When a Town Called Heaven Descended Into Hell

I am a fan of vintage television, and the old westerns are among the best for teaching morals.  One Zane Grey Theatre show—in black and white, literally and figuratively—depicted what happened when the devil in disguise visited a town called Heaven in the 1800s.  The affable, well dressed elderly character first selected a prominent town member with an enticing proposal to make money and help the community.  The latter was emphasized.  (After all, how can a venture be avarice if it helps neighbors, too?) It was all downhill from there, as the devil sneakily tempted others, one by one.  Eventually nasty quarreling erupted with fists flying, as each “mark” grew miserable, and, ironically, poor again.   

 
Finally, the originally duped townsman recognized the stranger as the devil.  In the final scene, he raised his rifle towards the deceptively benign figure, while the town folks hollered that he would be committing murder.  The frazzled citizen yelled back, “You can’t kill the devil.”  Down the supposed benefactor went.  At first the town people rushed to hang their once very respected neighbor until one little boy noticed that, indeed, the felled duper was alive after all.  The devil, still appearing as a senior gentleman, jauntily rose, grinned and departed.

 
Regardless of occupation and economic status, from farming to high tech, in any era or location, temptation will always abound to pit persons and groups or classes against another primarily fueled by arrogance, envy, anger, and avarice.

 
Yet, it is not resources, per se, that lead to the downfall of societies, big and small, but how persons perceive them, by whose hand they are received, and how they are distributed, ideally in the spirit of Catholic truth and love.  Manmade economic models often shroud the fact that all goods originate from the Creator, so they engender materialism and spark conflict is some way.

 
From atheistic communism to excessive capitalism with various hybrids in between, someone will always be dissatisfied and challenged.  Indeed, some will be treated unfairly.  Depending on those in political power, there will always be disgruntled populations.   The devil does not care, as he knows how to manipulate and requires relatively few susceptible souls to inflict mass destruction.

 
Millions have been charismatically enticed throughout history, led to believe that they are actually being just while living or leading in the deadly sins.  Like  in “A Town Called Heaven,” the classic ploy is to instill a sense of nobility in the person seeking to advance his or her own position.  Thus, those who strive for power, particularly politicians, will always cite those who have less than others.  “What about the children” is the most popularized slogan, as government picks pockets.  

 
Such is the case with the victor in the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani.  Though from a wealthy Indian family, Mamdani, proclaims social democracy — once a label for the communist Bolsheviks —with the typical utopian promises.  Always the enemy is the other wealthy, and in this case, White, as well.  That this godless, but prescriptive economic and political prototype always ends in the tyrannical enslavement of its supposed beneficiaries while also upending virtuous culture, seems to escape the often historically self-oriented, miseducated mob. 

 
That is not to unreservedly acclaim free markets and clever entrepreneurs. While capitalism affords the optimum opportunities to fully live Faith, it is not, by itself, a faultless regiment for Catholic fidelity.  While providing the liberty to achieve economic success (private ownership) and enabling citizens to pursue the good, true, and beautiful, temptation for grave sin abounds here, as well.  Too, how will God judge, perhaps worse, capitalist citizens who had a choice to do good but hoarded money and position?   

 
One textbook example of a disastrous capitalistic utopia—as oxymoronic as that sounds— was built by industrialist railroader George Pullman in the 1880’s.  Pullman envisioned a city with his factories but including shops and housing.  Ten miles south of Chicago, it would house 12,000 at its peak. (paleofuture.com) Aside from meeting the employees’ basics, Pullman also intended to raise the civility of the working class.  The hypocritical moralist businessman invested heavily into his dream community, but arrogance and avarice would ultimately destroy his vision.

 
Though Pullman extolled Christian principles, he was a ruthless employer and landlord who forced his employees to live in Pullman City and ranked them with respect to benefits.  Blacks were not allowed.  Alcohol was prohibited.  Only one church was built to theoretically be used by any religion.  The town’s single library was largely unaffordable and carried little to truly inform the workers anyway.  The shopping center belied its claim of “lowest Chicago prices,” but the residents were stuck with it.

 
Moreover, counter intuitive to capitalism, no renter could own their homes.  (Incidentally Pullman lived in a mansion at a distance from his experimental city but had his cadre of spies.)  Then, when the economy soured in 1893, wages were slashed, but Pullman demanded the same rents and charged more for necessities.  Many a worker had literally only a few cents after deductions despite working ten hours a day for nearly two weeks.  So much for the assurance of rational capitalism.  

Numerous Papal Encyclicals, hundreds of books, and thousands of articles expound on the dangers of any economic-political scenario that creates class warfare, with one taking advantage of the other. And, keep in mind, the poor, when organized, can turn into a ruthless mob, while the sincere capitalists, who are also good stewards, may suffer unfair losses. The Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church, along with Saints have echoed the same admonishments about exploiters regardless of the tenets they are advancing.    

 
Pope Pius IX as early as 1846 and Pope Pius XI (Divini Redemptoris, 1937) specifically condemned and rejected communism as an enemy of the Church and contrary to natural law and a lethal threat to society.  Pope Leo XIII riddled communism in Quod Apostolic Muneris (1878), but his Rerum Novarum (Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor), 1891, was a classic industrial age encyclical that distinctly also addressed and balanced worker’s rights and employers’ (business owner’s) responsibilities towards just employment wages and conditions.  The work rejected unrestricted capitalism.

 
Bluntly, led by pride, but trailed by the other six deadly sins, any proverbial town in the world could become not “heaven” but “hell” on Earth.  (Some could fairly argue that this has already occurred in major urban areas.).  Still, we can hope that though the world has gone mad, and evil exponentially more brazen than ever,  through growing awareness, and resurgence of virtue, the tide may turn.  Like the innocent child in the story about the town called Heaven, it may take only One to wake up the “adults in the room” to the devil in their midst.