Catholic Social Teaching: Economic Justice

by Brandon Jubar

Our search for the "common good" is founded on a belief in truth and justice, and given life by our love for one another. One way that we express this love is by honoring each other's rights and by accepting certain responsibilities -- at the individual and the governmental level. One such area of responsibility is the economy, where a complex mixture of factors is needed in order to maintain a balance that ensures justice to all people and not simply to the captains of industry.

The Economy Serves the People

Catholic teaching opposes both collectivism, where all property and capital is held by the collective (a state, a group of people, etc.), and statism, where the government (or "state") plans and controls the economy. However, the Church also does not believe that a free market will automatically produce justice on its own. Free markets and the accompanying competition are certainly important elements of a healthy economic system, but markets must be limited to a certain degree. There are just too many needs that can't be satisfied by the market system alone, and it's the task of the state -- and of all society -- to get involved so that these needs are met.

The necessity of such involvement becomes clear when we understand that the economy should serve the people -- not the other way around. All laborers have the right to productive work, to a reasonable wage, and to a safe work environment. In order to help ensure these rights, people also have the right to organize and create unions. And even though people have the right to economic initiative and the private ownership of property, these rights have limits when it comes to the amassing of tremendous wealth while so many people still lack the basic necessities.

True Needs Are Real, Not Fabricated

In the industrialized world -- and especially in the United States -- we have a bad habit of mistaking our "wants" for our "needs". Aided by modern publicity and fueled by unbridled competition, companies are constantly launching new products and convincing consumers that they "need" to have them.

While many people are simply unable to meet their true basic needs, companies are busy fabricating needs that can only be satisfied by the latest and greatest products. And when products create "wants" that people believe are "needs", can we truly say that we are not slaves to physical objects? Products should meet our needs, not create them! All of these -- wants, needs, and the things that meet them -- are all factors that create what we call the economy.

To Work Is Dignified

Work may entail difficult toil at times, yet it is still a good thing because it is useful and thus expresses (and increases) the dignity of the worker. We were created in God's image, which means that we are imitating God the Creator when we transform our world through the labor of our hands. And as we transform our world we transform ourselves, for in imitating God we become more human.

Modern manufacturing processes, which focus on efficiency by separating responsibilities, can make it difficult to see our work as creative in nature. The worker on the assembly line who attaches the same parts to every car that rolls past may not feel that the work is very creative; but there is still dignity in the participation of the greater creation, which is the automobile that rolls off the end of the assembly line. The awareness that, through our individual work, we share in God's work should permeate all of our daily activities.

Through our work -- our labor -- we are taking part in the ongoing work of the Creator and contributing to the creation of the Kingdom on earth. And because our work creates value in an economic sense, it follows that our work is also one of the complex factors that create what we call the economy.

Labor And Capital Are Intimately Bound

The final factor that we'll discuss is the capital that is at the disposal of management. When it comes to issues of economic justice, we cannot always simply look at who (or what entity) owns the physical property that is "capital". Though the company may carry the asset on its books, it is important to recognize that, in part, such capital is the product of the labor of people who have toiled for the company over the years.

At a bare minimum, those workers have a right to know when decisions about such capital are under consideration. They also have the right to negotiate with the company regarding alternatives, and the right to receive equitable compensation, retraining and possibly relocation expenses if necessary. Until such time as corporations are run according to Christian principles, even these most basic rights are at risk without collective bargaining. Thus it is that industrial cooperation will still necessitate a large role for labor unions in the years to come.

Putting It All Together

Economic justice for all involves maintaining a delicate balance between many factors. Free markets, private property, government regulation and union bargaining all work together in a back-and-forth way that keeps the economy moving forward without leaving too many people behind. Recognizing that there is dignity in the work we perform can help fulfill our need for self-actualization while helping meet the basic needs of others and ensuring that there is economic justice for all.

Life Applications:

How is your work dignifying? How does it serve others?
What do you think about the power of labor unions?
What else can be done to help ensure that there is economic justice for all?

Copyright 2006 by Brandon Jubar
All rights reserved.