Abstract
The aim of this article is to propose the adoption of a Catholic social teaching (CST) perspective as a universal approach to business ethics. We assume that the common good, as understood in CST, is an extension of the Aristotelian and Thomistic concepts of the organic relations between economics and ethics, which, prior to the Enlightment, was a basic rational way of management (oikonomia). We aim to show both the influence of religious ethics on the shape of economic life and the influence of the Catholic understanding of the common good on leadership. CST encourages business leaders to focus not only on the material, but also the transcendental aims of human work and life. From this perspective, the responsibility of a business leader can be understood as a practical realisation of the Commandment of Love and divided into three levels, each of which contributes to the common good. On the micro level, leaders are responsible for their own actions; on the mezzo level, they are responsible for the organisations they lead—especially for their employees—and on the macro level, they should be responsible for actions towards external stakeholders, which might ultimately be extended to the world as a whole. In this way, leaders can cooperate with God and contribute to the common good of their organisations, society, and humanity.
Highlights
The economic activities of humankind cannot be separated from the ethical systems that guide the behaviour of individuals, which are often determined by the religions people practice (Wilson 1997)
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how ethics inspired by Catholic thought can function in practice as a universal approach to business ethics
We will show the common good to be a central principle of social life, we will clarify the meaning of an enterprise in Catholic social teaching (CST), and we will demonstrate the responsibility of business leaders as a practical realisation of the commandment to love thy God and thy neighbour on three levels—leaders’ responsibility towards themselves, responsibility towards internal stakeholders, and responsibility towards external stakeholders
Summary
The economic activities of humankind cannot be separated from the ethical systems that guide the behaviour of individuals, which are often determined by the religions people practice (Wilson 1997). The development of more complex and demanding forms of work that emphasise professionalism, education, solidity, and integrity should be perceived as the real capital that underlies economic development and serves the common good The motivation for this is the sense of universal brotherhood, which results from the Christian idea of love of one’s neighbour and depends on social solidarity The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how ethics inspired by Catholic thought can function in practice as a universal approach to business ethics To this end, we will show the common good to be a central principle of social life, we will clarify the meaning of an enterprise in CST, and we will demonstrate the responsibility of business leaders as a practical realisation of the commandment to love thy God and thy neighbour on three levels—leaders’ responsibility towards themselves, responsibility towards internal stakeholders, and responsibility towards external stakeholders
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