But Steve L.’s post about the comparison of Catholic and Marxist thought makes for good discussion, and is enough related to the theme of this site to warrant a linking!

Certainly some of us supported those tax cuts with the belief that they would ultimately “grow the pie” and benefit the poor. Must that be the primary motivation? The biggest problem I have with linking Marxist ideas with Catholic thought is the role of the state. For Marx, the collective was everything. There could be no individual giving, and thus no piety could come from it. Yesterday, at an Ash Wednesday service, we had this reading: “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what they right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:3,4).

I don’t believe that this supports the role of state sponsored income redistribution/charity. That responsibility is on the Catholic his or her self. When the state usurps that role, it removes an avenue of grace and redemption.

I agree. Here are the comments I left on his blog:

Very interesting post. Having been raised Catholic, I have pondered myself over whether or not Catholic and Marxist thought are similar, especially since the practice of Catholicism is somewhat separate to scripture.

Without going into huge detail about how I came to these conclusion, I would have to say that comparing Catholic thought to Marxist thought is like the anti-war crowd comparing Iraq to Vietnam. They look for perceived similarities, and twist it around their own doctrine. That it is to say, these people were already communist before they were Catholic.

I’m a believer in the “growing the pie” theory. And it’s not just a theory either. If I remember correctly, according to Jesus, too much taxes is immoral. Now that’s the kind of teaching I could go by!

But on another note… this is not say the Catholic church has not tried to assert an authoritarian role at times past and present. On the individual level, however, I do not believe Catholicism and Marxism are related.

As Steve rightly notes, Catholicism promotes charity by the individual, something not so debunk in a free-market democratic society. Communism will always be a force for most, and not a voluntary belief.