Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

17 Can there ever be a personal
good that conflicts with the
common good? Why or why not?
Accept reasoned answers; through
leading questions, help students see
that no true private good can conflict
with the common good.
18 What does it mean to participate
in socioeconomic life? What are
ways in which people are able to
take part in socioeconomic life or
are hindered from participating
in it? Accept reasoned responses.
Examples for how we take part in
socioeconomic life include ensuring
that people are able to vote in a
democratic society, have time for
rest and leisure with family, afford
at least a modest standard of living
on a salary, and find opportunities
for advancement. When wages
are artificially lowered, prices are
artificially raised, voting laws create
barriers to civic engagement,
standards of education are lower
in poorer neighborhoods, or family
structure is threatened through
economic and social ills, there
can be significant difficulties in full
participation.
186 Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
Vocabulary
Socialism (n.): An
economic and political
philsophy in which the
means of production,
distubtution, and
exchange is owned by the
centralized government.
The individual does
not own the fruits of his
labor, but relies on the
government to distribute
goods.
Marxism (n.): The
political, economic, and
social theory of Karl
Marx, which holds that
all history is the history of
class struggle. The perfect
society to Marx is one
where the workers control
the means of production,
all property is held in
common, with each
contributing according to
his ability, and receiving
according to his need.
Communists later claimed
to base their actions on
Marxist thought.
Temporal Welfare (n.):
The good pertaining to
this earth, as oppossed
to the good pertaining to
Heaven or eternity.
People sometimes wrongly use the term social justice to refer to a
socialist economic order, which abolishes private property and places the
ownership and control of wealth primarily in the hands of a government. In
the Marxist use of the term, socialism refers to a form of government that
seeks to level the economic playing fi eld by force through a centralized
economy that supposedly will abolish every form of social and economic
injustice. Simply put, the idea is that government could somehow equally
distribute goods to everyone. For reasons we will address in a later chapter,
the Church rejects socialism as a socioeconomic system because it is
opposed to a Christian view of the human person and society (CCC 2425).
In short, socialism can never be just because it undermines the basic right
to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor and destroys the right to exercise free
initiative in the economy (CCC 2429). Socialism and communism are also
based on a fl awed view of the human person, viewing all of history as nothing
more than class struggle. Therefore, when the Church speaks of social
justice, she means something very different.
A simple definition of social justice is the responsibility of each member
of a society to respect the dignity of every human being created in the image
and likeness of God. “Society ensures social justice when it provides
the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is
their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is
linked to the common good and the exercise of authority” ( CCC 1928).
Most fundamentally, society must ensure that all people can fulfill their basic
human needs, and the primary way to meet these needs is through a full participation
in social life. Yet individuals cannot fully participate in socioeconomic
life without the cooperation of others and just social conditions. Minimally,
what social justice requires is that every sector of society takes responsibility
for creating the conditions for each individual and family to start a business
or find employment, socialize with others, and participate in politics in order
to guarantee our temporal welfare. Social justice requires a collaboration
between governments, businesses, and other institutions to create a stable
economy that allows for just wages, safe working conditions, adequate transportation,
and the ability of people to start businesses and have access to
employment and any education needed to participate in economic activity.
In cases where people are disabled and unable to work, society (that is,
everyone) must also find effective means to see that these individuals have
access to supports that provide for their temporal welfare in the absence of
work (CCC 2426–2436). These services may be provided by extended family,
private charities, government agencies, or a combination of all three. In the
case of vulnerable individuals, such as the unborn, the displaced, and the elderly,
society (again, everyone) must work to provide these groups of people
with special protection, especially from abortion, exploitation, and euthanasia.
© Sophia Institute for Teachers
156 Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
© Sophia Institute for Teachers