In the 1930's Peter Maurin wrote about
feeding the poor and starving the bankers, on capitalism and greed, on
borders and nationalism and love of God who indwells All; and he
usually did it in rhythm and rhyme:
Modern society has made the bank account the standard of values.
When the bank account becomes the standard of values the bank account has the power.
When the bank account has the power the technician has to supervise the making of profits.
When the bank account has the power the politician has to insure law and order in the profit-making system.
When the bank account has the power the educator trains students in the technique of profit making.
When the bank account has the power the clergyman is expected to bless the profit-making system or to join the unemployed.
When the bank account has the power the Sermon on the Mount is declared unpractical.
When the bank account has the power we have an acquisitive, not a functional society.
Maurin saw what the Industrial Revolution had done to human beings and he had no faith in unions and organizations, or in strikes for higher wages or shorter hours as the solution to fix what society suffered.
"Strikes don't strike me," he used to say, but he did work for hours on picket lines as he distributed-leaflets regarding men and women's dignity and their right to associate themselves with trade unions, cooperatives, maternity guilds, etc.
Day wrote, "He liked the name "radical" and he had wanted the paper to be called The Catholic Radical. To him, Worker smacked of class war. What he wanted was to instill in all, worker or scholar, a philosophy of poverty and a philosophy of work"he never preached; he taught. While decrying secularism, the separation of the material from the spiritual, his emphasis as a layman, was on our material needs, our need for work, food, clothing and shelter...Though he lived in the city, he urged a return to the village economy, the study of the crafts and of agriculture. He was dealing with this world, in which God has placed us to work for a new heaven and a new earth wherein justice dwelleth." [Ibid]
Before Maurin died in 1949, he was interviewed by the Houston Catholic Worker/HCW from which I excerpt:
HCW: Am I my brother's keeper?
Peter Maurin: No matter what people's preferences are, we are our brother's keeper.
HCW: What did your father mean when he talked with you about the "shock maxims of the Gospel?"
Peter Maurin: As we walked back and forth to the village our father spoke of the shock maxims of the New Testament. He was talking about the Sermon on the Mount: going the extra mile, having a coat and a cloak and giving one away, loving your neighbor as yourself, turning the other cheek.
HCW: What's wrong with industrial capitalism?
Peter Maurin: It is incompatible with the Christian Gospel because it renders the person subservient to the production of wealth. No economic system which places greater value on the accumulation of wealth than on the dignity of the human person deserves the support of those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and the Pope. It leads to alienation and a loss of a sense of personal participation in community life. With industrial capitalism it is not clear who is responsible for problems that arise.
HCW: The Easy Essays seem so simple. Why did you write that way?
Peter Maurin: They are deceptive. My writing is the fruit of much study and prayer. The essays were written to entice people into more profound study regarding the rich Christian tradition and radical ways of living the Gospel.
HCW: What did you do when the FBI came to investigate conscientious objection at the Catholic Worker during World War II?
Peter Maurin: FBI agents continually came to check on the sincerity of those who had registered with the Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors. These agents were courteous and frequently Catholic. They had never heard the morality of war debated from a Catholic point of view. They often stayed to talk; some subscribed to the paper or left money for the bread line.
Modern society has made the bank account the standard of values.
When the bank account becomes the standard of values the bank account has the power.
When the bank account has the power the technician has to supervise the making of profits.
When the bank account has the power the politician has to insure law and order in the profit-making system.
When the bank account has the power the educator trains students in the technique of profit making.
When the bank account has the power the clergyman is expected to bless the profit-making system or to join the unemployed.
When the bank account has the power the Sermon on the Mount is declared unpractical.
When the bank account has the power we have an acquisitive, not a functional society.
Maurin saw what the Industrial Revolution had done to human beings and he had no faith in unions and organizations, or in strikes for higher wages or shorter hours as the solution to fix what society suffered.
"Strikes don't strike me," he used to say, but he did work for hours on picket lines as he distributed-leaflets regarding men and women's dignity and their right to associate themselves with trade unions, cooperatives, maternity guilds, etc.
Day wrote, "He liked the name "radical" and he had wanted the paper to be called The Catholic Radical. To him, Worker smacked of class war. What he wanted was to instill in all, worker or scholar, a philosophy of poverty and a philosophy of work"he never preached; he taught. While decrying secularism, the separation of the material from the spiritual, his emphasis as a layman, was on our material needs, our need for work, food, clothing and shelter...Though he lived in the city, he urged a return to the village economy, the study of the crafts and of agriculture. He was dealing with this world, in which God has placed us to work for a new heaven and a new earth wherein justice dwelleth." [Ibid]
Before Maurin died in 1949, he was interviewed by the Houston Catholic Worker/HCW from which I excerpt:
HCW: Am I my brother's keeper?
Peter Maurin: No matter what people's preferences are, we are our brother's keeper.
HCW: What did your father mean when he talked with you about the "shock maxims of the Gospel?"
Peter Maurin: As we walked back and forth to the village our father spoke of the shock maxims of the New Testament. He was talking about the Sermon on the Mount: going the extra mile, having a coat and a cloak and giving one away, loving your neighbor as yourself, turning the other cheek.
HCW: What's wrong with industrial capitalism?
Peter Maurin: It is incompatible with the Christian Gospel because it renders the person subservient to the production of wealth. No economic system which places greater value on the accumulation of wealth than on the dignity of the human person deserves the support of those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and the Pope. It leads to alienation and a loss of a sense of personal participation in community life. With industrial capitalism it is not clear who is responsible for problems that arise.
HCW: The Easy Essays seem so simple. Why did you write that way?
Peter Maurin: They are deceptive. My writing is the fruit of much study and prayer. The essays were written to entice people into more profound study regarding the rich Christian tradition and radical ways of living the Gospel.
HCW: What did you do when the FBI came to investigate conscientious objection at the Catholic Worker during World War II?
Peter Maurin: FBI agents continually came to check on the sincerity of those who had registered with the Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors. These agents were courteous and frequently Catholic. They had never heard the morality of war debated from a Catholic point of view. They often stayed to talk; some subscribed to the paper or left money for the bread line.
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