Capitalist Materialism as the 21st Century “Conservative” IdealBy Michael Hoffman www.revisionisthistory.orgOn July 14, 2015 Patrick J. Buchanan confronted Pope Francis’ economics in an essay titled, “Is Capitalism Diabolic?” (http://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2015/07/14/is-capitalism-diabolic-n2024927/page/full) Mr. Buchanan, a Knight of Malta, sought to preserve this pope’s “Vicar of Christ on earth” status while at the same time attempting to deconstruct the papal rhetoric concerning the predations of the Market.Mr. Buchanan is a leader of the “paleo-Conservative” movement which supposedly distinguishes itself from neocon “Conservatism” by its fealty to the Old Republic and Jeffersonian ideals and values. Fifty years ago such fealty would have been synonymous with some critique, however token or anemic, of predatory capitalism and its enabler, usury. But in his July riposte to the pope, Pat makes no such distinctions. He’s over the top for capitalism without qualifiers, reminiscent of Ludwig von Mises, the anti-Christian, Austrian-Judaic arch-usurer (see our book, Usury in Christendom, pp. 276-277).Buchanan commences his column with one of his trademark laurels for a Judas who is supposed to represent an admirable Conservative leader of the past who stood tall against whatever it is Pat seeks to denounce. In this instance, he chooses Pope St. John Paul II as the exemplary figure. Mr. Buchanan writes:“On arrival in La Paz, Pope Francis was presented by Bolivian President Evo Morales with a wooden crucifix carved in the form of a hammer and sickle, the symbol of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Fidel. Had Pope John Paul II been handed that crucifix, he might have cracked it over Evo’s head. For John Paul II had seen up close what communism did -- to his country, his church and his people in 45 years of Bolshevik rule. On his arrival in the Nicaragua of Daniel Ortega in 1983, Pope John Paul castigated a priest-collaborator who dared to serve that Sandinista Marxist regime as culture minister. And, while in Managua, he warned Catholics they were being threatened by ‘unacceptable ideological commitments.” Good ol’ Saint John Paul stood tall against the Left. We have a hero and a leader! Ha. Pat engaged in this archetypal showcasing with President Ronald Reagan’s legacy as well, mostly ignoring the catastrophes that Reagan initiated or enabled, fueling our national decline…The rest of this column appears in the September, 2015 issue of Revisionist History newsletter.To purchase this issue see this link.***
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