McGovern, Kevin Benedict XVI released his third encyclical on 29 June 2009. Its Latin title is 'Caritas in Veritate;' its English title is 'On Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth.' This article explores the significant teachings of this encyclical.

We first survey the Catholic social justice tradition, the foundation on which Caritas in Veritate builds. Then we discuss Benedict’s addition of love to the philosophical virtues (as applied to economics), and how radical a change that makes to an ethical perspective on economics. We emphasise the reality of the interpersonal aspects of present-day economic exchanges, using insights from two disciplines that have recognized that reality, human resources and marketing. Personal encounter really is a major factor in economic (...) exchanges in professional services, such as law and medicine. Finally, we examine the prospects for an economics of gratuitousness at a level higher than the individual, that is, for businesses devoted to social ends more than profit. -/- . (shrink)

In an effort to assess the latest thinking in the Roman Catholic Church on economic matters, we examine the newest encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) for guidance concerning marketing and business strategy. Core ethical values, consistent with historical Catholic Social Teachings (CST), are retained. However, some important nuances are added to previous treatments, and, reflecting the mind of the current Pontiff, certain points of emphasis are shifted to account for recent global developments. (...) Key areas of consistency and differences (as we perceive them) are spelled out along with some brief commentary on the evolution of the CST position on matters of importance to business decision makers. We close our analysis with a brief discussion of how the lessons of the encyclical can be applied to selected marketing problems embedded with ethical issues, including some criteria for evaluating marketing programs. Finally, we note some editorial commentary published in the wake of the letter’s release along with our own summation. (shrink)

A significant voice in encouraging the theoretical development and practical implementation of humanistic management is Pope Benedict XVI. In his Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, published in 2009, he proposed a new humanistic synthesis to realign the economy with its social purpose. The aim of this book is to interpret, comment, and develop aspects of this Encyclical Letter which are significant for economic and business activity and contribute to humanistic management. The authors, specialists in their different fields, provide (...) an interdisciplinary dialogue between their repsective areas and the Encyclical. The first, theoretical, part of the book focuses on the relationship between ethics and economics to advance toward a holistic view of business and managerial activity. The second part is oriented more toward the practical and managerial aspects, and discusses how the Encyclical can contribute to more humanistic ways of management. (shrink)

The article analyzes Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate and its original contribution to Catholic social doctrine. The author begins by examining Benedict’s claim that Populorum Progressio deserves to be considered the Rerum Novarum of the present age, and asserts that the substance of this claim is not Paul VI’s specific evaluation of the social question but rather his elevation of “integral human development” as the overarching principle of Catholic social doctrine. The article goes on to (...) explicate Benedict’s understanding of “charity in truth” as the most suitable virtue for engaging in Catholic social ethics, underscoring five ways in which charity and truth complement one another. The essay concludes with a study of the requirements of integral human development as presented in Caritas in Veritate, with special emphasis given to the three most original components of this development as proposed by Benedict: respect for human life, religious liberty and environmental responsibility. (shrink)

The social sciences, and particularly economics, play an important role in business. This article reviews the account of the interdisciplinary conversation between Catholic Social Teaching and the social sciences (especially economics) over the last century, and describes Benedict XVI’s development of this account in Caritas in Veritate . Over time the popes recognized that the technical approach of economics was a barrier to fruitful collaboration between economics and Catholic Social Teaching, both because the economic approach is reductionist, and (...) because modern social science is skeptical of comprehensive accounts of human nature. Through an appeal to charity in truth, one can deduce from Caritas in Veritate that economists, along with business and management theorists, need to take seriously the project of reflecting on and promoting true human goods in society. To love the person one must reflect on what is truly good for the person; to discover the true good of the person, one must love the person. (shrink)

