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By Samuel Gregg*

Marxists, Marxist ideas and Marxist regimes have brought death and destruction to millions. Yet according to Pope Francis, if anything, the communists think like Christians. Whats going on here?

Within the first year of his pontificate, Franciss strong criticisms of economic globalization and capitalism resulted in him being accused of having Marxist sympathies. Such charges, however, are demonstrably false.

For one thing, Francis has specified that Communism is a mistaken idea. Back in a 2013 interview with the Italian newspaperLa Stampa, the popestatedthat Marxist ideology is wrong. Likewise, the Argentine home-grown theology of the people which hasinfluencedFranciss thought explicitly rejects Marxist philosophy and analysis. Nor has Francis hesitated to canonize Catholics martyred by Communist regimes. Hes even conferred a cardinals hat upon an Albanian priest, Father Ernest Troshani Simoni, who was twice sentenced to death by Enver Hoxhas dictatorship one of the very worst Communist regimes. These arent the words or actions of a Communist fellow-traveler or apologist.

Nevertheless, in the same interview in which Francis described Communism as wrong, he immediately added, But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people. One wonders if the pope would say something similar, for example, about Nazis: But I have met many Nazis in my life who are good people.

Theres little in Marxist ideology (let alone practice) to suggest that communists think like Christians about very much at all.

Somehow, I doubt it even though political movements and regimes lead by Marxists and guided by Communist ideologies invariably embrace methods indistinguishable from those of National Socialist Germany. Indeed, if one goes simply by the numbers, Communistshaveslaughtered millions more people than the Nazis. In Pope Franciss Argentina, Marxist movements such as theEjrcito Revolucionario del Pueblohad no qualms about engaging in kidnappings and assassinations in the late-1960s and early-1970s as part of their effort to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat.

One possible interpretation of the popes words about Communism is that they reflect his belief that some people are drawn to Marxism because they regard Communism as being on the side of the worlds underdogs. During a 2015 interview, the popesuggestedthat Communists were, in a way, closet Christians. They had stolen, he said, the flag of the poor from Christians.

These themes resurfaced in a more recentinterviewof Francis this time conducted by the self-described atheist, the 92 year-old Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari.

Caution is advised when reading any of Scalfaris interviews. Scalfaris renditions of his conversations with prominent figures are based on memory rather than notes or recordings. Thats bound to raise questions about the veracity of whats written (not to mention the prudence of talking to Scalfari, but thats a different matter). Scalfaris questions are also designed to encourage the pope to make controversial remarks. In most cases, Francis politely deflects them.

At the same time, some of Franciss comments in his latest Scalfari interview mirrors odd statements hes made on other occasions. Consider what Francis says about Communists in response to Scalfaris comments about equality:

Eugenio Scalfari:So you yearn for a society where equality dominates. This, as you know, is the program of Marxist socialism and then of communism. Are you therefore thinking of a Marxist type of society?

Francis:It has been said many times and my response has always been that, if anything, it is the communists who think like Christians. Christ spoke of a society where the poor, the weak and the marginalized have the right to decide. Not demagogues, not Barabbas, but the people, the poor, whether they have faith in a transcendent God or not. It is they who must help to achieve equality and freedom.

The problem with these words is that the most cursory reading of standard Marxist texts soon indicates that theres little in Marxist ideology (let alone practice) to suggest that communists think like Christians about very much at all.

In the first place, Marxism is rooted in atheism and philosophical materialism. Christianity is not. Thats a rather fundamental andirreconcilabledifference. Second, virtually all Marxist thinkers and practitioners Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Che Guevara, Pol Pot, etc. hold that the ends justifies the means. Small o orthodox Christianity, with its insistence upon moral absolutes which admit of no exception, specifically refutes that claim. Third, Marxism, Marxists and Marxist movements dont see the poor as Christianity does: i.e., as human beings who need to be loved and assisted.

Communism views the poor like all human beings as simply moving-parts of the dialectics of history.

Instead Communism views the poor like all human beings as simply moving-parts of the dialectics of history. The economically less-well off, from a Marxist standpoint, have no intrinsic worth by virtue of their poverty or status as human beings. Such a materialist and instrumentalist perspective is light-years away from Christianitys view of those in poverty and human beings more generally.

So whatdoesFrancis mean when he says that the communists think like Christians? A clue to the popes thinking may be found with his references to equality in his most recent Scalfari interview. The pope argues, for instance, that

What we want is a battle against inequality, this is the greatest evil that exists in the world. It is money that creates it and that goes against those measures that try to make wealth more widespread and thus promote equality.

From his pontificates beginning, Francis has focused, laser-like, on this inequality theme. As the words above indicate, the specific inequality which the pope has in mind iseconomicinequality.

But is economic inequality really the greatest evil in the world today? Is economic inequality at the root of Islamic terrorism, dictatorial regimes like North Korea, the termination of millions of unborn-children in the West, resurgent anti-Semitism, or the relentless efforts to legalize euthanasia? Theres noevidence, for instance, that economic inequality causes terrorism.

Moreover, economic inequality isnt always wrong. Theresnothingin Catholic teaching to suggest that wealth and income inequalities are intrinsically evil. Theyre often quite justified. The person willing to take on more responsibility, for instance, in creating and managing an enterprise is usually entitled to a greater share of profits than the employee who assumes less responsibility and who didnt take the risk of starting the business in the first place.

Another thing that Christians should keep in mind but sometimes dont is that inequality and poverty arent the same thing. Its theoretically possible for everyone to be economically equal because they are equally poor. Its also conceivable for a society to have vast wealth and income disparities, and for the very same society to have very few people who are materially poor.

Of course, some forms of economic inequalityareunjust. One contemporary example iscrony capitalism. In these economic arrangements, collusion between businesses, politicians and regulators replaces free competition under the rule of law. If theres a major culprit (the money) for unjust forms of economic inequality today, its crony capitalists and their political and bureaucratic enablers.

Crony capitalism should be but isnt the target of Christian critique. Catholic social teaching says exactly nothing about the subject. Part of the difficulty with the popes commentary on these issues is that he, like many other good people, doesnt seem to recognize that market economies are premised on the rejection of governments granting privileges toanyparticular group. Thats the core argument made inBook Fourof Adam SmithsWealth of Nations(1776).

One of Pope Franciss many paradoxes is that, while he consistently and rightly denounces any idolatry of wealth and the type of materialist mindset which reduces everything to economics, the pope often articulates curiously economistic explanations for the worlds ills. Material poverty is something all Christians must be committed to working to reduce. Lets not pretend, however, that Christians and Marxists think the same way about poverty or equality for that matter. The simple truth is that they dont.

This article first appeared atThe Stream.

About the author: *Dr. Samuel Gregg is director of research at the Acton Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He has an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy and political economy from the University of Oxford, where he worked under the supervision of Professor John Finnis.

Source: This article was published by The Acton Institute

The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is named after the great English historian, Lord John Acton (1834-1902). He is best known for his famous remark: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Inspired by his work on the relation between liberty and morality, the Acton Institute seeks to articulate a vision of society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is human flourishing. To clarify this relationship, the Institute holds seminars and publishes various books, monographs, periodicals, and articles.

Originally posted here:
Does Pope Francis Really Believe 'Communists Think Like Christians'? OpEd - Eurasia Review