The Catholic Weekly 26 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 13 26, July, 2020 FEATURE world - that’s the beautiful idea of Christianity. There is no more humane religion than the notion that someone as almighty as an Eternal God would die on the Cross for the beggars and sin- ners. Christianity is a religion that teaches us to show con- cern at a very fundamental level for the vulnerable be- cause Christ died for the vul- nerable. That’s what made me recover an understanding of Christianity. So I do understand the tra- ditionalist Christian position because I, too, am opposed to the excess hedonism that comes with modern consum- erism. I truly believe we find ourselves through family, community and social life. Our fundamental concern should be the social nature of life which is best seen through family and community. 3 For many student activ- ists, Christianity is of- ten associated with negative connotations ( The Hand- maid’s Tale , for example). How do you explain this and reconcile that view with your position as a student activist? THERE IS always this carica- ture. But a Christian socie- ty doesn’t have to be a Hand- maid’s Tale situation so often caricatured. I honestly think the sort of fear you could have a ‘Christian Handmaid’s Tale ’ dystopia in the West comes from Christianity - especially in America and in a lot of plac- es - being already distorted to serve a dominant neo-liberal order, the Prosperity Gospel and things of that nature. In places like Latin Ameri- ca, where, there are often dic- tatorial regimes using Chris- tianity to oppress. A regime like Pinochet’s in Chile comes to mind as an example: how could Pinochet be Christian when he was murdering un- ionists, leftists and ordinary civilians? That’s why people often have the really fearful and hostile idea that a Christian society would be a nightmar- ish ‘handmaidens tale,’ but I don’t think that’s [justified]. I genuinely believe it’s a distor- tion of Christianity. God took on human form and died like a beggar in the life of Christ. So I try to say this to other people – often on the left who make the accusation that ‘a Christian society means a Handmaid’s Tale .’ No. I want a Christian so- ciety in the sense of a society where the poor, fragile and vulnerable are at the forefront of our concerns at all times. The idea that a Christian society lends itself to a total- itarian dystopia comes from distorted versions of Christi- anity. These so called ‘Christian movements’ are often there to just serve the interests of the powerful, which is not at all what Christ had in mind. Christ turning out the money lenders in the temple - that was the revolutionary nature of Christ. He wasn’t in league with the powerful and their interests. No – he put the human first and that’s what Christian tradition is for me. 4 You advocate for a movement called Rad- ical Democracy. It seems to advocate for small-scale subsidiarity and local rep- resentation. What’s it all about? I GUESS the idea of radical democracy is that you are in- vested in the extension of democratic freedoms in all domains. Cornel West is a guy who is a great thinker of radi- cal democracy and an inspira- tion of mine. One thing a lot of radical democrats like Cornel West say is that, ‘yeah we’ve got de- mocracy in government and politics - but we don’t often have democracy in the eco- nomic realm.’ Many people unfortunately go to work where bosses act as dictators. Work is for share- holders and workers suffer in unfair working environments. This affects families and chil- dren. So we still don’t really have economic democracy and that’s where leftist dem- ocratic economics come into play. You want to expand de- mocracy so the workers have democratic control of their workplaces and their own economic activities. 5 Are you aware of the Church’s principles of economic justice such as the ideas expressed in the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum which talks about subsidiar- ity and workers’ representa- tion? I’M VERY sympathetic to the distributionist economic model. Yes, I will say I am of the left, but I really reject pop- ular Marxist strands of left- ism because they often lend themselves to authoritarian- ism and materialism. So I end up at a sort-of distributionist perspective. I genuinely think that pos- sibly may be the best way. The Marxist strands on the left are often hyper-materialist and so in that way also lend to human alienation. Sure, cap- italist materialism lends itself to human alienation as is ev- ident, but the materialism in theMarxist-Leninist system in China at the moment - or un- der the old Soviet Union- fall into an authoritarian leftist model that also leads to hu- man alienation. This is why I am a leftist critic of the Chinese Commu- nist Party. 