Ep 14: Pope Francis Attacks Libertarianism; Jeffrey Tucker Responds

Several weeks ago, Pope Francis escalated his political and economic rhetoric with a direct attack on libertarianism. Jeffrey Tucker, one of the liberty movement’s most influential thought leaders and himself a Roman Catholic, was told by his publisher that it seems as if the Pope’s comments were aimed at his book A Beautiful Anarchy (recently released in Spanish to strong sales). Jeffrey delivered a written response to the Pope on the website of the Foundation for Economic Education, and today he joins us for an in-depth discussion.

Does Pope Francis have an accurate understanding of libertarianism? In Roman Catholic theology, are the Pope’s comments on such subjects considered binding, or is he speaking outside of his competency? Does the Catholic Church have a history of supporting the western classical liberal / libertarian tradition? Is the libertarian emphasis on individual rights consistent with authentic community? Jeffrey answers all these questions and more, and shares his much-needed message to the Pope (and all Christians) for why if he wants to uplift communities and human dignity, he should support liberty and free markets.

Join us on this fascinating episode as we bring Roman Catholics and Protestants back together for the very first time since 1517!*

*(Unlike the history discussed in this episode, this comment is not at all factual).

• Full Text of Pope Francis’ Message on Libertarianism
• Pope Francis on ‘Invasion’ of Libertarians (Breitbart report)
• Jeffrey Tucker’s Article on the Catholic Church’s Libertarian Legacy
• A Beautiful Anarchy by Jeffrey Tucker
• Responses to the Pope from Other Catholic Libertarians
  • Robert Sirico’s Response to the Pope
  • Jacob Hornberger’s Response to the Pope
  • Stephanie Slade’s Response to the Pope
  • Ryan McMaken’s Response to the Pope