South Bend, January 12, 1975
Jacques Maritain on America
In his book written in English, Reflections on America (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1958), the French philosopher Jacques Maritain gave a moving testimony on America. Maritain was born 1882 in Paris. He studied at the Sorbonne and in Heidelberg natural sciences and philosophy. Maritain, who came from a Protestant family, converted to Catholicism in 1906. Starting from Thomas Aquinas, he became a renowned representative of the new Christian humanism. Maritain taught from 1914-40 at the Institut Catholique in Paris. From the early 1930s on, he took up contacts with universities in North America. He gave lectures at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Notre Dame. In 1940 he and his wife Raissa went to New York into exile. From 1945-48 he was Ambassador of France at the Vatican. In 1948 he accepted a professorship at Princeton University. After retiring as emeritus in 1953, he stayed on in Princeton, New Jersey. From there he traveled several times to the Midwest, giving guest lectures at the University of Chicago and here at Notre Dame. On the advice of his wife and out of gratitude for the friendly reception, which he had received in this country, he wrote the “reflections” on America. In the Reflections he calls his first encounter with America a “coup de foudre” or “love at first sight.” Looking back on history, he points out: “[The Americans] were the most humane and least materialist among modern peoples which had reached the industrial age.” Then he deals with the widespread European prejudice that America is exclusively materialistic. “Few things, to my mind,” he declares, “are as sickening as the stock remarks with which so many persons in Europe, who are themselves far from despising the earthly goods of this world, reproach this country with its so-called materialism. The power of this fable is so great that sometimes you yourselves [the Americans] are taken in by it.” Furthermore, he expresses his admiration about the efforts America has made during the past two hundred years to create a new world: “I have come to realize more and more the immensity of the human effort which was brought into play to create a new world within the course of two centuries.” At the conclusion of his reflections, he arrives at the following point of view: “What the world expects from America is that she keep alive, in human history, a fraternal recognition of the dignity of man.” The recognition of the dignity of the human being is most important for Jacques Maritain.
[The University of Notre Dame founded a separate Jacques Maritain Center in 1957. Maritain returned to France in 1960. He died in 1973.]
South Bend, January 19, 1975
The Depression Then and Now
Whenever there is a recession in America and the unemployment number reaches the 6 - 7 million mark, fearful visions of the Great Depression of the 1930s pop up. But to keep things in perspective, it would be advisable to recall some of the figures of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was triggered by the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, when stocks, without a safety net, tumbled to the bottom. As a consequence, it brought the highest unemployment rate ever recorded in America. In 1933 unemployment reached 25% of the work force. Now by comparison, unemployment stands at 7.2%. At the peak of the Great Depression in 1933, many banks had to be closed, whereby a large section of the population lost their life’s savings. Furthermore, numerous mortgages were foreclosed, forcing many farmers to leave their land. In the meantime, many lessons have been learned and protective measures taken. Now, bank deposits up to a certain amount are secured by law. Also, since the New Deal a number of social security legislation has been enforced to protect the individual in an emergency. A repetition of the Great Depression is therefore very unlikely.