ABSTRACT
The problem of economic transition is more cultural, historical and spiritual than it is economic, three factors that neoclassical economic theory cannot, by its very nature and substance, include in its analysis. The author explains why he feels the important issues of transition are cultural, historical and spiritual, and not 'economic' in the neoclassical sense. He demonstrates why he thinks neoclassical economic theory is useless for understanding and giving advice on the important issues relating to economic transition. The author then suggests that the Catholic social thought tradition offers a very useful perspective for these issues. Underlying neoclassical economic theory is the marginal utility theory of value. As Robert Heilbroner has noted, the theory of value is really about the underlying order of the economy and society. Economic theory conceives of human nature in utilitarian terms, as a rational utility maximiser, driven solely by self-interest, chained, as Jeremy Bentham so vividly stated, to the twin pillars of pain and pleasure.
