I think the jury is still out on what this Pope’s position is on Capitalism and Social Justice. One day he condemns Socialism and then the next he condemns “unfettered Capitalism.” What I do know is that the one period in human history that created more wealth and pulled more people out of poverty, and immensely increased standards of living across the world, was the period from the mid-to-late 1700s through the early-to-mid 1900s when “unfettered Capitalism” was at its height. God created Capitalism and it is an unqualified force for good in the world.
Capitalism as a system, is amoral, meaning it takes no position on moral issues.
Many people who worked during the Industrial Revolution and before unionization, suffered terrible work conditions. However, many people enjoyed a standard of living far greater than ever enjoyed before.
Individual capitalists have a duty to treat employees justly, pay them fairly, and pursue their business with morals. In other words, the ends don’t justify the means.
Socialism, on the other hand, is immoral, as it denies people the right to own property, live by the sweat of their brow, and to determine their own destiny.
Popes have spoken about both systems, but make clear the responsibilities of capitalists, and point out the tyranny of both socialism and communism.
“Unfettered capitalism” - which included slavery - is not necessarily a good thing, and actually was the impetus for the union movement in the early 20th century.
Think if you’d like to have an arrogant jerk like Obama in charge of you, regarding you as his personal serf and assigning you work that you had to do 6 days a week with only a brief time off for church on Sundays (if even that, in the case of Obama!), monitoring your every purchase and usually profiting from it (many people had to buy from a company store or were indebted for housing), making you work in a place with no emergency exits so that you could burn to death at your sewing machine (Triangle Fire), etc. And of course, the boss was tied in with the politicians, because he’d bought them off long ago.
That’s unfettered capitalism, which you now see only in the Third World, and of which we have seen many demonstrations recently in India and China.
If you interpret capitalism as “to the victor belongs the spoils,” “only the strong survive,” etc., which seems to be the unfettered version, then you’re building a pathway for unions and socialism.
There have to be reasonable restraints on what wealthy individuals can do to others simply because the former have more money and power. Sadly, we’re fast moving into a society where there is no restraint as long as you’re the “right” type of person.
What you don’t realize is that “unfettered capitalism” and iron-hand socialism/fascism are where the supposed opposites meet.
God created Capitalism and it is an unqualified force for good in the world.