Book Review: Economics as If God Mattered: a Century of Papal Teaching Addressed to the Economic Order by Rupert J. Ederer
South Bend: Fidelity Press (226 Marquette Ave., South Bend, Indiana 46617), 1995. 254 pages.
I suppose that most Catholics who are at all aware of the Church's teaching office and of her role in the contemporary world are aware of the corpus of social encyclicals, a series which began in 1891 with Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum and of which the latest example is John Paul II's Centesimus Annus (1991). But I also suppose that a much smaller number of these Catholics have actually read these encyclicals. Certainly there is no substitute for reading the originals, but since many people are hard pressed for time, as well as not always aware of the various circumstances which led to the issuing of these remarkable papal documents, they might well want to begin with Rupert Ederer's new book, Economics as if God Mattered. Here they will find not only a faithful summary of the contents of the encyclicals, but material which will be useful for understanding them and the way that these documents can help in any Christian reconstruction of society. For despite the multitude of serious ills that threaten us, such as abortion or euthanasia, Catholics ought to remember that if they neglect the economic order, then they have done only half the work that is required for the salvation of society. And if, in their attention to the economic order, they neglect the teachings of Christ's Vicar - well, any work they do can hardly be called Christian work.
Ederer begins his work with an introductory chapter in which he addresses several important points, such as whether there is a "Catholic economics," while in a short concluding chapter he notes some of the other documents of the Church which deal with the social question, including the relevant documents of Vatican II. But the bulk of the book is organized around the social encyclicals themselves, with a chapter for each encyclical. The author summarizes the contents of each encyclical as well as giving information about the circumstances of their composition, their reception by both Catholics and others, and insights and reflections about the general trend of papal social teaching and its importance for the Church.
Throughout his book Ederer highlights several constant themes which are common to all or most of the encyclicals. One of these is the increasing importance of the virtue of solidarity, which since the 1960s has been mentioned with greater and greater frequency in the social encyclicals. Ederer points out that the great Jesuit economist, Heinrich Pesch (1854-1926) made solidarity a major point of his economic work. Likewise the concept and term, "economism," (meaning an "exclusive emphasis on purely economic considerations"), also apparently taken from Pesch, is a concept that John Paul II has introduced into the corpus of the Church's social teachings. In addition, since Pesch was the major intellectual figure behind the social encyclical Quagragesimo Anno (1931), he is without doubt the single most influential Catholic economist in history. The fact that he is almost unknown among American Catholics speaks volumes about our seriousness in pursuing truly Catholic social aims.
The author is not shy about discussing what are sometimes called "occupational groups," or "industry councils" as they were often called in the United States. This concept was first explicitly introduced by Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno. Briefly, an occupational group is a non-governmental body made up of everyone working in a particular industry, both labor and management, and which functions as a self-governing body of that particular industry. Their purpose is to lessen the strife of competition and orient the industry toward both prosperity and service of the common good. Though since Quadragesimo Anno these groups have not been mentioned by name in the encyclicals, Ederer points out the many references to intermediate bodies which occur in all the later social encyclicals. Can we not see in these many references a hint toward the ideal of the occupational group? He thinks so, as does this reviewer, for there is simply no other available mechanism which can replace either unfettered free competition or the often heavy hand of the state in regulating the economy. If we neglect occupational groups, then we must put up with regulation by either some form of statism or some form of Adam Smith's Invisible (indeed non-existent!) Hand.
Another aspect of the Church's social teaching which Ederer brings to the fore is the increasing emphasis on the world economy. Leo XIII and Pius XI concentrated on bringing justice and order to the internal economies of single nations. But beginning with John XXIII, and especially with Paul VI and John Paul II, as world trade and international financial relations have grown, so has the focus of the Church's teachings. As countries negotiate free-trade agreements and establish multi-national trading blocs they must be as careful of matters of justice as should those charged with economic policy within nations. Indeed, rich nations and regions have just the same responsibility to aid poorer lands as have persons who are rich to aid persons who are poor. Just because men are organized into some kind of society does not somehow exempt them from the laws of God.
The author points out more than once that those whom we in the U.S. call "conservatives," (they are actually a type of liberal) have frequently been hostile to Catholic social teaching. Suddenly, with Centesimus Annus this changed. Criticism, if any, was considerably less. But Ederer, unlike the neo-conservatives with their tendentious interpretations, does not regard Centesimus Annus as a sweeping benediction bestowed upon American capitalism. He discusses what the Pope really said, and notes how this teaching ought to be applied both here and abroad. In particular Ederer devotes space to a discussion of what exactly the word "capitalism" means, and how it is used differently by the Holy Father and by his neo-conservative commentators. The result of this is that those who are looking for papal blessings on our own economic arrangements will have to wait longer, for as of now they simply do not exist.
Unfortunately a reviewer must note some misprints and typographical errors, especially in the book's early chapters, which mar a solid presentation. But if you had always wanted to get around to reading the social teachings, or if you find the encyclicals hard going, consider buying this book. It will give you much of the background people often need to make sense of the social teachings of the successive vicars of Jesus Christ.