One major theme in Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate is the “Principle of Gratuitousness.” The point of this essay is to begin a reflection on what it actually means and its possible relevance. By comparing the “Principle of Gratuitousness” and its normative assumptions about “the logic of gift” with anthropological studies focused on the same phenomenon, I hope to show, not only the relevance of the encyclical’s normative vision but also where and how it needs further (...) clarification. The findings of empirical anthropology provide qualified support for the encyclical’s focus on generating and replenishing “social capital” in order to sustain both markets and politics in an effort to “civilize the economy.” In order to put the “Principle of Gratuitousness” into more effective practice, the encyclical highlights the creative role of “civil society” and calls for the creation social enterprises whose goals are broader and deeper than maximizing profits. Assessing the realism of Benedict’s proposal will require further research and reflection on innovative entrepreneurial ventures designed to address social problems on a commercial basis, for example, Muhammad Yunus’ concept of a “social business” and its development in a series of joint business ventures involving the Grameen Bank and related organizations. (shrink)

This article serves as an editorial introduction to this special issue on Pope Benedict’s encyclical-letter, Caritas in Veritate ( 2009 ) and its engagement with the field of business ethics. According to this document , love in truth, which includes justice, is indeed presented as a basic moral foundation for economic and business ethics. The article provides an overview of some major themes in the encyclical and their relationship to the essays in this special issue. The authors in (...) this issue are an interdisciplinary group of scholars in the fields of philosophy, theology, psychology, business, economics, and political science who address the relevance and relationship of the encyclical to business ethics in light of their disciplinary field. Their articles include, among other topics, discussions based on recent scholarship on business ethics, the economics and ethics relationship, the orientation of business to the common good, the encyclical’s proposal of the principle of gratuitousness and the logic of gift in ordinary business, and new perspectives on economic exchange and bargains and hybrid forms of business. (shrink)

This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on national corporate social responsibility plans from the perspectives of the three logics as articulated in Caritas in Veritate, by using the Irish national CSR plan as an example. Good for Business, Good for the Community: Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2014–2016 maintains that CSR activities can enable organisations to build relationships and trust with communities. One of the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis was the decrease in (...) trust in banking systems and in business more broadly. It is well recognised that relationships of trust are essential to the life of the market, the state and civil society. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate contends that corresponding to the life of the market, the state and civil society are three logics: the logic of exchange, the logic of public obligation and the logic of gift. This paper proposes that the normative framework of the three logics of Caritas in Veritate can be read into the Irish national CSR plan. This paper argues that the examples of CSR initiatives proffered by the plan could point organisations in the direction of the logic of gift and therefore enable the rebuilding of relationships of trust with citizens and communities. (shrink)

Caritas in Veritate (CV) poses a challenge to the business community when it asks for “a profoundly new way of understanding business enterprise” (CV 40). The paper proposes the concept of the “common good” as a starting point for the discussion and sketches a definition of the common good of business as the path toward an answer for this challenge. Building on the distinction between the material and the formal parts of the common good, the authors characterize profit (...) as the material part of the common good of business and work as the formal part that expresses the essential significance of business. (shrink)

Caritas in Veritate leaves us with a question, Does Benedict XVI see politics as a practice or as an institution? How one answers this question has tremendous implications for how one should address the inequalities of contemporary society and the increasing globalization of the world. Alasdair MacIntyre, for instance, would consider politics to be primarily a practice with a good internal to its activities. This good consists in rational deliberation with others about the common good. If one considers (...) politics an institution, however, as seems to be the case with Jacques Maritain, then one pays less attention to the common good and more attention to the mechanics of the political institution. The difference in understanding goes a long way toward how one conceives of, determines, and achieves the common good, a central task for Catholic social teaching. It also prefigures whether and how one can justify self-sacrifice for the common good, demanded of police officers and soldiers, for instance, as well as whether and how one prioritizes the practices of a given political community. Caritas in Veritate (CIV) brings to the forefront issues of self-sacrifice and prioritization of practices at the global level. This paper shall address the position Benedict XVI lays out on globalization with reference to a global politics through the lens of the common good and the distinction between practice and institution. (shrink)

Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth) is the ''social'' encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, one of many papal encyclicals over the last 120 years that address economic life. This volume, based on discussions at a symposium co-sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, analyzes the situation of the Church and the theological basis for Benedict's thinking about the person, community, and the globalized economy.

