What is the link between proverbs and policy? For Brian Dijkema, the Canadian president of Cardus, it has to do with wisdom—and wisdom is something that's available to all. He argues that every human being is made in the image of God for a particular type of social life, and that we should have a rich variety of relationships. In part 2, hosts Andreae Sennyah and Ray Pennings take a deeper dive into Christian social thought: creation order, common grace, antithesis, and sphere sovereignty; the four permanent principles of the Catholic church's social doctrine; and what this means for day-to-day policy work and public life in North America. Notes 00:00 Guest Brian Dijkema; Solomon asked for wisdom when he was made king 03:00 Christian social thought seen as some esoteric private interest group 05:00 Every human being is made in the image of God and worthy of dignity 08:00 TV show Alone: almost everybody leaves because they miss their family 10:00 Cardus as "civil society maximalists," a beloved colleague's phrase 12:00 Reducing a sauce is good. Reducing a human person is really, really bad 13:00 A forest's biodiversity; churches, mosques, synagogues, chess groups 16:00 "I'm the worst smuggler possible"; contracts are honoured because of honesty 19:00 Historian Tom Holland's Dominion; a darker Nietzschean individualism 24:00 Nonpartisan Cardus with Manitoba's NDP health minister on euthanasia 26:00 Ninety organizations representing groups with disabilities on MAID 29:00 Payday lending and access to credit: usury limits or credit unions 33:00 Theologian Thomas Aquinas: prudence as the highest political virtue 34:00 Leo XIII's Rerum novarum; we're actually Christian futurists 38:00 Part 2: the hosts connect some of the dots to Christian social thought 40:00 Next Gen Fellowship; Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 45:00 Creation order, common grace, antithesis, and sphere sovereignty 48:00 Human dignity, common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity as principles 55:00 Christian social thought as something prior to political philosophies 1:05:00 A hopeful future: a resurgence of religion among young people Links Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, by Tom Holland: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/tom-holland/dominion/9781408706978 "Groups Urge Ottawa to Permanently Halt MAID for Mental Illness" via The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-groups-urge-ottawa-to-permanently-halt-maid-for-mental-illness Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html Credits Brian Dijkema is the president, Canada, at Cardus. Before joining Cardus in 2011, he spent almost a decade in labour relations. He lives in Hamilton with his wife, Nicole, and their four children. Hosted by Ray Pennings and Andreae Sennyah. Ray Pennings is a co-founder and the executive vice president of Cardus. Andreae Sennyah is the director of policy and stakeholder relations at Cardus. Produced by Evan Rosa and Dayna Hillier. Technical production by Allie Crummy, artwork by Domenic Sallese, and marketing by Brendan Steven. Proverbs & Policy is part of the Comment Podcast Network: https://comment.org/podcasts Cardus is a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, how society's institutions can work together for the common good. To learn more about us, visit https://www.cardus.ca. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave us a review. It helps other listeners find the show. You can also sign up for Cardus Insights, a weekly newsletter by Ray Pennings for anyone looking for thoughtful, measured, and principled perspectives on faithful public life. Subscribe for free at https://www.cardus.ca/insights.