6 Your advocacy high- lighting human rights abuses (of the Uyghurs, those occurring in Tibet and Drew Pavlou takes part in a protest in support of Hong-Kong, out- side Brisbane’s Chinese consulate in May. PHOTO:AAP, DAN PELED Hong Kong) perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party touches on larger ge- opolitical tensions. Some of this has fuelled anti-Chinese sentiment. Is this fair for Chinese people? Is there a distinction between the CCP and the Chinese people? I ALWAYS try and emphasise in my activism that I am op- posed to the CCP and not the Chinese people. I have a great respect for the Chinese peo- ple. They are my brothers and sisters. I come to my activism from the Christian belief that all human beings are equal in dignity and have the same value and worth. So I really empathise with those Chinese students caught in that diffi- cult position, because unfor- tunately it can often veer into anti-Chinese racism in popu- lar sentiment. I really deplore anti-Chinese racism. Yes, it’s a problem in Aus- tralia and we have to combat it. So I feel for those Chinese students who are the victims of that. It’s horrible. We are fighting for their human dig- nity. They are our allies and should not be alienated. We don’t want them to be target- ted in ways like that, be it from the CCP or Australian xeno- phobes at home. 7 Do you hold other gov- ernments - here and abroad – to a similar stand- ard of scrutiny of human rights records? OF COURSE. That’s one thing I really want to emphasise. Yes I am a critic of the CCP but that does not mean I am just a ‘China-basher’. I am also opposed to the Australian Government’s human rights abuses. I am on the record opposing the Australian Gov- ernment’s terrible treatment towards refugees. So I am fun- damentally opposed to all hu- man rights abuses wherever they occur. If the Australian Govern- ment is perpetrating terrible human rights abuses espe- cially toward refugees then I will be in the fight against that as well. But when the CCP says “If you’re opposed to China you’re pro-America” - that’s not at all true for me. I will be critical of the American Gov- ernment and the atrocious way African Americans are treated in that country. For me, it’s fundamental- ly about fighting for human rights wherever they are vio- lated. It’s not about bashing China for the sake of China. It’s about fighting for human dignity – be it in Western countries, China or the devel- oping world. Human dignity is at the centre of society. Pope Fran- cis through his humanism teaches a very strong concern for human dignity and the en- vironment – which we must leave to future generations – which I admire greatly, 8 You have received mul- tiple and explicit death and other malicious threats from pro CCP activists. Does the life of people like Oscar Romero give you sustenance through such harrowing ex- periences? YES, I look to people like Os- car Romero and those who fought against very powerful forces. Romero died fighting for the poor and vulnerable so that is something that I try and remember when the go- ing gets tough. I know I’m fighting for jus- tice and there’s strength in that, so I’m willing to bear personal sacrifices. The Chris- tian tradition teaches that we find God through loving one another. There’s basically no high- er calling than loving your neighbour and loving other people so I think there’s no higher calling for me than try- ing to fight for other people. That’s why I’d be willing to face risk to myself because I truly believe there is a higher purpose. 9 What advice would you offer the young? PLEASE ALWAYS put the vul- nerable, the voiceless, the poor and the fragile, at the foremost in your concerns. That’s what I would really encourage people to do. Do everything you can to try your very best to speak out in their favour and demonstrate love and compassion. I implore people to recog- nise that and lend their voice to just causes for the voiceless who cannot do so. We want a world where human life is treated with dignity. Unfortunately we are losing the ability to debate things in society with things like cancel culture. You know, if someone takes the Catholic Church’s position on certain social issues they can be really ostracised. Sure, while I personally disagree with some of the Church’s po- sitions I understand that it’s a matter of faith for those who do and that’s an important thing we need to recognise and uphold. Drew Pavlou hopes to enter federal politics in the future, with an emphasis on human rights. TheChristian tradition teaches thatwe find God through lovingone an- other. There’s basically no higher calling than loving your neighbour and lovingother people ...” Drew Pavlou Drew Pavlou holds legal documents as he speaks to the media outside the Supreme Court in Brisbane on 11 June. Mr Pavlou has filed a $3.5 million civil action against the University of Queensland over his two year suspension. PHOTO:AAP, DAN PELED St Oscar Romero. Activist Drew Pavlou says he looks to people like St Romero for inspiration. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/OCTAVIO DURAN