Stollenwerk, Daniel J In this essay on the social encyclical Caritas in Veritate, the author looks at Pope Benedict XVI's defense of reason in an age that has lost its faith in reason. Benedict insists we are faced with a choice between being closed within immanence - which leads to an irrational rejection of meaning and value - or open to reason that leads to the transcendent. Pope Benedict, the author concludes, is a contemporary apologist, claiming that Christianity (...) is not only the most reasonable of worldviews, but also necessary for the very survival of humanity. (shrink)

Caritas in Veritate, the first social encylical of Benedict XVI, tackles the problems of global development and progress towards the common good of all peoples. Taking its cue from the encyclical’s discussion on migration as an ‘aspect of integral human development’ this article examines the experience of contemporary migrant women and the transnational family vis-à-vis Caritas in Veritate. The paper begins with an overview of Caritas in Veritate followed by a look at the effects (...) of the global economy on women and a discussion on the effects of transnationalism to women and their families, especially with women-away transnational families. The paper then explores the points of convergence and divergence between Caritas in Veritate and the experience of migrant women and the transnational family and ends with a brief conclusion. (shrink)

Transparency in business and society is one of the challenges raised in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate by Benedict XVI. This paper focuses on the issue by extending the literature on business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and corporate transparency in two dimensions. First, it reviews the understanding and framing of the transparency issue in Caritas in Veritate and in a selection of relevant Catholic Social Teaching (CST) publications. Second, this paper provides normative indications for corporate transparency (...) decisions which reflect four permanent principles of CST, that is, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, and respect for the human being. Inasmuch as human beings are worthy of love for their own sakes, the dimension of gift should always be present in relationships among them. This paper also provides insights for further studies on corporate transparency and the impact of religion on business ethics and corporate social responsibility. (shrink)

Este artículo examina el significado del desarrollo humano integral propugnado por Benedicto XVI en Caritas in veritate, destacando su continuidad con Populorum progressio y, en general, con el magisterio social precedente. Tras dar razón del vínculo existente entre la economía, la ética y la antropología, el autor trata de espigar las principales orientaciones ético-económicas que han sido propuestas en esa última encíclica social con vistas a un tal desarrollo, articulándolas a partir de dos concepciones antropológicas de honda raigambre (...) en la doctrina social de la Iglesia, a saber, la dignidad humana y el personalismo comunitario.Comenta, finalmente, la relevancia económica de la antropología cristiana y su potencial crítico frente al homo oeconomicus, así como la capacidad de interlocución con diversas corrientes de pensamiento contemporáneas que dicha antropología proporciona a la doctrina social de la Iglesia.This article examines the meaning of the human, complete development defended by Benedict XVI in Caritas in veritate, emphasizing its continuity with Populorum progessio and with the previous social teaching in general. After stating the existing link between economy, ethics and anthropology, the author tries to select the main ethic-economic orientations proposed in that last social encyclical in relation to a such development, and structures them beginning with two anthropological conceptions deep-rooted in the social doctrine of the church, that is, human dignity and personalism of the community. Finally, the article comments on the economic importance of Christian anthropology and its critical potential against the homo oeconomicus, as well as the capacity of being an interlocutor with several contemporary trends of thought that anthropology provides the social doctrine of the church with. (shrink)

Najnovija enciklika pape Benedikta XVI Caritas in veritate, kao i prethodne enciklike posvećene socijalnoj tematici, najreprezentativniji su dio opusa katoličkog socijalnog nauka koji u svijetlu judeo-kršćanske Objave i općih načela kršćanske filozofije raščlanjuje aktualne svjetske društvene prilike.U članku se razložila prožetost socijalnog nauka Crkve filozofijom te ukazalo na metafizičke specifičnosti te filozofije, koja sačinjava, kako se je pokazalo, filozofski okvir enciklike Caritas in veritate. Analizom logike filozofskog diskursa Benedikta XVI koja inkorporira, u taj filozofski okvir, načelo (...) besplatnosti kao izraz ljudskog bratstva, nastojalo se ukazati na doprinos enciklike Caritas in veritate aktualnim promišljanjima filozofije globalizacije.The latest encyclical letter by the Pope Benedict XVI Caritas in veritate, similar to the former encyclicals dedicated to social issues, is the most representative part of the Catholic social teaching which analyses current world issues in the light of Judeo-Christian Revelation and general principles of Christian philosophy.This article has expounded the philosophical background of Roman Catholic social teaching and indicated metaphysical peculiarities of that philosophy which builds, as it is shown, the philosophical foundation of the encyclical Caritas in veritate. By analyzing the logic of Benedict’s philosophical discourse, which in that philosophical frame includes the principle of gratuitousness as the expression of human fraternity, we tried to show the contribution of Caritas in veritate encyclical letter to current philosophical thought about globalization. (shrink)

