CST

The rereading the section from Living Justice on Subsidiarity and private property made me reflect on  ideas from Catholic Social Teaching. The pope has recently come out as a critic of the current world economic system and general materialism of the world, so it is important to remember that the church is not anti-business or anti-private property. The idea of Subsidiarity refers to how groups in society should related to each other and help each other. Unchecked materialism and greed can lead to huge sums of wealth concentrated in the hands of the very few, when it could be used to help people who are not as well off. Since individuals can not always be relied upon to help generate positive sum gains for society sometimes larger groups and institutions must step in to fill those voids, like non-profits, charities, or government. I find it reassuring that the Catholic Church supports labor unions, as they are under attack world wide. Labor unions can be a positive force, especially in developing parts of the world where Catholicism is gaining popularity.

Scramble for Africa: Visual Sources

These sources help to highlight show just brutal European colonial rule was. Things we take for granted today, like Education, were purposefully denied to the native inhabitants of the European colonies. The Letter to Lord Amherst helps highlights how every facet of life was affected by colonialism. By controlling what people learn you can in turn control what they can think, which is very important in colonial rule. Once a European country took control of a territory of land it became very important for them to turn the inhabitants into "civilized Christians". Subjects that thought like Europeans and idolized their culture would create intermediaries for the colonists.

The visuals help reinforce how violent the French and English were. Visual source 18.4 shows a British and French soldier toasting atop a pile of human bones. It is amazing that these Europeans were able to be so ruthless to other human beings. This truly shows how terrible humans can treat one another when one group is considered less than human.They carved up the majority of Africa for their own interests. The arbitrary creation of these countries has created sources of conflict which are still relevant today. Many of the unique cultures and states of Africa are lost forever because of the great scramble.