Dorothy Day Radicalism

When one hears the term radicalism in the context of religion, the first image that appears for most is of radical Islam, specifically the terrorist organizations that have manifested themselves over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first century. However, these recent events have tarnished the term “radical” to mean a dangerous ideology. Bringing this term back to its literal meaning, Dorothy Day in her novel Loaves and Fishes discusses her radical philosophy known as the Catholic Worker Movement. She seeks to, in essence, go back to the roots of how Christ lived and foster a community of compassion that prides itself in poverty. As I read this novel, the development of this movement and the traction it gained truly surprised me. At first, the Catholic Worker began as a …show more content…
student Perry Pike was equally shocked at the radicalism of Day’s ideas. When he was young, he came to the same realization that many elements of communism were also apparent in the life of Jesus Christ. However, he internalized these ideas to avoid social stigma from his church (Pike 2). In addition, Pike disagrees with the possibility of poverty being liberating. In fact, he notes that “I worked to hide my family’s poverty—one source of my shame” (2). To some extent, I agree with Pike that one ought not voluntarily pursue extreme poverty. In fact, the commune’s lack of resources came to hurt them during the war when many of the men had to leave for the draft. In addition, it took a toll of Day’s well-being, as she skipped meals and paying rent in order to fund her newsletter. Nonetheless, I can agree that the life of Christ definitely contained many concepts that later became known as communism. A more feasible option in order to strive towards this ideal would be simply to donate more to charities and the Catholic Church. Likewise, I find that it can be tough for those in the bottom rung of the socioeconomic totem pole to attain upward mobility in a free market