Rejecting Economic Reductionism

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Marxism, unfortunately, seems to be making a comeback. Despite its economically disastrous, politically oppressive, and horrifically inhumane track record, the atheistic philosophy that produced the Communist revolution and eventually led to the deaths of tens of millions of people has wheedled its way back to the center of our political culture. On the surface, this may sound surprising: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall over three decades ago, few public figures have openly identified as Marxist, and Communist political parties have typically occupied the outermost fringes of political influence. However, Marxist ideas–especially in the form of contemporary identity politics–have not only continued gathering momentum beneath the surface in universities, NGOs, the media, corporate HR departments, and government bureaucracies; high profile politicians, including the mayor of New York, Zohran Mandami, and Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, now seem to be openly advocating for Marxist policies. So how did this morally and historically discredited ideology remerge in mainstream politics? Equally important, how should Christians and all people concerned with basic human rights and the common good respond? Here to discuss the dark history of Marxism, its contemporary forms, and how the Catholic Church has, and always will, stand against it, is Bishop Robert Barron.

00:00 | Introduction 01:48 | Winona-Rochester's record catechumen year 02:53 | A brief overview of Karl Marx 04:55 | What is dialectical materialism? 06:40 | Class conflicts in Marx's day 08:01 | Marx's early critique of capitalism 10:55 | Marx's critique of religion 17:12 | Marxism's pursuit of Utopia 20:06 | Rerum Novarum: Pope Leo XIII responds 23:08 | Reducing history to an economic substructure 24:20 | The legacy of Marxism 26:16 | Shared views between Marxism and contemporary identity politics 28:52 | Why harmful ideas take fair guises 31:23 | Critiquing collectivism 33:08 | US politicians and Marxist ideas 36:03 | Weren't early Christians fundamentally communist? 38:08 | Shouldn't we just try Marxism? 39:26 | Thomas Merton responds to Marxism 41:07 | Is it partisan to critique Marxism? 42:51 | Listener question: How do we respond to "my truth"? 45:12 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

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