The Church and income inequality

The greatest problem the world is facing today is the rise of income and social inequality. This is the root cause for the rise of populism because the overwhelming majority of the world’s population believe that the elite has become richer at their expense. Consider that 67 individuals have as much wealth as the bottom 50% of the world’s population – 67 individuals have as much wealth as 3.8 billion people.

People are looking for answers to all these problems; and, I believe you will find them in the Catholic Social Teachings – the body of principles and moral teaching that is articulated in the papal, conciliar documents issued since the 19th century dealing with the economic, political, and social order. 

In my last column, I gave a brief overview of these teachings in the form of brief summaries of the encyclicals from Rerum Novarum to Laudate Si. In this column, I will focus on one major topic. 

The Popes have spent an overwhelming amount of time on Catholic Social Teachings. Pope Francis has gone as far as calling inequality “the root of all social evil.” This is very understandable because if we grant the interdependence of political and economic power, then we can conclude that inequality of wealth necessarily implies imbalances of wealth. 

The Church believes inequality of “distributive justice” which concerns the socially just allocation of goods is the primary cause of inequality. Distributive justice is fundamental to the Catholic Church’s social teachings. If society is often more concerned with “just  process” which is concerned with the administration of law, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. 

Benedict XVI called for solutions to the “ structural causes of dysfunction.” In his encyclical Evangeli Gauduiim, Pope Francis rejected the basic tenet for distribution of wealth by capitalism. This tenet professes that as the rich get richer, some of their wealth will “trickle down” to the rest of the population so that eventually even the poor will become prosperous. Here is what Francis wrote:

“Some people continue to defend trickle down theories that assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralised workings of the prevailing economic system. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed.

While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.”

Pope Francis also warned:

“As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems. Inequality is the root of social ills.”

In his book Catholic Social Teaching, Daniel Schwindt is even more blunt:

“Having become his own center, sinful man tends to assert himself and to satisfy his desire for the infinite by the use of things: wealth, power and pleasure, despising other people and robbing them unjustly and treating them as objects or instruments. Thus he makes his own contribution to the creation of those very structures of exploitation and slavery which he claims to condemn.”

Yet even if we allow that this diagnosis is accurate, we still need a more specific analysis if we hope to arrive at practice solutions. For this purpose, a cursory survey of Catholic Social Teachings will produce quite a few more causes of inequality: land concentration and the need for agrarian reform, particular for undeveloped nations; unemployment and underemployment; insurmountable barriers to market entry; barriers to education; media preference and prohibitive advertising costs which inevitably favour the few and exclude the majority. With respect to the last point we can speak of a population of “information rich” which corresponds to an “information poor,” a problem which stems from unequal availability of technology. Lastly all these possibilities involve or encourage large scale indebtedness which can be attributed in part to personal choice, but also in parts to necessity.”

The recurring problem which has proven to be the most difficult to remedy is the concentration of wealth. The solution proposed by Catholic Social Teachings is the “redistribution of wealth.” This concept may be unpopular in wealthy circles but it is a common theme in the Church’s social teachings.

In his papal encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope  Benedict XVI uses the term “redistribution” eight times. Once he mentioned “...the unprecedented possibility of large scale redistribution of wealth  on a world wide scale.” The root of this concern for redistribution may be found in the first encyclical Rerum Novarum issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 where he says:

“The law, therefore, should favour ownership, and its policy should be to induce as many as possible of the people to become owners.”

Catholic Social Teachings has often been called the Catholic Church’s best kept secret. Hopefully during this Lenten period of meditation, the world will finally see that this “secret” has the answers to solving today’s social ills.

Creative writing classes for kids and teens

Young Writers’ Hangout on March 21 with Roel SR Cruz on setting, “From Middle-Earth to the MCU and Back” (1:30 pm-3 pm; stand-alone sessions) and on March 28, a workshop on Writing Children’s Stories with award-winning author Mailin Paterno at Fully Booked BGC. For details and registration,  email [email protected].

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Email: [email protected]