Society

Why the Market Economy, Political Freedom and Democracy Belong Together—Even if Not without Tension

A liberal economic order is based on free markets, entrepreneurial initiative and personal responsibility. The prerequisites for this, in turn, are legal certainty and, above all, economic freedom.

In Our Heads We Are All Marxists—How Marx’s Myths Shape Our Affluent Society

Even though few self-identify as Marxists, many of the Marx’s ideas remain in fashion. In particular, his denigration of capitalists and entrepreneurs as stealing from workers, and his failure to identify their effective beneficence, remain quite popular.

Commodity Speculation: Does it Harm the Poor?

Pope Francis’ Encyclical “Laudato si’” and other Vatican documents have criticized speculation in food markets for being damaging to the interests of the poor. There is, however, no evidence for this. In fact, the opposite is likely to be the case.

The True Meaning of ‘Social Justice’: A Catholic View of Hayek (Academic paper)

Hayek’s dismissal of the concept of “social justice” is well-known. While we can basically agree with Hayek’s critique, we should not entirely reject this concept. There exists a true meaning of social justice.

Does Capitalism Cause Poverty?

Capitalism gets blamed for many things nowadays: poverty, inequality, unemployment, even global warming. As Pope Francis said in a recent speech in Bolivia: “This system is by now intolerable: farm