Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Daniele Corrado
Author-Email:
Author-Workplace-Name: Università di Trieste
Author-Name: Stefano Solari
Author-Email:
Author-Workplace-Name: Università di Padova - Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche
Title: Economics justice in social Catholicism: the difficult application of natural law 
Abstract: The evolution of the idea of economic justice is presented here to introduce the study of the concept
of ‘social justice’ developed by social Catholicism. The latter was introduced and developed in
the middle of the nineteenth century by Jesuits within the framework of Neo-Thomistic philosophical
thought. The term social Justice was applied to the economic problems of the time and in
particular to the ‘social question’, but the concept remained controversial and led to a long debate
among the adherents of social Catholicism. We will highlight the connection between the philosophy
of law and economics in Neo-Thomistic social economics and the debate that developed around
this concept. We conclude by discussing the implications that this view of rights and the law has on
economic theorising 
Classification-JEL: A19, B49, K19, Z12
Keywords: Social justice; Thomism; economic order; classic natural law; Social Catholicism
Journal: Il Pensiero Economico Italiano
Pages: 25-45
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Year: 2009
File-URL: http://www.libraweb.net/articoli.php?chiave=200906301&rivista=63
Handle: RePEc:pei:journl:v:17:y:2009:1:2:p:25-45