“Catholic social doctrine is neither liberal nor conservative.”

As Pope John Paul II put it, the Church’s social teaching “belongs to the field. . .of theology and particularly of moral theology”— Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 41.

“Most of us are raised and formed in a milieu in which we receive what we call either liberal or conservative ideas.6 Therefore, when we come upon statements from the Church’s Magisterium dealing with economic questions, there is a human tendency to look for those statements that tend to support what we already believe and to overlook or explain away those that do not.

And perhaps most egregiously, there is a tendency to interpret these statements in the context of one or another secular political philosophy. That is, instead of seeing all Catholic social teaching as a consistent whole, from which we are to learn, many take statements that have a superficial similarity to either liberal or conservative principles and interpret them as part of one or the other of those secular ideologies. As Fr. John Cronin wrote:

If [someone] combs through [the social encyclicals], only taking passages that seem to support his position and ignoring those that appear to contradict his thinking, then his approach is wrong. He is not seeking to learn. He is merely using the popes, and misusing their teaching, to confirm his preconceptions.

Catholic social doctrine is neither liberal nor conservative. Neither is it correct to say that it is partly liberal and partly conservative. It has a logic of its own which, when we grasp it, allows us to see not only that both liberalism and conservatism offer only partial truths and partial solutions, but also that the basic approach of each is erroneous. If we hope to form our intellects according to the mind of the Church on socio-economic questions, then we must discard both conservative and liberal perspectives in order to learn how to think with the Church. Granted, it is difficult to give up or modify our views on social and economic questions because of Church doctrine. But the mark of an orthodox Catholic must be a ready submission to the Magisterium’s authentic teaching. Catholics must be as prepared to yield to the judgment of the Church in social matters as they are in other matters. And the mere fact that others—those who are regarded as political enemies—may misuse Catholic social teaching does not give anyone the right to do the same.

If we approach Catholic doctrine in this manner we will get nowhere. As far as possible, as we study social doctrine, we must try to forget the bitter controversies raging in the secular political world. For we are studying theology, not economics or politics. This is not to say, of course, that social doctrine has no application in the real world. It certainly does. But we must still approach it in the spirit of children of the Gospel and the Church, not as if we were debaters preparing our briefs.

Since Pope Leo XIII’s landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891, a significant part of Catholic social doctrine has focused on man’s economic life and the challenge of building a well-ordered society rooted in correct first principles and animated by the twin virtues of justice and charity. The Church has boldly engaged the ideologies of the modern age—not only anarchism, communism, and fascism, but also the seductive alternatives of liberalism and libertarianism. 

Understanding and applying Catholic social doctrine presents special difficulties. The sheer mass of material is a steep mountain to climb for the non-expert. Developments over time and the different styles of papal authors can give an impression of inconsistency or even contradiction. Agenda-driven commentators ignore or distort whatever they dislike, creating an ersatz magisterium. An Economics of Justice and Charity offers readers a compact, objective summary of the economic teaching of the Popes from Leo XIII to Francis that makes manifest its inner unity, its intended authority, and its perennial applicability. It bears witness to the Church’s living history of ethical wisdom, care for workers and the poor, and urgent desire to “penetrate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel.”

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Praise for An Economics of Justice and Charity

“This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the Catholic concept of social justice, particularly how it applies to the realms of economics and politics. Thomas Storck has delivered a concise explanation showing how the Church’s social teaching has been clear and consistent.”

— DAVID W. COONEY
Editor, Practical Distributism

“In 1991, St. John Paul II encouraged a New Evangelization that included ‘a proclamation of the Church’s social doctrine.’ In the modern world, however, rarely have these teachings been presented holistically. Thomas Storck’s commitment to thinking with the mind of the Church and masterful curation of the best of the social tradition make him a notable successor to his intellectual heroes from the golden age of social thought.”

— RICHARD ALEMAN
Editor-in-chief, The Distributist Review

“An Economics of Justice and Charity comes at a time when both the reality and the ideology of capitalism are increasingly being questioned. Its critique of capitalism stands outside the usual left/right dichotomy, providing an opportunity for a deeper analysis of our economic and social woes. For those new to the Church’s ‘best kept secret,’ Storck has produced a clear but philosophically sophisticated introduction to the major contributions and ideas within this tradition.”

— CHARLES M. A. CLARK
Professor of Economics, St John’s University

“This is a superb exposition of the major social encyclicals, both in their historical development and in their application to our current situation. For those not familiar with the teachings, it provides a brief but brilliant introduction; for those who have studied these texts, Mr. Storck raises many interesting questions. Be sure not to skip the appendices, which shed new light on usury (the besetting sin of finance capitalism) and put forward a refutation of the neo-liberal interpretation of Centesimus Annus.”

— JOHN MÉDAILLE, University of Dallas

About the Author

Thomas Storck is a social and cultural philosopher and historian who has written widely concerning the intersection of Catholic faith and culture. He is the author of four previous books, including The Catholic Milieu, Foundations of a Catholic Political Order, and Christendom and the West, as well as numerous essays and articles. He is a contributing editor of The Distributist Review and a member of the editorial board of The Chesterton Review.

‘The West believes man’s destiny is prosperity and an abundance of goods. So does the Politburo.” –Whittaker Chambers