John Paul II – CREDO

The Human Person, Economics, and Catholic Social Thought

Blog, NewsletterBy credobulletin November 27, 2014

Non-economists often falsely assume that homo economicus is somehow isomorphic with homo avidus, greedy man. The charge is unfair and confuses pursuit of the goods one desire with pursuit of narrow self-interest. Although the charge is unfair, it does capture some real reasons to be uneasy with the economic approach to the human person. The difficulty can best be seen by considering the alternative view of the human person we find in Catholic thought. The sketch that follows derives from Thomas Aquinas, whose thought is central to the Catholic approach. …

Minimum wage/just wage/family wage

Blog, NewsletterBy credobulletin April 8, 2014

Pope Francis–Time Magazine’s Person of the Year–has captured the attention and the imagination of the world. His recent Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) has provoked much comment and no little controversy. In it, echoing his predecessors, he laments a consumerism focused on things rather than people. He mourns for the many places where humans serve the economy rather the other way around. He condemns what he calls a “throw away culture” that excludes and marginalizes the weakest and the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.

His words should provoke reflection–and lead to action–especially in the face of the challenges faced by low-wage workers in our economy today. …

Why Minimum Wage Increases are a Poor Way to Help the Working Poor

Blog, NewsletterBy credobulletin April 8, 2014

Recently Archbishop Wenski, on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote: “while they are not economists or labor market experts…they see the pain and struggles caused by an economy that simply does not produce enough jobs with a just wage.” They do propose one solution—a raise in the federal minimum wage—because currently it fails “to provide sufficient resources for individuals to form and support families. A full-year, full-time worker making the minimum wage does not make enough money to raise a child free from poverty.”

Neither the Bishops’ concern over the economic plight of the working poor nor the economic policy prescription they support is a surprise. …

Economists and Catholic Social Teaching: Some Principles of Constructive Engagement

Blog, NewsletterBy credobulletin April 8, 2014

Every year the Lumen Christi Institute conference on Catholic Social Teaching and Economics invites high-profile economists to the University of Chicago to present their work and engage in the ongoing conversation between economics and Catholic Social Teaching. On a larger stage, the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences regularly places top economists next to theologians, philosophers, and bishops to explore issues of common concern.

Why would an economist ever want to enter into a conversation with Catholic Social Teaching (CST)? Economists, like most people, take moral questions seriously, and think that the work of economists can and should inform attempts to answer these questions. Because CST is morally and intellectually serious, and invites prominent economists (Catholic and non-Catholic) into its conversations, it is an obvious candidate for attention from economists. …

A Catholic Framework for Economic Life

Blog, NewsletterBy credobulletin April 8, 2014

A Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, November 1996
As followers of Jesus Christ and participants in a powerful economy, Catholics in the United States are called to work for greater economic justice in the face of persistent poverty, growing income-gaps, and increasing discussion of economic issues in the United States and around the world. We urge Catholics to use the following ethical framework for economic life as principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and directions for action. These principles are drawn directly from Catholic teaching on economic life. …

Tag Archives: John Paul II

The Human Person, Economics, and Catholic Social Thought

Minimum wage/just wage/family wage

Why Minimum Wage Increases are a Poor Way to Help the Working Poor

Economists and Catholic Social Teaching: Some Principles of Constructive Engagement

A Catholic Framework for Economic Life