Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
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184 <strong>Exploring</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>Social</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong><br />
Vocabulary<br />
Economic Justice (n.):<br />
A particular expression<br />
of commutative justice.<br />
It pertains exclusively<br />
to the moral obligations<br />
of individuals, business,<br />
and governments<br />
concerning just wages,<br />
stable currencies, fair<br />
interest rates on loans,<br />
safe working conditions<br />
for laborers, and other<br />
responsibilities associated<br />
with economic life.<br />
Covenant (n.): A sacred<br />
permanent bond of<br />
family relationship. God<br />
entered into a series<br />
of covenants with His<br />
People throughout<br />
Salvation History to<br />
invite us to be part of<br />
His divine family and to<br />
prepare us gradually and<br />
in stages, words, and<br />
deeds to receive the gift<br />
of salvation.<br />
Commutative justice always involves two parties of equal standing and the<br />
certain shared obligations they have toward each other. It often contributes<br />
to social order through the mutual respect each person has for another’s<br />
property. We see examples of commutative justice whenever we make a<br />
purchase at a store. When you buy something, your obligation is to pay<br />
the agreed price. The seller’s obligation is to give you exactly what you<br />
have paid for. To shortchange a seller, or for a seller not to deliver on the<br />
promised good or service, is a violation of commutative justice.<br />
This type of justice compels us to keep our word and honor our commitments.<br />
It also pertains to lending and borrowing. We must always pay back<br />
a just loan and return borrowed goods in the same condition we borrowed<br />
them. If you borrow your friend’s car with a full tank of gas, you should<br />
return the car with a full tank of gas. This is how the Church explains it:<br />
“Promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent<br />
that the commitments made in them are morally just. A significant<br />
part of economic and social life depends on the honoring of contracts<br />
between physical or moral persons — commercial contracts of purchase<br />
or sale, rental or labor contracts. All contracts must be agreed<br />
to and executed in good faith” (CCC 2410). Another form of justice that<br />
you might hear about, economic justice, is a particular expression of<br />
commutative justice. It pertains exclusively to the moral obligations of individuals,<br />
business, and governments concerning just wages, stable currencies,<br />
fair interest rates on loans, safe working conditions for laborers, and<br />
other responsibilities associated with economic life. It also obliges laborers<br />
to work honestly for their pay.<br />
Generally, when one of the parties to a contractual agreement fails<br />
to meet their obligation, the other party is free of the contract. This distinguishes<br />
a contractual from a covenantal relationship. In a covenant,<br />
both parties are obligated to the terms of the covenant, even if one party<br />
fails. Thus, God is always faithful to His covenant, even when we are not.<br />
Likewise, in Marriage, a covenant binds spouses to each other as long<br />
as they both live. Their Marriage is not a contract but a permanent bond<br />
that remains despite the failure of one or both parties. This is what makes<br />
covenants stable and contracts more fluid. Society needs both covenantal<br />
and contractual relationships. They differ by the nature of the agreement<br />
between two parties. Yet commutative justice is at work in both covenants<br />
and contracts. We are always obligated to fulfill what we have promised to<br />
do so long as the agreement is morally sound and reasonable.<br />
In summary of these first three kinds of justice, the Catechism states,<br />
“Commutative justice obliges strictly; it requires safeguarding property<br />
rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted.<br />
Without commutative justice, no other form of justice is possible. One<br />
© Sophia Institute for Teachers