The Idea of the Common Good in the Light of Encyclicals Laborem exercens and Centesimus annus

Abstract

John Paul II placed man at the centre of his reflection in the encyclicals Laborem exercens and Centesimus annus and it was in man, his intelligence and competences, his capacity for creative initiative and entrepreneurship, that the pope saw the mainspring of social wealth and good. The deliberations in both the papal documents are founded on the idea it is not material capital but science, technology, and skills, referred to as new types of property, that are the greatest asset of industrial countries at present. In John Paul II’s belief, a correctly interpreted relationship between economy, anthropology, and ethics is the key to overcoming social problems, with various forms of alienation being the gravest. A vision of man as a creative subject whose ability of personal participation is the basic common good of every society plays a special role in giving the right shape to organized social life. The pope argued a personalistic understanding of common good both relieves tensions between private property and the right to the universal destination of goods as defined by the Catholic social philosophy and paves the way for economic success of nations and states.