Can a Catholic Be a Socialist?

Pope Leo XIII wrote of the “harvest of misery” that socialism brings. Pius XI said that it’s impossible to be a good Catholic and a good socialist. John Paul II spent his papacy combating socialism’s dehumanizing statism.

Yet somehow this long-discredited economic philosophy is making a comeback, not only on college campuses and political talk shows, but among sincere Catholics. Some think it could be the answer to greed and globalism. Others even argue that it’s the best way to obey Christ’s command to help the poor.

Let’s give socialism a fresh chance, they say. A democratic socialism this time, friendly to religion and ordered to the common good like the Church says the economy should be.

In Can a Catholic Be a Socialist? Trent Horn and Catherine R. Pakaluk refute this tempting but false notion. Drawing on Scripture, history, Catholic social teaching, and basic economic reality, they show beyond a doubt that Catholicism and socialism are utterly incompatible.

Along the way, they debunk many of the common claims used to keep afloat the fantasy of a Christian-socialist hybrid, including:

-Since the early Christians kept their property in common, so should we.

-Jesus would be in favor an economic system that guarantees everyone food, health care, and education.

-The Church—especially Pope Francis—teaches that Catholics must find a “third way” between the extremes of Communism and capitalism.

-Socialism would work if it were just done right, like in Sweden.

Although there is no one “Catholic” economic system, Can a Catholic Be a Socialist? also helps you understand commonsense economic principles that are truly in line with the Faith. For we all should work for an economy that gives life: fostering prosperity and the common good while providing opportunities to practice temperance and charity.

Paperback. 208 pages.