Protect Human Freedom

     “Repent, and believe in the Gospel!” There are Catholics who think church leaders do not give a fair hearing to capitalism. As one who listens to church leaders, I disagree.

     In the encyclical Centisimus Annus (1991), no. 42, St. Pope John Paul II wrote the following about whether capitalism can be a way by which economies and societies are built up: “If by capitalism is meant an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production as well as [my bold] free human creativity in the economic sector, then the answer is certainly in the affirmative…But if by capitalism is meant a system in which freedom in the economic sector is not circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality and which sees it as a particular aspect of that freedom, the core of which is ethical and religious, then the reply is certainly negative…”

     I subscribe to what St. John Paul II says in Centisimus Annus. He does not dismiss capitalism as evil, nor as perfect. Capitalists seeks free markets, but John Paul says they must do so with a measure of protection of the health, safety and overall well-being of the human community. Without such protections then the quest for profits can be, for example, damaging to workers, to local residents near factories, or to other stakeholders. The pope warns that capitalism must be regulated by “a strong juridical framework” which protects human freedom.

     Catholic social teaching, by which we can affirm and critique economic philosophies, sees economies as serving “human freedom.” Production of useful goods and services, just wages for workers, and reasonable profits for owners are all good outcomes. Still, every business plan needs to be guided by the moral principles which serve the Common Good. The Common Good includes protection of the environment in which we live, as well as other values. Pope Francis emphasized those environmental principles in his encyclical Laudato Si.

     For all those workers, taxpayers, entrepreneurs, and business owners who contribute to society by their efforts to produce useful goods and services, we can all be grateful. Inventors and investors have largely been a benefit to society. Still, we must keep in mind a holistic sense of the well-being of society as we measure and evaluate the results of capitalist endeavors. Repent, and believe in the Gospel!

Peace, Fr. Andy