Is a Union Good or Bad?
CHRIST & NEIGHBOR
When last we met we were discussing the ambiguous record of Roman Catholic institutions toward trade unions, particularly as analyzed in an excellent pamphlet written by Ed Marciniak. We agreed to continue the discussion by addressing the question why anti-unionism is not a “legitimate moral, Christian, Catholic option.”
The title of this column — “Is a Union Good or Bad?” — is a foolish question, a foolish title, and we stuck it up there only to lure the unwary reader into reading the column, if only to find out why anyone should ask such a foolish question.
The question is foolish because a union is a human organization and it is either good or bad depending on the human beings who control it, some being very good, some very bad, and the rest somewhere on a continuum in between.
Unionism is something else. Unionism is simply the principle that human beings working together may derive benefits from banding together in an organization, usually called a union, guild, or association, on the elementary basis that “in union there is strength.”
You May Also Enjoy
The “crisis of modernity” remains unresolved by a “sham conservatism” that merely sanctions the unbridled pursuit of worldly success.
I believe that there is room for the faithful doubters in the Catholic Church, but only so long as they can transcend their doubts and accept the Creed.
Review of The Two Churches: Catholicism & Capitalism in the World System