Papal teaching rejects socialism as wrong at its core ...

Does the Church Favor 

Capitalism and Democracy?

By Anthony Santelli

Although the recent book by Fr. Maciej Zieba is titled Papal Economics: The Catholic Church on Democratic Capitalism, from Rerum Novarum to Caritas in Veritate, it is really not so much about papal economics as it is about papal political philosophy. Further, it is not about the Catholic Church’s teaching on democratic capitalism broadly speaking but about Pope Saint John Paul II’s teaching on democratic capitalism in Centesimus Annus.

Zieba, a Polish Dominican priest, seeks to give Centesimus Annus pride of place amongst all social encyclicals. He devotes only one chapter of six to seven prior social encyclicals, mainly to show continuity between them and Centesimus Annus. He even admits as much at the end of chapter one: “At the threshold of a new millennium,Centesimus Annus would introduce important new elements in the Church’s social teaching and assume the role of flagship of Catholic social doctrine. Any consideration of the Church’s teaching on democratic capitalism must pay special attention to Centesimus Annus, which is why this comprehensive encyclical is the subject of the chapters that follow.”

Incidentally, I believe that the position of pride of place amongst social encyclicals belongs to Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. It is so important that it is often seen as the beginning of the social teaching of the Church, with many thinkers showing a level of ignorance or neglect of the vast literature written on the subject by the Church before 1891.

Be that as it may, Zieba’s book is not about the Church’s social teaching in general but specifically about the Church’s teaching on democratic capitalism. AndCentesimus Annus, having been written right after the fall of communism, is certainly the encyclical that most deeply delves into the subject of democratic capitalism.

Papal Economics reads as if it were written largely in the 1990s (and this is confirmed by the fact that most of the footnotes date from that period) and operates like a coup de grace in favor of democratic capitalism against communism. It would have been a more timely book had the author written in light of more recent events like the economic crash of 2008, rather than the historical period that began with the fall of the Soviet Empire up to the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

The book basically summarizes papal teaching within the framework of capitalism versus socialism and rejects

socialism as wrong at its core—as “proposing a remedy far worse than the evil” it was designed to cure, in the words of Quadragesimo Anno. Moreover, it is clear, especially from Centesimus Annus, that a democratic state characterized by the rule of law and endowed with a market economy deserves praise and respect as a place in which human freedom can find expression.

The popes did consistently reject socialism and give better remarks for what is often called democratic capitalism. But we need to look more specifically at what the popes really praised. Zieba nicely divides the core of his book into two chapters, one devoted to democracy and the other to capitalism, and we will discuss each in turn here.


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