How does the Seventh Commandment argue for the inherent right of private property and against socialism and the forced redistribution of wealth?
God entrusted man to be stewards of that which is given (cf.
Genesis 1:26-29 RSVCE). However, God does not give without expressed
recipient, bestowing gifts upon all men without specific reference to the recipient
(cf. Matthew 25:14-30, cf. Luke 15:11-32). The right to well-earned private
property does not interrupt the gift given to the entire human family (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2403). God,
having made man in His own image, also bestows the ability to act/make change
or work (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2427). Our work, like God’s work, can be fruitful (cf. Matthew 9:37, cf.
John 15:1-17, cf. Matthew 20:1–16). Therefore, God also gives us the fruits of
our labor. It is, therefore, unjust to take the fruits of another’s work, for
both were given specifically to them. Socialism and the forced redistribution
of wealth remove this reward from every citizen and yet force them to continue working.
“Simply by looking at the poem’s structure [of Mount Purgatory] we learn four lessons central to the Catholic moral tradition: (1) the pedagogical value of pleasure and pain; (2) the witness of conscience to the natural law; (3) the doctrine of the mean; (4) and the primacy of love.” Briefly summarize each of these lessons and their importance.
(1)Pleasure’s end is to draw us to God who is our complete fulfillment. Pain’s end is to direct us from that which is harmful (sin and evil), unite us to the sufferings of Christ which purify, and thereby move us from sin unto God. (2) God provided man with a conscience that can detect and encounter that which is evil and that which is loving, ipso facto there must be a universal definition of that which is right and wrong. (3)The “doctrine of the mean” captures the understanding of excess and deficiency and posits that moderation is the mean of the two. The pursuit of love in excess is a cause of sin, just as not seeking it sufficiently is. Therefore, the moderate, temperate, and right pursuit of love is the narrow path that lies between as a midpoint. (4)Love transcends mere regulated deeds but moves the lover to become love itself, the God who is love (1 John 4:8,16). If one desires goodness for self, they may simply act morally, and thereby minimize their suffering with no reference to love. Therefore, love is more ambitious than morality.
