The market and social responsibility

As 2018 begins, it is time for us to consider the ramifications of looking at economic recovery, growth, and development not just from the context of technological progress and the workings of the free market but also from the perspective of Christian social doctrine. It is time to come out with a deeper analysis of what is taking place in our world from the point of view of true human development.

The market is where persons exchange goods and services of economic value between them so as to satisfy their needs and desires. The market, according to Economics 101, is subject to the principles of commutative justice, that is, what regulates the relations of giving and receiving between parties to a transaction. Our present Pope, Francis, in his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangeli Gaudium, however, contended that the most beloved of economic tenets, the “trickle down approach” is frustrated because normal market mechanisms whereby the pursuit by individuals of their selfinterest work out to the benefit of all, do not apply. In today’s world, what happens is an “economy of exclusion” whereby “human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded.”

It is important, however, to highlight the importance of distributive justice and social justice for the market economy. Social doctrine emphasizes that if the market is governed solely by the principle of equivalence in value of exchanged goods, it cannot produce the social cohesion that it requires to function well. Without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market cannot completely fulfill its proper economic function. Solidarity is first and foremost a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone with regard to everyone.

Former Pope Benedict XVI had emphasized that the Church had always had “a global vision of man and the human race” attesting that development must be human, and that only in a climate of responsible freedom can our world grow in a satisfactory manner, and further emphasizing the “central place of charity within that development.”

There is need for a deeper reflection on the meaning of the economy and its goals, indeed, “a profound and far-sighted revision of the current model of development,” to correct its dysfunctions and deviations, citing the unhappy effects of globalization, which while a driving force that gave many countries opportunities to emerge from underdevelopment nevertheless caused “unprecedented damage and create(d) new divisions within the human family.” A profoundly new way of business enterprise must be initiated. Today’s international capital markets offer great freedom of action, but there has to be an increased awareness of the need for greater social responsibility on the part of business.

Even taking into account the ethical considerations that business considers along the lines of corporate governance, the corporate world must look at their activities in light of the Church’s social doctrine. As articulated in the principles and guidelines for good governance for both public companies and state-owned enterprises, management must concern itself not only with the interest of the owners, but also must assume responsibility for all the stakeholders that contribute to the life of the company.

The economic system itself, as stated in Popularum Progressio, would benefit from the wide-ranging practice of justice, inasmuch as the first to gain from the development of poor countries would be the rich ones. Thus “a model of market economy capable of including within its range all peoples and not just the better off ” should be created. Efforts to build a world in which “all will be able to give and receive, without one group making progress at the expense of the other” should be made. Thus, as Benedict XVI said “the greatest service to development is Christian humanism that enkindles charity and takes its lead from truth,”

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