ABSTRACT

Catholic social thought is firm on the point of national self-reliance. A close examination by Catholic social thinkers of the institutional restraints within a commercial republic is long overdue. Catholic social thought has seldom or never examined commercial activities as a type of human work. In the life of commerce as in the life of the mind, liberty to create, matched to social protection of the royalties accruing, brings much that is shoddy; but the good fruits justify liberty. The theology of liberation offers the world of the poor far less hope than the theology of creation. Catholic social thought has so far failed to recognize sufficiently the economic part of political economy, particularly in its spiritual and creative dimensions. Cultural diversity flourishes under conditions of democracy and a modern capitalist economy. Regulations and tax laws inhibit economic activism. In some cases, the ethos which would inspire economic activism, although natural to the human race, is inhibited by contrary customs.