Economic and moral implications in the light of the encyclical Caritas in veritate by Pope Benedict XVI

Abstract

The aim of the author of the article is to show moral issues in the economic activity of man and society in the light of the encyclical Caritas in veritate of Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope emphasized that the classical mechanisms of the economic system or the invisible hand of the market alone are not able to create just social structures. According to the Pope, both in economic and political activity, the anthropological perspective is underestimated, and the mathematical approach and the creation of artificial models, which most often turn out to be incorrect, are overrated. In the encyclical, the Pope not only indicated the points of contact between economy and morality, but also proposed truth and love as the main foundations of social and economic life leading to true development. He wrote as „it is the driving force of love” (Benedict XVI, n. 77). Based on the analysis of the encyclical Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict XVI, it should be stated that:
a) love and truth should become the basis of socio-economic life and lead to the development of an integral human being and society;

b) solutions to the financial crisis should be sought in three dimensions: socio-cultural (building a responsible knowledge society), political (strengthening democracy and ensuring freedom and peace) and economic (the need for everyone to participate on equal opportunities);
c) an essential capital in the economy is the human person, who is the creator of the entire economic and social life, its center and goal;
d) in a properly functioning economy, the logic of the market is not enough, but the logic of gift and selflessness is needed.