[seibelj]

The government murdered the son of god which is a foundational element of Christianity.

The Catholic Church is a supranational entity that will survive as nation states rise and fall. No one in 2022 puts a gun to your head to join nor stay inside it. There is no forced tithe. You are encouraged voluntarily to donate money and assist others but unlike the government not doing so is something you have to deal with yourself.

All churches and orders generally have to be self sustaining. The Vatican is not cutting checks - money flows up but doesn’t flow down and they will close churches if they aren’t cutting the mustard. This encourages self sufficiency and creativity. For example my church owns a lot of rental property and has other income generating assets.

Catholic schools are generally far superior to the local public schools. They charge reasonable rates. I live in an expensive city and the local Catholic elementary school is $10k per year which is a deal considering the public school spends $25k per student and you’d have to be out of options to send your child there because of the violence and awful nature of the education (basically ranked 1/10 nationally).

It’s hilarious that you think I haven’t thought about this deeply. What’s more shocking is that people go through life oblivious to human nature and reality. They think by taxing productive citizens and enterprises all of societal flaws can be solved. The true solution is to let all of us work communally to solve our issues and keep the greedy, evil, self serving, and venal politicians away from the wealth we earned with our own hands.

[thinkingemote]

by "I mean, have you thought about this deeply? " I was asking if you had because I hadn't and was curious and am looking for someone who had. Hence the question. Sorry if I offended. I do not mean to imply that you have not. I have not encountered a Catholic tech individualist before (but am a Catholic). It's entirely possibly you are not an "individualist", sorry. Its also possibly that I'm combining two of your interests (blockchain-ish + catholicism) which you have separate feelings and interests about, if that's the case, apologies. I have an interest in mycology and catholicism but I don't have any theories combining the two!

Also, see, I am not the same user(s) who replied to your original comment, but looking at their replies I can understand that you have, what appears to me to be written a defensive response. It was not the one that I was looking for. So I'm sorry. It's cool, brother. Sometimes I get worked up and reply to others still in a heated frame of mind based on something before someone else said, so I can understand when it happens, if it did.

I am curious about individualism and catholicism and these new technologies. I'm less interested in tech and government which is common here in HN, as evidenced by the other responses you got. Maybe you could provide me with the equivalent of some AOL keywords - if suitable. This might be better just to get me started than trying to parse my awkward questions!

It seems to me that individualism is the opposite of communitarianism - both extremes have their problems which Catholicism points out. What do you think? Do you see individualism and libertarianism occurring more often with Anarchist, atheism or neo-paganism or not, perhaps how is Christianity more suitable here? But really, it's this question and how it relates to new technologies. Do these technologies help us work communally, or just a tool like the stuff most of us use to be used one way or the other, or something else? How is it different from a self organising Anarchist community vision? Is it a really New Thing I guess I'm asking?

[seibelj]

We are social creatures and I absolutely believe in community and helping each other. My issue is that other people want to use the state to solve all of their favored issues, and fund this by stealing from citizens such as myself. It’s especially bad because the recent vintage of politicians exclusively attack the rich and pretend that purely by stealing from them all the money can be found, when instead they should be advocating for shared sacrifice by all to achieve their aims. It’s class warfare mixed with naivety and it’s lies because the rich are far more nimble and able to avoid such taxes than the demagogues believe. They don’t advocate for broad tax increases because then their “something for nothing” mantra falls apart and suddenly their solutions are far less popular.

In terms of Catholicism I’m not sure there is a lot of writing specifically about how the tech industry and it intertwine. I believe that if you are a healthy individual and have nothing preventing you from working then it is your duty to be a productive member of society to help your family, friends, and those around you. The whole point of the teaching and faith is that it’s universal and timeless - doesn’t matter if we are peasants 1000 years ago or on a space ship 1000 years into the future. Just because I’m in technology doesn’t change anything or make me different from a janitor, doctor, or craftsmen.

In terms of technology for myself I see writing software as not dissimilar to constructing buildings or bridges - it’s an act of creativity that creates something out of nothing and I find beauty in the systems produced. If you are curious about Catholicism or something inside of you is seeking answers it may be worth reaching out to your local parish, they are always happy to chat.