The Church's social doctrine insists on the moral connotations of the economy. Pope Pius XI, in a passage from the Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, speaks of the relationship between the economy and morality. “Even though economics and moral science employs each its own principles in its own sphere, it is, nevertheless, an error to say that the economic and moral orders are so distinct from and alien to each other that the former depends in no way on the latter. Certainly the laws of economics, as they are termed, being based on the very nature of material things and on the capacities of the human body and mind, determine the limits of what productive human effort cannot, and of what it can attain in the economic field and by what means. Yet it is reason itself that clearly shows, on the basis of the individual and social nature of things and of men, the purpose which God ordained for all economic life. But it is only the moral law which, just as it commands us to seek our supreme and last end in the whole scheme of our activity, so likewise commands us to seek directly in each kind of activity those purposes which we know that nature, or rather God the Author of nature, established for that kind of action, and in orderly relationship to subordinate such immediate purposes to our supreme and last end”.691Pius XI, Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno: AAS 23 (1931), 190-191.
The relation between morality and economics is necessary, indeed intrinsic: economic activity and moral behaviour are intimately joined one to the other. The necessary distinction between morality and the economy does not entail the separation of these two spheres but, on the contrary, an important reciprocity. Just as in the area of morality one must take the reasons and requirements of the economy into account, so too in the area of the economy one must be open to the demands of morality: “In the economic and social realms, too, the dignity and complete vocation of the human person and the welfare of society as a whole are to be respected and promoted. For man is the source, the centre, and the purpose of all economic and social life”.692Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 63: AAS 58 (1966), 1084. Giving the proper and due weight to the interests that belong specifically to the economy does not mean rejecting as irrational all considerations of a meta-economic order. This is so because the purpose of the economy is not found in the economy itself, but rather in its being destined to humanity and society.693Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2426. The economy, in fact, whether on a scientific or practical level, has not been entrusted with the purpose of fulfilling man or of bringing about proper human coexistence. Its task, rather, is partial: the production, distribution and consumption of material goods and services.
The moral dimension of the economy shows that economic efficiency and the promotion of human development in solidarity are not two separate or alternative aims but one indivisible goal. Morality, which is a necessary part of economic life, is neither opposed to it nor neutral: if it is inspired by justice and solidarity, it represents a factor of social efficiency within the economy itself. The production of goods is a duty to be undertaken in an efficient manner, otherwise resources are wasted. On the other hand, it would not be acceptable to achieve economic growth at the expense of human beings, entire populations or social groups, condemning them to indigence. The growth of wealth, seen in the availability of goods and services, and the moral demands of an equitable distribution of these must inspire man and society as a whole to practise the essential virtue of solidarity,694Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 40: AAS 80 (1988), 568-569. in order to combat, in a spirit of justice and charity, those “structures of sin” 695John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 36: AAS 80 (1988), 561. where ever they may be found and which generate and perpetuate poverty, underdevelopment and degradation. These structures are built and strengthened by numerous concrete acts of human selfishness.
If economic activity is to have a moral character, it must be directed to all men and to all peoples. Everyone has the right to participate in economic life and the duty to contribute, each according to his own capacity, to the progress of his own country and to that of the entire human family.696Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 65: AAS 58 (1966), 1086-1087. If, to some degree, everyone is responsible for everyone else, then each person also has the duty to commit himself to the economic development of all.697Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 32: AAS 80 (1988), 556-557. This is a duty in solidarity and in justice, but it is also the best way to bring economic progress to all of humanity. When practised morally, economic activity is therefore service mutually rendered by the production of goods and services that are useful for the growth of each person, and it becomes an opportunity for every individual to embody solidarity and live the vocation of “communion with others for which God created him”.698John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 41: AAS 83 (1991), 844. The effort to create and carry out social and economic projects that are capable of encouraging a more equitable society and a more human world represents a difficult challenge, but also a stimulating duty for all who work in the economic sector and are involved with the economic sciences.699Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 2000 World Day of Peace, 15-16: AAS 92 (2000), 366-367.
The economy has as its object the development of wealth and its progressive increase, not only in quantity but also in quality; this is morally correct if it is directed to man's overall development in solidarity and to that of the society in which people live and work. Development, in fact, cannot be reduced to a mere process of accumulating goods and services. On the contrary, accumulation by itself, even were it for the common good, is not a sufficient condition for bringing about authentic human happiness. In this sense, the Church's social Magisterium warns against the treachery hidden within a development that is only quantitative, for the “excessive availability of every kind of material goods for the benefit of certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of ‘possession' and of immediate gratification ... This is the so-called civilization of ‘consumption' or ‘consumerism' “.700John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 28: AAS 80 (1988), 548.
In the perspective of an integral and solidary development, it is possible to arrive at a proper appreciation of the moral evaluation that the Church's social doctrine offers in regard to the market economy or, more simply, of the free economy: “If by ‘capitalism' is meant an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector, then the answer is certainly in the affirmative, even though it would perhaps be more appropriate to speak of a ‘business economy', ‘market economy' or simply ‘free economy'. But if by ‘capitalism' is meant a system in which freedom in the economic sector is not circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality, and which sees it as a particular aspect of that freedom, the core of which is ethical and religious, then the reply is certainly negative”.701John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 42: AAS 83 (1991), 845-846. In this way a Christian perspective is defined regarding social and political conditions of economic activity, not only its rules but also its moral quality and its meaning.