IEA - Catholic-Christian perspective on government and the market
28 May 2014 09:53 AM
A practical re-appraisal of
how Christians should think about economic and political
issues
Christians should not
turn to government for solutions to economic problems
In a new publication by the
Institute of Economic Affairs*, an international team of
authors* provides a fresh Catholic-Christian perspective on the role of
the government and the market. The book focuses on a number of topical issues,
including: the provision of welfare, education, aid to developing countries,
the financial crisis, environmental problems as well as business and consumer
ethics.
Long-held interpretations of
Church teaching on foreign aid and the minimum wage are criticised within the
book, the argument being made that many Catholic commentators take too little
account of official church teaching and economic realities when giving advice
to Catholics on political and economic matters.
Catholic Social
Teaching and the Market Economy celebrates entrepreneurship and
business, arguing that the moral problems of consumerism and materialism are
better solved through the creation of an appropriate ethical culture as opposed
to government regulation.
Key points made by the
authors include:
- The minimum wage, believed my
many theologians to be justified by Catholic teaching, is harmful to the poor.
Enforcing a minimum wage makes those individuals out of work less employable
and therefore less likely to be hired by employers.
- Multiple Catholic Church
documents, which make strong arguments for increased levels of foreign aid, are
scrutinised. Aid programmes often harm those they intend to help because
proponents of such programmes ignore strong Church statements on the importance
of good governance for economic progress.
- Environmental problems are
likely to be the subject of a forthcoming encyclical by Pope Francis. A strong
case is made that a just economic and political framework based on the rule of
law and property rights is the best way to promote economic development and
ensure that communities resolve environmental problems in
“bottom-up” ways that involve the community
itself.
- The book criticises a number of
statements made by prominent Christians in the wake of the financial crash. It
accepts however, the message of Pope Benedict’s social
encyclical, Caritas in veritate, that ethically guided
behaviour is essential for a properly functioning economy.
- The current system whereby the
government spends around 50 per cent of families’ incomes in developed
countries and is often the sole provider of health, education and income
provision in old age, is not consistent with the core principles of Catholic
social teaching.
- The outcomes of considerable
spending on welfare, including worklessness, high government debt and
disincentives for family formation, fail to promote the common good.
What’s more, Church teaching has often criticised high levels of tax and
bureaucracy.
Key
recommendations:
- Christians should celebrate
entrepreneurship and business. Entrepreneurship is a noble vocation, in which
those that become rich, do so by taking risks and providing goods and services
that individuals want and need.
- Instead of employing government
regulation to rectify moral problems of consumerism and materialism, an
appropriate culture needs to be fostered.
- Market economies, while giving
rise to certain problems, allocate resources in an efficient manner by mutual
agreement. Political systems on the other hand, often allocate resources to
those with the loudest voice.
The second edition
of Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy provides
a practical re-appraisal of how Christians should think about economic and
political issues, updated and extended to cover a number of important issues
that concern all Christians.
Notes to
Editors:
To arrange an interview with an
IEA spokesperson, please contact:
· &
nbsp; Camilla Goodwin, Communications Officer: cgoodwin@iea.org.uk or
07821 971 443.
· &
nbsp; Stephanie Lis, Head of Communications: slis@iea.org.uk or 07766 221
268.
Catholic Social
Teaching and the Market Economy – Revised Second Edition by
Philip Booth can be purchased from the IEA bookstore at http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/co-published-books and
downloaded from ourwebsite.
Philip Booth is Editorial and
Programme Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Professor of
Insurance and Risk Management at the Cass Business School where he was formerly
Associate Dean. He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University
of Durham and a PhD in Finance. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries
and the Royal Statistical Society.
As with all IEA publications,
the views expressed are those of the authors and not those of the Institute
(which has no corporate view), its managing trustees, Academic Advisory Council
or senior staff.
The mission of the Institute of
Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of
a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving
economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered
educational charity and independent of all political parties.
*The second edition of Catholic Social
Teaching and the Market Economy is a much expanded and updated
version of a previous book, published in 2007, which critically examines the
case for state intervention in the economic sphere from a Catholic
perspective.
*The second edition of Catholic Social
Teaching and the Market Economy brings together a number of
authors from around the world: Samuel Gregg, Kishore Jayabalan, Robert
Kennedy, Michael Miller, Denis O’Brien, Dennis O’Keeffe, Anthony
Percy, Robert A. Sirico, Thomas woods and Andrew Yuengert. The foreword is
written by John Kennedy and Preface by Leonard P. Liggio.