While many are trying to find some kind — any kind — of good news in “economic indicators,” the fact of the matter is that we are going to be in challenging times for the foreseeable future. We have been witnessing the roller coaster phenomenon in the Legislature here in Jefferson City, as opposing factions kill and then resuscitate programs aimed at stimulating the economy in our state. Even though the State Legislature is closing shop for its regular session, the issues with which they have been grappling will continue to bubble under the surface. This sort of struggle is being played out on the national scene and in local governments in our counties and municipalities as well.
Recently I came upon a list of 10 principles for economic life that had been put together by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops right before I became one of them. Back in 1996, these principles were drawn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, recent papal encyclicals, the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter “Economic Justice for All,” and other statements of the U.S. bishops.
I offer these 10 principles here for you today in the hope that they offer you some assistance as we move forward in the days ahead. I encourage you to use these principles in your own reflection, to help you judge the worth of concrete plans and proposals brought forth in the government and private sector, and as a basis for any direct action or decision you may be called upon to take.
These are 10 principles that help contribute to a Catholic framework for economic life:
The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy.
All economic life should be shaped by moral principles. Economic choices and institutions must be judged by how they protect or undermine the life and dignity of the human person, support the family, and serve the common good.
A fundamental moral measure of any economy is how the poor and vulnerable are faring.
All people have a right to life and to secure the basic necessities of life (e.g. food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, safe environment, economic security).
All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, and to decent working conditions, as well as the right to organize and join unions and other associations.
All people, to the extent they are able, have a corresponding duty to work, a responsibility to provide for the needs of their families, and an obligation to contribute to the broader society.
In economic life, free markets have both clear advantages and limits; government has essential responsibilities and limitations; voluntary groups have irreplaceable roles but cannot substitute for the proper working of the market and the just policies of the state.
Society has a moral obligation, including government action where necessary, to assure opportunity, meet basic human needs, and pursue justice in economic life.
Workers, owners, managers, stockholders, and consumers are moral agents in economic life. By our choices, initiative, creativity and investment, we enhance or diminish economic opportunity, community life and social justice.
The global economy has moral dimensions and human consequences. Decisions on investment, trade, aid and development should protect human life and promote human rights, especially for those most in need wherever they might live on this globe.
For more assistance in this area, the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development has developed a new web page that provides a wide range of material on matters of economic life. It can be accessed at: www.usccb.org/iphd/economiclife/ .
