By Charles C. Camosy | Amazon.com | 150 pages
Published in May of 2019
SUMMARY: What would the world look like if Christians, and non-Christians, lived a life focused on a culture of hospitality and encounter? What if we rejected the pervasive consumerist culture that sees humans, especially the poor and the vulnerable, as commodities to be used? Professor of Medical Humanities at the Creighton University School of Medicine Charles Camosy, building upon the Consistent Life Ethic (CLE) advocated for by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, provides a compelling framework and well-reasoned arguments for approaching sex, abortion, climate, non-humans, and violence, among other polarizing subjects, in Resisting Throwaway Culture.
The book devotes seven chapters to specific topics (sex practices, reproductive biotechnology, abortion, a duty to aid the poor and stranger, ecology and non-humans, euthanasia, and state-sponsored violence) where he follows a pattern of looking at the current situation of a vulnerable population subjected to violence. He then pivots to how to use the CLE to critique how the vulnerable are being treated before addressing several objections to his critique. For the sake of this review, we will focus on the CLE and its key tenets.
“The ethic is founded…upon the defense of the human person. She has sacredness as an individual, but her flourishing cannot be understood except in relation to others,” Camosy writes. “The CLE reminds us of our duty to protect the lives of persons at all stages of development (from fertilization until natural death), as well as to give them aid and support.”
From a Christian point of view, this is tied to the image of God. This is the belief that all people are created in the image of God and we are called to reflect Him in our interaction with His human and non-human creations. This vitally important distinction stands at odds with American culture that champions subjective truths or moral relativism.
“In the absence of objective truths or sound principles other than the satisfaction of our own desires and immediate needs, what limits can be placed on human trafficking, organized crime, the drug trade, commerce in blood diamonds, and the fur of endangered species?” Camosy asks.
Camposy’s hypothesis is that violence is being brought upon vulnerable populations that are seen as disposable. A consumeristic mindset, fueled by freedom of choice and autonomy, results in a throwaway culture. America, writ large, treats people as a commodity that is to be used and then discarded. The seed of this insidious ideology begins in the words we use. When we use words such as “illegals,” “a clump of cells,” or “thugs”, we are dehumanizing a fellow human being. We are not seeing the inherent dignity of a fellow image bearer.
“The CLE must call attention to language that reduces the dignity of marginalized populations to mere catchphrases,” Camosy pens. “Otherwise we can objectify the vulnerable and allow ourselves to discard them at will—often at the service of consumerist culture, and often in the face of terrible violence.”
This mentality justifies Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Texas governor Greg Abbott busing immigrants to Washington D.C., New York, and Chicago for political purposes. This leads to proponents of abortion advocating for the procedure at any stage of pregnancy. This leads to the United States having 20% of the world’s incarcerated despite having 4% of the world’s population.
Camosy argues that this consumerist mindset “has detached us so totally from encounter and connection” that “we aren’t inclined to think about how we are contributing to a culture in which people are used and thrown away.” Simply put, “consumerism…enables throwaway culture.”
“This culture fosters a mentality in which everything has a price, everything can be bought, everything is negotiable. This way of thinking has room only for a select few, while it discards all those who are unproductive. It reduces everything—including people—into mere things whose worth consists only in being bought, sold, or used, and which are then discarded when their market value has been exhausted.”
For Americans, this calls into question the very water we swim in. “When we err on the side of autonomy and freedom of choice, we ignore the claims (and even the existence) of the vulnerable,” Camosy says.
This manifests itself in 24% of the population struggling to put food on the table despite living in the richest country in the world. It is why gun deaths continue to rise and we do nothing to curb the epidemic.
To break this destructive cycle we need to create a culture of encounter and hospitality. We must get out of our houses and plug into our communities with authentic face-to-face interactions. We must to go the “peripheries of our familiar communities” and be the hands and feet of Jesus. It means getting uncomfortable. And sometimes it means having a conversation, just to have a conversation.
“Genuine encounter requires a posture of hospitality—and such encounters will be understood as good and fitting even if there seems to be no utilitarian reason for engaging.”
Camposy does not gloss over that the fact that the CLE is a difficult, nuanced philosophy that is filled with tension. We live in a broken world, and yet we are called to work with God to bring heaven to earth. It goes against everything our society values. It should be filled with grace, mercy, love, and compassion — and it should be done in community – especially with people that you disagree.
“A culture of encounter, characterized by mercy for those we are tempted to judge, means being in intellectual solidarity with those who hold different opinions than we do,” Camosy pens. “It means listening first, presuming good will, and tolerating views that we find uncomfortable.”
“Do it in dialogue with others, especially those who think differently. Steelman, don’t straw man, their point of view. Resist with all your might the urge to define yourself by opposition to the other. Lead with what you are for, not with what you are against, in the hopes of finding unifying common ground.”
“Our relationship can be shaped by the violent, destructive consumerism a throwaway culture generates, or it can be shaped by a culture of encounter and mercy.”
One final note, you may not fully agree with all the points of the consistent life ethic as Camosy lists it, especially for birth control, but the philosophy, at the very least, is intellectually challenging and should not be dismissed just because you might not agree with him fully.
KEY QUOTE: “The CLE can provide an antidote to the throwaway culture’s treatment of the poor and the stranger. Its vision demands more than not killing. It demands more than voting a certain way. It means each of us taking seriously the stories and realities of these Christ-bearers. It means cultivating a genuine encounter and allowing that encounter to transform us.”
BONUS: Listen to Camosy discuss his book on the Paths to Unity podcast.
BONUS II: Read the first chapter of his book at newcitypress.com (PDF).
DID YOU KNOW? Sunday to Saturday has a Good Reads page where we post all of the books we have read – even the ones that didn’t make the cut.
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BOOK: The Imago Dei – Humanity Made in the Image of God
The doctrine of the image of God is like prayer, communion, or any other practice that has become perfunctory. We kind of know what it is and what it means, but the necessity and revolutionary nature of the practice or belief has dulled with time and repetition. In The Imago Dei: Humanity Made in the…
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