Economic Theory, Catholic Social Thought and Labor Markets (original) (raw)
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Economic Theory, Catholic Social Thought and the Common Good
in Empirical Foundations of the Common Good, Daniel K. Finn, editor (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), pp. 114-141., 2017
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Roman Catholic Social Thought and Economic Theory: An Agenda for the Future
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... New York: Praeger Pub. Co., 1978. Schotter, Andrew. Free Market Ecor~orriics: A Critical Approisnl. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1985. Sen, Amanya K. 011 Ethics arrci Ecorlorr~jcs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1984. Titmuss, Richard M. The Gift r?elntiortship. ...
Conflicts and Contrasts: Economics and Catholic Social Teaching
In 1986, the Catholic bishops in the United States issued a pastoral letter call Economic Justice for All. It was criticized by professionals and economists as containing no valid economic thinking and ignored by many in the business community as not understanding the realities of the work place. Why? The Roman Catholic Church, since 1891, has weighed in on economic activity, economic affairs, and economic policy. Sometimes it is the Pope, other times the Bishops, and occasionally theologians speak to economic issues. Why is it their thinking generates controversy? Professional economists deride such statements as being without rigorous economics. Leaders in the business community, many of them Catholic themselves, assail such moral guidance as being out of touch with the realities of the marketplace. What is the Catholic layperson to make of this conflict between the Magisterium and respected economists and business leaders? Is the Church, their moral guide, stepping outside its area by trying to discuss economic activity? Is the Church as out of touch as academic economists and Wall Street leaders claim? Economics and Catholic Social Teaching: Understanding the Conflict and Contrasts explains why academic, orthodox economists and the Church so frequently differ. Unlike many similar books, this does not argue that orthodox economic theory is wrong and Catholic Social Teaching is correct, or vice-versa; it develops an understanding of the perspective from which each develops, a perspective that creates a difference in how goals are justified by each.
The Development of Catholic Social Teaching on Economics: Bernard Lonergan and Benedict XVI
Theological Studies, 2012
Affected by the Great Depression and the inadequacy of the "simple-minded moralism" of church commentators on economic matters, Bernard Lonergan worked on a macrodynamic economic model in the 1940s and returned to it in the 1970s. The authors here situate Lonergan's economics in relation to economic theory then and now, as well as within his own overall project. They consider its possible contribution to the development of Catholic social teaching on economics, especially in dialogue with Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in veritate. Finally, they discuss the light Lonergan sheds on the importance and difficulties of interdisciplinary work. B ERNARD LONERGAN, BETTER KNOWN in the fields of theology and philosophy, also wrote substantial works on economics. This economic work, which has only recently become widely available as two volumes of NEIL ORMEROD received his PhD in pure mathematics from the University of New South Wales and his DTheol from Melbourne College of Divinity. He is professor of theology at the Australian Catholic University, where he specializes in trinitarian theology, ecclesiology, natural theology, and Bernard Lonergan. He has recently published A Trinitarian Primer (2011); Globalization and the Mission of the Church, with Shane Clifton (2009); and "Preliminary Steps Towards a Natural Theology," Irish Theological Quarterly 76.1 (2011). Under contract with Fortress Press is Creator God, Evolving World, with Cynthia Crysdale. PAUL OSLINGTON received his PhD from the University of Sydney, is professor of economics at Australian Catholic University and visiting fellow at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Canberra. Specializing in the history and philosophy of economics and economics and theology, he has recently published Adam Smith as Theologian (2011, edited); "The Future Hope in Adam Smith's System," Studies in Christian Ethics 24.3 (2011); and "Lonergan's Reception among Economists: Tale of a Dead Fish and an Agenda for Future Work," Method: Journal of Lonergan Studies n.s. 2.1 (2011). Forthcoming is his edited text Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Economics. Under contract with Routledge is Political Economy as Natural Theology; and with Harvard University, God and the Economic Order. ROBIN KONING, S.J., received his ThD from Regis College in the University of Toronto and is lecturer in systematic theology at Jesuit Theological College in the the United Faculty of Theology at MCD University of Divinity. His areas of special interest are Bernard Lonergan, method in cultural anthropology, and Clifford Geertz. Theological Studies 73 (2012)
Economic Growth and Welfare in Catholic Thinking
The author tackles how three aspects of Catholic Social Teaching have effected Church pronouncements on Growth and Welfare: a) The notion that in a capitalist society there is a trend for the rich to get richer and the poorer get poorer b) The belief that the labor market is radically different from all other markets c) An “angelical” vision of the state, which recommends government intervention whenever market forces do not produce ideal results. The paper describes how these views were developed by secular economists before being "adopted" by Church authorities in common discourse.
2016
Economics claims to be an independent empirical social science but empirical evidence of the last century challenges this claim. By contrast Caritas in Veritate contains a set of linkages that demonstrate that economics is related to morals, anthropology and theology. Economics is practiced in a cultural setting with a moral dimension related to the human person, which is ultimately grounded in the nature of God. Pope Benedict has focused on love and gift as human qualities reflecting the Divine nature. The anthropology that proceeds from this is a development of Pope John Paul II’s emphasis on human dignity and freedom. It suggests moral principles that can guide culture, social institutions and hence economic action. Pope Benedict uses his reflections on the social order to comment on the problems of development for less developed peoples, but his analysis also completes one theme of the social encyclicals. Whereas Pope Leo XIII concentrated on economic and political fundamentals ...