1890-1900 photo of the Market Church in Hanover, Germany.
By affirming the rule of honor, we do not in any way disparage riches, goods, or money. All we are saying is that they should not dominate a culture.
Nor do we advocate a primitive or impoverished economy devoid of luxury and splendor. Where honor rules, men make abundant use of material goods as a means to make life in society dignified, upright, and agreeable to body and soul. Wealth tends to be held more in accumulated goods and less in money. Luxury becomes a tasteful expression and not the measure of honor.
Kobe Bryant Autograph Sneakers selling for $1,600.
By contrast, where the rule of money holds sway, riches become the supreme measure of life. We see the decay of principles and convictions, which allows the media to reign supreme and makes gaudy luxuries sought and displayed. This rule cultivates a shallow and insipid cosmopolitanism that is characterized by a decay of both culture and good taste.
John Horvat, Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go (York, Penn.: York Press, 2013), 266-7.
