The Pope Can Make All of Us More Thankful Today, Says Shikha Dalmia…

…in the Washington Examiner today, by stopping his yammerings
against capitalism.

In a speech this week he went on yet another anti-capitalistic
rant, claiming that the “opinion” that “economic growth,
encouraged by the free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing
about greater justice and inclusiveness” has “never been confirmed
by the facts.”

This shows, notes Dalmia, that the Pope pays no attention to
Bono, which is a sign of good taste.

His judgement, however, is another matter. It seems the Pope
hasn’t put down his copy of Das Capital to actually look at the
world around him in quite a while. If he had, he’d not only notice
how it has raised living standards in countries where it has (sort
of) been tried (and these don’t include his native Argentina and
his new home, Italy). He’d also notice how these (semi)
capitalistic countries keep the Catholic Church and its charitable
mission going. She writes:

Capitalism puts more discretionary income in the pockets of
people to devote to charitable pursuits. It is hardly a coincidence
that America donates over $300 billion annually toward charitable
causes at home and abroad, the highest of any country on a per
capita basis.

The church itself is a big beneficiary of this capitalist
largesse, with its U.S. wing alone contributing 60 percent to its
overall global wealth. Some of this money comes from donations, but
a big chunk comes, actually, from directly partaking in capitalism:
The church is reportedly the largest landowner in Manhattan, the
financial center of the global capitalism system, whose income puts
undisclosed sums into its coffers.

So the new pope needs to be careful not to bite the hand that
feeds his institution and its work. Otherwise, neither he nor the
poor in whose name he is speaking will have much to be thankful
for.

Go
here for the whole thing.

Happy Thanksgiving.