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Q & A ■ Raymond Arroyo’s Interview with Pat Buchanan<br />
“I think the Holy Father, when he comes to<br />
economics, I think he is too much a man of<br />
the neo-socialist left. I think he looks upon<br />
capitalism almost in a Marxist view.”<br />
They’re scared to death of our Pershings<br />
and Cruise [Missiles].” I said,<br />
“That’s why they’ve come to Reykjavik;<br />
they’re going to come back to that<br />
deal.” And they came back that November,<br />
and Reagan gave up the Pershings<br />
and Cruise Missiles, and they gave up<br />
their SS20s.<br />
Arroyo: I need to refer to a column<br />
you recently wrote, and I’ll use it as<br />
a means of getting into our conversation<br />
about Pope Francis. The headline<br />
was, “Is capitalism diabolic?” And<br />
you’re referring to Pope Francis’s statements<br />
in South America, particularly<br />
in Bolivia, where he called capitalism<br />
“an intolerable system.” What are your<br />
concerns about that?<br />
Buchanan: I think the Holy Father,<br />
when he comes to economics, I think<br />
he is too much a man of the neo-socialist<br />
left. I think he looks upon capitalism<br />
almost in a Marxist view. To<br />
me, the free enterprise system, as it’s<br />
evolved and developed, is the greatest<br />
promoter of prosperity, and it’s moved<br />
more people out of poverty and to the<br />
working class and the middle class than<br />
any other system on earth. Now does it<br />
have real problems, can it be improved?<br />
Yeah, but which is a better system? I<br />
mean, it’s certainly not the Marxist,<br />
it’s certainly not what they had down<br />
there in Argentina; I mean, they went<br />
belly-up about fifteen years ago.<br />
Arroyo: Now some will say, “Look,<br />
he’s trying to attach a moral vision to<br />
the capitalist system. He’s concerned<br />
that the focus has been solely on profit<br />
to the exclusion of your fellow man.”<br />
Buchanan: There’s a very valid point<br />
there, but the purpose of business,<br />
people go into business and they buy<br />
and provide things and grow things,<br />
in order that they may make a profit so<br />
they can feed their family out of that,<br />
and that profit motive is part of human<br />
nature. Now, does it get out of control if<br />
you get one individual, you know, playing<br />
monopoly… I mean you’ve played<br />
monopoly and you get all the houses<br />
and you build on all the properties and<br />
then you run everybody out of business<br />
and kill them. So he’s right there, but,<br />
you know—but you’re concerned about<br />
the way he goes about rectifying that,<br />
invoking an international system that<br />
should somehow redistribute wealth.<br />
Look, you’ve got that in the European<br />
Union. Ask the Greeks if it’s working<br />
out well for them!<br />
Arroyo: Well, let’s talk about his climate<br />
change agenda which he has been<br />
pushing mightily. He invited all the<br />
mayors, many mayors from the U.S.<br />
and around the world into the Vatican<br />
just a few weeks ago and they have<br />
signed on to this effort to push these<br />
climate reforms that the U.N. is considering<br />
in December, in Paris. A good<br />
idea, or has he exceeded his charism?<br />
Buchanan: Well, I think he’s well outside<br />
the realm of where he is speaking<br />
on faith and morals. Quite frankly, I<br />
think there’s legitimate dissent. I mean,<br />
I am a climate change skeptic. I hope<br />
that doesn’t excommunicate me. Look,<br />
we are stewards of the earth, and when<br />
I was growing up the air was dirty, the<br />
Potomac was polluted, and we’ve done<br />
a tremendous amount to clean that up;<br />
America’s done more than almost any<br />
country in the world. Maybe we’ve got<br />
to do more, but the idea of a globalized<br />
entity imposing its views and values—<br />
that opens the door to global tyranny.<br />
I don’t think the Holy Father really<br />
understands, you know, the problems<br />
and benefits of the American free<br />
enterprise system as well as he might if<br />
he hadn’t been raised down there with<br />
the guys with the shiny boots and sunglasses,<br />
the Peronistas.<br />
Arroyo: What do you think he’s going<br />
to say when he comes here, particularly<br />
this joint session of Congress?<br />
Buchanan: I think he’ll probably say<br />
many of the same things. It’s such a<br />
golden opportunity. I think the Holy<br />
Father is, as I am, something of a confrontationist,<br />
and I think he will read<br />
us the riot act in a kind way. But I think<br />
he’s going to say a lot of things, such<br />
as he’s been saying, on climate change,<br />
and on poverty, and I’ll bet he gets into<br />
the immigration issue, and he will not<br />
emulate Donald Trump.<br />
Arroyo: Yes, let’s go to this last issue<br />
we have to touch before I let you go.<br />
This is Robert Gates, the national president<br />
of the Boy Scouts of America on<br />
their decision to allow gay scout leaders<br />
into the organization. We’ll play this,<br />
and I want the Buchanan take on it.<br />
Voice: Due to the social, political,<br />
and legal changes taking place in our<br />
16 ■ the traditionalist
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