This work analyzes how the goals of the French Revolution--freedom, equality, and fraternity--have been corrupted by intellectuals and policy makers who do not understand the limitations of the human condition. Their lack of common sense has wrought nothing but social and cultural problems. By contrast, the social teachings of the Catholic Church mesh nicely with the demands of human nature, and as such they offer the right remedy to our cultural crisis.
Freedom today is defined in terms of radical individualism, with little emphasis on restraint or responsibilities. A more mature understanding, as offered by Catholic teachings, ties individual rights to individual responsibilities, and is respectful of traditional moral values.
Equality is defined today as radical egalitarianism, which yields little in the way of equality and much in the way of social discord. Catholicism appreciates the complementarity of men and women, and understands that unequal economic conditions are not necessarily the outcome of inequitable policies and laws.
No society can exist without a modicum of community. Problems emerge when tradition and religion, the two loadstars of fraternity, are belittled or trashed by secular intellectuals; their god is rationalism. Catholicism is appreciative of the central role that tradition and religion play in defining culture, and offers the right tonic to current conditions.
Common Sense Catholicism offers much wisdom and insight to check the ravages created by the big thinkers today, most of whom have very little common sense about them.
