ABSTRACT
When quotations regarding income distribution are discussed bishops and professors of economics are not always in harmony. Their ideas and opinions point in different directions; there are irritations, misunderstandings and frictions. Is this problem inherent in the question and therefore unavoidable or is it a failure in communication due to different ‘language systems’ or could it be a clash of temperaments between ‘cool’ economists and ‘blueeyed’ moralists? The following attempt to disclose some of the sources of the frictions might be useful for finding a basis for peaceful coexistence orbetter still-for a fruitful and complementary cooperation between ethics and economics. We shall also be able to discover some of the difficulties existing in current dialogues.
