Search results

1 – 2 of 2
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 December 1998

Giuseppe Gaburro and Giancarlo Cressotti

Traditionally, one of the most central themes of the social teaching of the Church has been the ethical value of the human person as a creature endowed with an original…

540

Abstract

Traditionally, one of the most central themes of the social teaching of the Church has been the ethical value of the human person as a creature endowed with an original personality. As a person, man works for a particular purpose, in a pragmatic and rational way, with the ability to decide for himself and to achieve fulfilment. For this reason, work is conceived as an essential element of the person, and needs to be performed in freedom. Our principal source will be the social teaching of John Paul II, and in particular his encyclical Laborem Exercens, since this devotes special attention to the issue of human work. Indeed the focus of this encyclical is human work, that is, the individual who achieves fulfilment in his work. It is man himself who gives his work sense and meaning. By working he fulfils his vocation and his very being. Therefore man’s work is “both a destiny and a calling, but above all, work is for man, not man for work” (Laborem Exercens, No. 6). In other words, man’s duty is to work, not only in order to produce and possess, but to achieve fulfilment.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 25 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Edward J. O'Boyle

John Paul II's views on economic systems have been construed differently by some commentators who have been seeking approval for their own views rather than searching for the…

793

Abstract

Purpose

John Paul II's views on economic systems have been construed differently by some commentators who have been seeking approval for their own views rather than searching for the meaning that he himself intends to convey. John Paul is labeled by many as favoring capitalism, and by others as supporting socialism. A few have been scrutinizing his statements in hopes of finding support for a “third‐way.” In this paper, John Paul is quoted at length to represent his views more accurately.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper originated in a collection of essays on the theme of John Paul II's vision of the social economy that was published by the International Journal of Social Economics in fall 1998. This author is indebted to the contributors to that collection for many insights into John Paul's vision. Eight topics are covered: consumption, distribution, capital investment, work as such, leisure, labor, development, and market economy versus command economy. This paper uses many more direct quotes than is customary in scholarly work, but there is no other way to proceed and remain faithful to John Paul's vision of the social economy.

Findings

John Paul's writings on economic affairs are significant for what they teach about the premises employed in economics. His own philosophy of the human person reinforces the four premises of personalist economics more so than the premises of the mainstream and challenges the mainstream at its foundations in the philosophy of individualism.

Research limitations/implications

John Paul speaks to a wide range of issues and questions central to economics and economic affairs. It would be presumptuous to represent this paper as a thorough examination of everything that John Paul has said, written, and means in this regard.

Practical implications

This paper attempts to highlight some of the key arguments that John Paul II has set forth on eight centrally important economic topics, comparing and contrasting his pronouncements with the views of mainstream economists on the same topics.

Originality/value

This paper draws on the insights of 20 professional colleagues specialized in range of subdisciplines in economics, holding faculty positions at major universities in the USA, Italy, and Canada, and with a strong interest in understanding the social economy. The concluding section states John Paul's vision of the social economy in terms of 13 most important arguments.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

1 – 2 of 2
Per page
102050