Pope Francis calls unfettered capitalism 'tyranny' and urges rich to share wealth

[Ben Kenobi]

He didn't advocate the church giving up its wealth. He advocated reaching out to those in the streets. There's no mention of selling off artworks and ancient relics to give money to the poor or anything. His comments are not a new policy, they are in keeping with over a hundred years of tradition since Rerum Novarum.

Francis asserts that the greatest poverty is spiritual poverty. It's not enough to merely provide them with sustenance. They need a reason to be and to live if they are ever going to stop being poor.

[Felch]

Francis asserts that the greatest poverty is spiritual poverty.

My local Mercedes dealership asserts that the greatest poverty is not owning a Mercedes Benz.

[Ben Kenobi]

My local Mercedes dealership asserts that the greatest poverty is not owning a Mercedes Benz.

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him

.

[Berzerker]

Did he die?

not yet

Had pups?

Good guess, but no... had masses removed. Thought she had cancer, they were benign. Wasted a bunch of $$$ and risked her life for something she could have lived with. Just found out today, at least now I dont have to worry about chemo and radiation.

[Ban Kenobi]

Inspiration and effort. Imagine a ship wreck survivor. His first wealth would come from building a shelter and starting a fire. More wealth would come from making a fishing pole or net, and more wealth would come from those wealth creating tools when he starts harvesting fish from the sea. The ship wreck survivor is unlikely to engage in philosophy or adopt socialism, because these things do not create wealth.

He's unlikely to engage in philosophy because he's spending all of his time struggling to survive. He won't create many works of art either. And it's impossible for one person to adopt socialism (or a market economy, for that matter). If you had a small group, say five to ten people, on a deserted island it's far more likely that they would adopt communism than capitalism.

[Ben Kenobi]

He's unlikely to engage in philosophy because he's spending all of his time struggling to survive.

On the contrary - philosophy is one of the things he is going to have time to do. Do you know how difficult it is to survive when you're on your own? It's not too difficult if you know what you're doing. Sure - the initial phase is the difficult one - the first few days where you work off your tail.

He won't create many works of art either.

I beg to differ. Sure, maybe not artistic by artistic standards - but he's going to create something with all that downtime he has.

If you had a small group, say five to ten people, on a deserted island it's far more likely that they would adopt communism than capitalism.

What if there were 500?

[Ban Kenobi]

No, I don't know how difficult it is to survive on a desert island. That's only natural, since I've never done it. However, most desert islands are deserted for a reason- because they are ****ty places for human habitation. I don't expect them to be very hospitable to my needs.

[regexcellent]

He's unlikely to engage in philosophy because he's spending all of his time struggling to survive.

Creating wealth, in other words.

He won't create many works of art either.

Because they are not as valuable to him as food and therefore make him less wealthy.

[Ben Kenobi]

No, I don't know how difficult it is to survive on a desert island.

Talk to survivalists who have done it. They say one of the biggest problems (once you get over the initial hump), is boredom.

[Aeson]

If I were to find myself stranded on a deserted island, the first form of government I would adopt would be anarchy.

[pchang]

Yes. We've all seen Castaway. Right, Wilson?

[molly bloom]

Francis is a lovable moron at best.

So one up on you then.

[molly bloom]

Are you kidding? Benedict and John Paul said **** like this all the time, just a little less loudly.

Care to guess how many popes there've been, dipstick ? Over 250.

[molly bloom]

Poor Mr. Fun. Francis just smacked down his entire concept of 'marriage'. Odd I don't see the guardian reporting on this!

And why might this be ?

so you don't have to read the fricken Guardian.

Sister Bendy None So Blind

[Ban Kenobi]

Talk to survivalists who have done it. They say one of the biggest problems (once you get over the initial hump), is boredom.

Can I also talk to survivalists that failed? I guess not since they're dead. It looks like you have a biased sample.