Question:
Can Catholics support capitalism? If so, what justifies it? Jesus seems to support the idea of us giving everything extra beyone keeping ourselves alive to the poor.
Answer:
Yes, Catholics can support capitalism, including because it helps foster economic development in general and jobs for the poor in particular. In this regard, we see the application of the maxim, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
Pope St. John Paul II affirms capitalism in his encyclical Centesimus Annus. An “unbridled capitalism?” No. A capitalism that truly respects the dignity of man? Yes.
For more on this subject, do a word search for “capitalism” in Centesimus Annus to see how St. John Paul II addresses the issue.
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