Este artículo intenta ―desde la perspectiva de la moral social― poner en evidencia el giro antropológico de la Encíclica Caritas in veritate que, coherentemente con las contemporáneas filosofías de la alteridad y del don, reconoce la fragilidad como nota distintiva de lo humano y clave metodológica de la moral social. Asimismo, señala la necesidad de completar esta reflexión con una adecuada teoría de las emociones en la esfera pública. This article tries ―from the perspective of social― moral highlight (...) the anthropological turn of the Encyclical Caritas in veritate that, consistent with the contemporary philosophies of otherness and of the gift, recognizes the fragility of the human hallmark and key methodological of social morality. It also notes the need to complete this reflection with an adequate theory of emotions in the public sphere. (shrink)

If we read the central message of Caritas in Veritate (CV) through the lens of contemporary business ethics—and the encyclical does seem to invite such a reading (CV 40–41, and 45–47)—there is first of all a diagnosis of a crisis. Then, we are offered a response to the diagnosis: charity in truth , “the principle around which the Church’s social doctrine turns, a principle that takes on practical form in the criteria that govern moral action .” (CV 6) (...) In business ethics, the norms of personal and (especially) corporate responsibility are the natural correlates to “the criteria that govern moral action.” Using this as a point of departure, I propose to relate some recent scholarship in business ethics to the message of CV — with the suggestion that there is significant convergence. I argue, further, that the encyclical breaks new ground with its suggestion that, at the center of our moral thinking in business ethics lies a logic of contribution or gift. I discuss Benedict’s understanding of the crisis, and his exhortation to reach beyond conventional interpretations of corporate responsibility, under the following four headings: Diagnosing a Crisis , Institutionalizing Conscience , A Tripartite View of Corporate Responsibility, and Comprehensive Moral Thinking. (shrink)

Liberalism and marxism are two forms of economism, which separate economic activity from ethics. The social teaching of the Church accepted continued by pope Benedict XVI recognizes the necessity of free market and limited intervention of the state in economy, but first of all postulates creativity of civil society in the field of economic life. The main arguments for observance of moral rules in the economic activity are following: 1. Every conscious and free men’s action is responsible for the effects (...) – economic activity cannot be any exception; 2. The same ethics ought to be applied in the individual-private life and in the public domain – also economy; 3. Ethos of economic activity is connected with three virtues – truth, love and justice (also social justice); 4. Christian-personalistic ethics is based on the principles auxialiarity (personalism) and common good (solidarity). Economic activity completely separated from ethics is inhuman. (shrink)

Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 Encyclical-Letter “ Caritas in Veritate ,” (CV) breaks some new ground in the tradition of Catholic social teaching. I argue that explicitly this document makes a call for a new theory of economic exchange. Whereas, the traditional scholastic theory of the “just price” was focused on “the principle of the equivalence in value of exchanged goods” (CV 35), a new theory of exchange must focus instead on “a metaphysical understanding of the relations between persons” (...) (CV 53). True, Thomas Aquinas pioneered this new approach to the morality of exchange when he argued that the Golden Rule must take precedence over the logic of the just price: the relation between persons must trump the relation between the goods exchanged. Caritas in Veritate argues further for a new theory of exchange that combines elements of mutual gain with elements of gift-giving. Here again we see a revision of traditional scholastic theory in which every transaction was defined exclusively either as a unilateral gift (subject to norms of distributive justice and charity) or as a bilateral exchange (subject to norms of commutative justice). Benedict, by contrast, calls for a vision of economic life in which gift-giving and exchange are mixed, so that bargains are “redolent with the spirit of gift” (CV 37) in a new “economy of gratuitousness” (CV 38). I propose to outline a new theory of exchange in which the elements of mutual gain and gift-giving are combined. To do so, I shall have to revise the traditional scholastic analysis of the just price, which was focused on the equality of the goods exchanged and instead focus on the moral equality of the parties to an exchange. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Moral Dynamics of Economic Life: An Extension and Critique of Caritas in Veritate ed. by Daniel K. Finn, and: Rethinking Poverty: Income, Assets, and the Catholic Social Justice Tradition by James P. BaileyBrian HamiltonReview of The Moral Dynamics of Economic Life: An Extension and Critique of Caritas in Veritate EDITED BY DANIEL K. FINN New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. 166 pp. $85.35Review (...) of Rethinking Poverty: Income, Assets, and the Catholic Social Justice Tradition JAMES P. BAILEY Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010. 176 pp. $30.00The academic study of Catholic social teaching has flowered in recent years. The moral vision elaborated over a century of official Catholic documents on social and political issues has proven attractive to a wide variety of scholars, providing a point of reference for interdisciplinary conversation. By bringing that vision into conversation with their respective disciplines, such scholars have gone a long way toward addressing one of the most common complaints about Catholic social teaching: that its proposals are too general and abstract. Two recent books, both working at the intersection of theology and economics, are a case in point.The Moral Dynamics of Economic Life, edited by Daniel Finn, synthesizes a conversation held in Rome in 2010 under the aegis of the Institute of Advanced Catholic Studies and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Theologians, philosophers, public policy experts, lawyers, businesspeople, and Church leaders gathered to discuss the significance of Benedict XVI’s social encyclical, Caritas in veritate, for the US context. Rather than simply reprinting the papers they discussed, the participants’ contributions were split up and reorganized along thematic lines. There are eleven chapters—on topics like reciprocity, development, and polarization in US political discourse—each composed of a series of two- to four-page essays from different scholars. It is a creative and surprisingly effective structure. No single argument is developed at any length, of course. But the essays, punchy and provocative, accomplish far more than one would think possible in so short a space. Taken together, they define the contours of a much richer conversation than a series of independent papers could have done. [End Page 205]James Bailey’s Rethinking Poverty provides a more sustained argument. Working within the moral framework provided by Catholic social teaching, Bailey argues that US public policy regarding poverty needs to focus less on income relief and more on asset ownership and development. He lays out his basic case for the “asset paradigm” in chapter 1. In the current system, asset-building assistance is provided almost exclusively to the nonpoor rather than to the poor since it is mediated primarily through the federal income tax—which the poor do not pay. Income assistance to the poor, though crucial in the short term, does nothing to address the root causes of endemic poverty in the United States. In fact, the regressive structure of asset-building assistance has itself played an important role in perpetuating and exacerbating the wealth gap in this country. In the next two chapters, Bailey lays out two complementary moral frameworks that support a policy shift toward an asset paradigm: Catholic social teaching and the “capabilities approach” developed by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen. In the fourth chapter, Bailey surveys the history of racialized asset discrimination in US policy, demonstrating that the denial of asset-based assistance has been instrumental in creating enduring wealth disparities between white and black communities. In the fifth chapter, Bailey concludes by suggesting that an older, neglected American policy tradition did privilege an assets-based approach to poverty relief, and that tradition continues to be a viable option.Both books succeed, in my judgment, in rendering the principles and priorities of Catholic social teaching more concrete. Bailey’s main goal, obviously, is to recommend a specific policy orientation, and Moral Dynamics is full of practical suggestions: we should encourage conversations between theology and business schools at Catholic universities (89, 135); we should give more attention to empirical measures of well-being and development beyond narrowly economic ones like the gross domestic product (92–98); we should work to redefine the standard of “reasonableness” in the common... (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of lexical meaning, broadly along the lines of Cognitive Semantics (Langacker 1987a). Within the proposed model, all aspects of meaning are to be explained in terms of properties of ontologies in conceptual space, i.e. properties of content ontologies and schematic ontologies and construals which are imposed on the conceptual structures on the occasion of use. It is through the operations of construals on ontological structures that different readings of lexical expressions (...) arise. Lexical meanings are dynamic and sensitive to contextual demands, rather than fixed and stable. In a dynamic, usage-based model like this, polysemy and multiple readings emerge as a natural consequence of the human ability to think flexibly. Another more specific purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the usefulness of ontologies in linguistic research in general and semantic modelling in particular. (shrink)