2/28: Social Mortgage
John Mulaney, amortization schedules, and carbon use
Reading
Whether believers or not, we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone… The principle of the subordination of private property to the universal destination of goods, and thus the right of everyone to their use, is a golden rule of social conduct and “the first principle of the whole ethical and social order”. The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property. Saint John Paul II… explained that “the Church does indeed defend the legitimate right to private property, but she also teaches no less clearly that there is always a social mortgage on all private property, in order that goods may serve the general purpose that God gave them” (Laudato Si’, 93)
Reflection
About a year and a half ago my wife and I purchased our first home. Going into it I always knew — at least cognitively — that buying home wasn’t really buying a home, it was convincing a bank to buy a home on our behalf and then waiting until I don’t know when the Cubs win the World Series (apparently this joke doesn’t work anymore…) before we could call it ours.
I remember getting a print out of the amortization schedule of our home and going line by line to see how much of our home we wouldn’t own and for how long we wouldn’t own it.
I quickly came to the conclusion that we would never own this home.
Comedian John Mulaney describes a similar experience buying his first home in The Comeback Kid:
The woman from the bank came over and she showed me my mortgage broken down month by month for 30 years. And she said, “So, for instance, this is what you’ll pay in July of 2029.” And I burst out laughing. I was like, “2029? That’s not a real year! By 2029, I’ll be drinking moon juice with President Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I’m not gonna be writing you a paper check!”
So when I hear Pope Francis referring to a social mortgage, it makes me realize that everything we have is not ours, but belongs to all of us. We are forever indebted to everyone for our use of the Earth’s resources.
I’ve been starting to think this way about my energy use — or perhaps more specifically my carbon use. Is it fair to use carbon just because I purchased it? What are my obligations to ensure that future generations have access to energy derived from carbon? When I choose to use energy, am I not borrowing it from someone else who may need it later on? What is my ecological debt?
Or conversely: what do I gain when I relieve myself of the burden of ownership? How freeing it can be to recognize everything we have is a gift!
Questions
- How does the idea of a “social mortgage” impact my relationship with my use of resources?
Prayer
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me
— Suscipe, St. Ignatius of Loyola
