Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana


ISSN: 1731-0555     eISSN: 2353-2998    OAI    DOI: 10.18276/cto.2024.40-06
CC BY-SA   Open Access   DOAJ  ERIH PLUS

Issue archive / 40/2024
Capitalism and Catholicism: Comparing Democratic Capitalism and Social Market Economy in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching

Authors: Peter Schallenberg ORCID
Faculty of Theology in Paderborn, Germany | Department of Moral Theology

Maximilian Welticke ORCID
Faculty of Theology in Paderborn, Germany | Department of Moral Theology
Keywords: democratic capitalism social market economy catholic social teaching economic ethics integral system
Whole issue publication date:2024-12-10
Page range:16 (113-128)
Cited-by (Crossref) ?:

Abstract

Michael Novak’s "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism" (1982) is considered to be an irrefutable and foundational work for the ethics of economics in our time. In a unique and original approach, Novak presents the intellectual-historical genesis of capitalist systems, which he locates decisively in certain spiritual and moral principles. This hermeneutic opens up an insight into the interplay between economy, society, religion, and politics – it is in particular able to utilize Catholic Social Teaching for the development of economically just systems. By unfolding the connections between democracy and market economy, Novak is able to illuminate the individual’s responsibility for the social and economic challenges faced by society. From a German perspective, Novak’s work is especially relevant in comparison with the German Social Market Economy system. Both approaches are based heavily on Catholic Social Teaching, yet the differences in their historical and contextual origins offer the opportunity to mutually enrich each other.
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