without government to keep people from favoring one person or group over another, social progress would be set back by decades. They fear that protected groups would be excluded from jobs, schools, neighborhoods, and places of business. The criteria that foster inclusion in the so-called
Given a choice, ought we look first to peace or to war? To agreement or to strife? To freedom or compulsion? The Christian libertarian will ask this question of his fellow Christians: When the community has a problem to solve or has a worthy goal to reach, do we demand a solution which requires state
Human society is composed of individuals. They form numerous associations for survival, companionship and every other human need. Whether the group is a family, a church or any other co-operative effort, every institution derives its purpose and original authority from its individual members. Society has an order that must be respected; an order than does
The last presidential election (between a boorish, unprincipled billionaire and an unlikable, war-mongering party hack) seemed to mark a new low in a process that purports to choose the best possible rulers for a great nation. When Joe Biden announced he was running for president, Donald Trump tweeted this warning: “Welcome to the race, Sleepy
There was once a boy who was a fan of old gangster movies—too much of a fan, it seems, because he developed a fear that grown-ups were hiding some awful truth. He began to suspect there was this huge criminal gang that forced all adults to pay “protection money.” He wondered how old he would
Saints Thomas Aquinas and Augustine taught that an unjust law is no law at all: “As Augustine says, ‘that which is not just seems to be no law at all‘: wherefore the force of a law depends on the extent of its justice. Now in human affairs, a thing is said to be just, from
