Catholic Social Teaching and Economic Theory

Catholic Social Teaching and Economic Theory PDF

Author: Mary E. Hobgood

Publisher:

Published: 1991-01-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 9780877227540

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Drawing upon a lively debate within the field of social theory, Mary E. Hobgood argues that the paradigm conflict between orthodox neoclassical and radical economic models is reflected in Catholic documents that address economic justice. She maintains that dynamics within Catholic teaching are explicable only in terms of this clash of fundamentally opposing perspectives. This study shows how normative values of social justice are always tied to a particular social theory or model of society. When assumptions shift from one model to another, the concrete actions mandated by these justice norms change significantly. Consequently, the Catholic social justice tradition contains not only two mutually exclusive analyses of capitalist dynamics, it also has very different interpretations of such norms as economic democracy and a preferential notion for the poor. Hobgood argues that the Church needs to clarify the economic models that inform its social justice mandates and to assess those models for their compatibility with the Church's moral concerns, otherwise, Catholic social teaching's interpretations of justice and how Christians must act for it remain inconsistent.

Catholic Social Teaching and Distributism

Catholic Social Teaching and Distributism PDF

Author: Michael Hickey

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2017-11-22

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 0761870059

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Catholic Social Teaching is a relatively new and growing body of theology. Its foundation can be found in the Bible and Tradition of the Church. However, it began to be formalized beginning in 1891 with the writing of Pope Leo’s revolutionary Social Letter/Encyclical, On the New Things/Rerum Novarum. It subsequently has been woven through all the many Social Encyclicals written by the modern popes, right up to the current pope, Francis. This book is written about the many themes of Catholic Social Teaching found in these Social Letters as well as an emphasis particularly on distributive justice as found in every modern Papal Social Letter. Additionally, these Letters often discuss the current failures of modern economic systems (Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism) to meet the needs of a majority of people in the world, particularly the poor and marginalized. Although these Social Letters never propose any new economic system, the heavy emphasis on distributive justice found in all of them is used as a basis to discuss a proposed and untried economic system called “Distributism.” Distributism was first introduced to the world in the early 1900’s by Catholic writer and theologian, G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.

Modern Catholic Social Documents and Political Economy

Modern Catholic Social Documents and Political Economy PDF

Author: Albino F. Barrera, OP

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2001-08-09

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9781589013742

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

As western economies have moved from feudalism to industrialism to the information age, Catholic social thought has kept pace, responding to the economic realities of the day. Linking Catholic social teaching with modern economic theory, Albino F. Barrera examines the changing political economy embedded within the moral theology and social justice documents issued by the Church during the last hundred years. Barrera discusses the evolution of Catholic social teachings, from scholastic thinking on the concept of the "just price" to a modern emphasis on the importance of a living wage. As the conduct of economic life according to traditional custom and common law has given way to institutional and impersonal market forces, these teachings have moved from a preoccupation with personal moral behavior to an intense scrutiny of the structures of society. Amidst these changes, the Church's social documents have sought to address systemic shortcomings as a means of promoting the common good through economic justice. Barrera also looks ahead to the challenges posed by a postindustrial society characterized by a global, knowledge-based economy, arguing that Catholic social thought will likely shift its focus from advocacy of the living wage to demands for greater equality of socioeconomic participation. Written for scholars and students of economics, theology, and political science interested in religious social thought, this book bridges the gap between moral theology and economic theory.

The Vocation of Business

The Vocation of Business PDF

Author: John C. Médaille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2007-05-25

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 0826428096

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This is a textbook on the Social Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church for would-be business professionals. Part I does 3 things: provides (1) a history of moral discourse since the Enlightenment, (2) a history of economic thought from Aristotle and Aquinas to Ludwig Mises and Milton Friedman , and (3) a history of property. Part II provides a close reading of 3 major social encyclicals. Part III examines the tensions between Catholic social teaching and neoclassical economics. Part IV explores 5 case studies of the actual implementation of Catholic-like social teaching. The over-riding theme of the book is that the original unity of distributive and corrective justice that prevailed in both economics and moral discourse until the 16th and 17th centuries was shattered by the rise of an "individualistic" capitalism that relied on corrective justice (justice in exchange) only. The rise of individualistic business practice was paralleled by a movement in moral thinking from a discourse of virtue and the common good to a discourse of utilitarianism and "emotivism"; individual preference became all that mattered, and only the market is capable of correlating individual preferences. An economics that lacks a distributive principle will attain neither equity nor equilibrium and will be inherently unstable and increasingly reliant on government power (Keynesianism) to correct the balances. Catholic social teaching emphasizes equity in the distribution of land, the means of production, and a just wage.

Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy

Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy PDF

Author: Philip Booth

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy provides a rigorous yet accessible discussion on the interrelating discipline of Catholic social teaching and economics. Philip Booth shows both how economics can have an effect on Catholic social teaching and how Catholicism itself can affect economic policies. The book is thoroughly referenced with contributions from leading international academics, and will appeal to both academics and students of economics and theology.

Catholic Economics

Catholic Economics PDF

Author: Angus Sibley

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2015-08-11

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0814648932

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Inequality, unemployment, degradation of our environment: these and other practical economic problems reflect faulty economic theories. We have been led astray by ideas that made some sense in the past but are unsuited to our times and by ideas that are fundamentally mistaken. The Catholic Church has an extensive body of teachings on economic and social matters, too little known even among Catholics, which offers practical alternatives to the economics of the jungle. This book provides clear explanations of major errors in conventional economic thinking and shows how the church's teachings can point us in a better direction.

Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, Peter Kropotkin, and Catholic Social Teaching on Work, Wages, and the Role of Technology

Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, Peter Kropotkin, and Catholic Social Teaching on Work, Wages, and the Role of Technology PDF

Author: David P. Harris

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Over the past centuries, economic thought has developed in such a manner as to allow for diverse theoretical approaches to social issues. For instance, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, and Peter Kropotkin each maintained vastly different views regarding economic life. However, the purpose of this research is to examine commonalities in the words of the aforesaid authors, with specific attention paid to their notions of work, wages and technology. In doing so, the framework of Catholic Social Teaching is used as a backdrop with which common threads may be sewn among these authors with seemingly contradictory theories. At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the Catholic Church certainly adheres to different economic recommendations than those prescribed by these other thinkers. In other words, while it may appear that some similarities exist between Catholic Social Teaching and the other writers investigated in this research, there are clearly discrepancies as well . One of the primary disparities lies in the manner in which the Catholic Church views its role throughout history, which is quite distinct from the perspectives of the other theorists examined in this research. This analysis will be undertaken through the application of Institutional Economic theory, which provides the theoretical basis for understanding the economics of the Catholic Church.

Interrupting Capitalism

Interrupting Capitalism PDF

Author: Matthew Allen Shadle

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0190660139

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

'Interrupting Capitalism' traces the history of Catholic thinking about economic life from the perspective of a 'theology of interruption'. The church's social teaching provides a way for Christians to interrupt capitalism, to live out economic life faithfully in the midst of the global economy.