Virtues, Vices and the Responsibilities of Business: An Application of Catholic Social Teaching to the Problems of Corruption and Lobbying

Abstract

This paper examines the development of Catholic social thought and teaching on the responsibilities of business. It begins with a natural law and Thomistic framework and shows how the general principles are applied to practical situations, firstly in the work of the late scholastics and, secondly, through the social encyclical tradition. Changes in emphasis are noted in the post-war period. The paper also explores how the challenges of corruption and lobbying have been viewed in the tradition. Despite mention of these topics by Pope Francis, we conclude that they are under-explored areas. As such, we set out a framework for consideration of these topics using the approach presented in the earlier part of the paper.

Keywords

• business ethics
• Catholic social teaching
• St. Thomas Aquinas
• late scholastics
• corruption
• lobbying