Serra dos Órgãos (Rio de Janeiro): the “Finger of God” points upwards
The beauty of God is reflected in the hierarchical and harmonious ensemble of all beings so that, in a sense, there is no better way of knowing God’s infinite and uncreated beauty than to analyze the finite and created beauty of the universe considered not-so-much in each being but in the ensemble of all beings. [“The Aesthetics of the Universe and Consecration to Our Lady,” lecture by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira at the Third Order of Carmel Conference (Circular 7-09, out of print)]
In This Chapter
Are inequalities (for example, social inequalities) good or evil? Or are they only a fait accompli? How should an idealist see them?
Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, whom Italian thinker Giovanni Cantoni has called “the theologian of social inequalities,” illustrates the truths and beauties of this topic.
Inequalities, a Prayer
My God, how I thank Thee for having created me and destined me to a place in the ensemble of Thy creation! How I thank Thee for placing me with so many superiors and inferiors and no one like me!
Strictly speaking, no man is equal to another; yet in my averageness, gaps and shortcomings, I am unique before Thee, my Lord.
Accordingly, if I did not exist, Thou wouldst miss me; if I did not exist, Thou wouldst create me as Thou hast created all gemstones inside the treasure chamber to which I belong.
How I love those who are greater! How I love those who are lesser! And I have a unique message to give to those who want to hear. [Feb. 23, 1990]
City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain
The Great and Nefarious Utopia
A world where homelands unified in a Universal Republic are nothing but geographical names; a world without social or economic inequalities, guided by science and technology, propaganda and psychology to accomplish man’s ultimate happiness without the supernatural: behold the utopia toward which the Revolution is leading us.[Revolution and Counter-Revolution, I, XI.]
Roger Garaudy (1913-2012, French communist writer)
Egalitarianism and Atheism
God created harmonious inequalities that benefit every being and each category of beings. Those harmonious inequalities give a man a superabundant means to always remember His infinite perfections. Inequalities among beings are ipso facto a sublime and very comprehensive school of anti-atheism.
This is what the French Communist writer Roger Garaudy (later “converted” to Islam) appears to have understood when he stressed the importance of eliminating social inequalities to bring about the victory of atheism in the world:
“It is not possible for a Marxist to say that the elimination of religious beliefs is a sine qua non condition for the establishment of Communism. On the contrary, Karl Marx demonstrated that only the full realization of Communism, by making social relationships transparent, would make the disappearance of religious concepts possible in the world. For a Marxist, it is thus the establishment of Communism, which is the sine qua non condition for the elimination of religious beliefs, which is the condition for the construction of Communism.” [L’homme chrétien et l’homme marxiste, Semaines de la pensée marxiste – Confrontations et débats, La Palatine, Paris-Génève, 1964, p. 64]
Thus, to seek to destroy the hierarchical order of the universe is to deprive man of the necessary resources to freely exercise his most fundamental right: to know, love and serve God. In other words, it is to seek the greatest injustice and the cruelest tyranny. [Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites, (Ed. Civilização, Porto, 1992) pp. 300-301]
Egalitarianism Infiltrates Catholic Circles
Things often happen far too irregularly in the progressivist crisis the Holy Church of God finds herself in our hapless days.
One very often sees countless Catholics lambasting excessive social inequalities as a recurring mantra or diatribe.
While excess or exaggeration can easily cause injustice, the real question is whether social inequality is legitimate. And the Popes, with abundant arguments, teach us that it is.
The Church teaches the anti-egalitarian doctrine of harmonious inequality through popes, doctors, saints, and countless moralists and theologians. Consequently, I don’t hesitate to say it is a heavenly teaching.
Therefore, albeit without excessive or aberrant inequalities, unequal social classes exist to live in harmony and cooperation.[Feb. 22, 1995]
Envious Sadness
Sometimes, man loves himself to the point that he refuses to marvel at God’s things and serve Him. He believes this earthly life was given to live pleasantly and thus tries to do so.
From this moment onward, sadness inevitably arises in his soul because others have assets he does not. He has an appetite to own everything himself, producing a longing for complete equality.
His starting point is that life was given to him to exist and should be used for his benefit rather than to contemplate Creation selflessly.
Envy Is an Injustice
As long as a man has what it takes to provide for his family’s subsistence and prosperity and receives a fair salary for his work, he has no right to deplore the fact that other persons or families possess more than he does.
If he deplores it, he commits the sins of pride and envy.
Of pride by refusing the will of God, who created men with unequal physical and intellectual capacity, giving rise to the inequality of goods.
Of envy, for feeling sad or revolted at the fact that someone legitimately possesses greater goods, whatever their nature may be.
To him, who has less, the love of his neighbor prescribes that he rejoices at the fact that the other has more and cheerfully accepts his conditions if they are fair and dignified.[Agrarian Reform – A Question of Conscience, Editora Vera Cruz, São Paulo, 1960, pp. 76-77]
Saint Thomas Aquinas