Social Justice

Question 1

What is the theological basis for human dignity?

Answer 1

Made in the image and likeness of God. Imago Dei (Gen 1:27)

• 1 Cor. 8:11 and Rom. 14:15 => Every person (esp. poor and suffering) is a brother or sister for whom Christ died.

Question 2

How is freedom valuable?

Answer 2

• Freedom is valuable because HB can turn to the good ONLY in freedom (In order to love, we must first be free)

Question 3

In what way is freedom limited?

Answer 3

• 1) We are not free to construct the meaning of good and evil by ourselves (i.e., freedom is bound be truth)
• It is God who ultimately determines what is good and what is evil
• 2) Freedom is limited by the moral law, which instructs us to seek good and avoid evil
• Natural Law —> Through reason
• We also know the moral law through Revealed Law and Grace

Question 4

What’s the foundation of human rights?

Answer 4

Human Dignity (Reason, Revelation, Human Nature)

Question 5

What are the six fundamental human rights?

Answer 5

• 1) Life = is the foundational right because it is necessary for the exercise of all other rights.
• 2) Formation = The right to live in a united family and in a moral environment conducive to the growth of the child’s personality.
• 3) Truth = The right to develop one’s intelligence and freedom in seeking and knowing the truth.
• 4) Work = The right to share in the work which makes use of the earth’s material resources, and to derive from that work the means to support oneself and one’s dependents.
• 5) Family = The right to freely establish a family, to have and to rear children through the responsible exercise of one’s sexuality.
• 6) Religious Freedom = The right to live in the truth of one’s faith and in conformity with one’s transcendent dignity as a person.
• This right has “paramount value” —> Most important (even more than life)

Question 6

How are rights violated?

Answer 6

wars, violence, genocides, mass deportation, new forms of slavery, child soldiers, exploitation of workers, illegal drug trafficking, prostitution

Question 7

What is the “common good” (two definitions)

Answer 7

1) The good of all people and of the whole person (this is more general)
2) The sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily. Gadium et Spes 26 (this is more specific)

Question 8

What is the principle of the Universal Destination of Earthly Goods?

Answer 8

• Principle of UDEG = Each person must have access to the level of well-being necessary for his development
• Implied Right of UDEG = The universal right to use the goods of the earth (the right to the common use of goods)
• Theological/Biblical Grounding = The call made unceasingly by the Gospel to people and societies of all times, tempted as they always are by the desire to possess, temptations which the Lord chose to undergo in order to teach us how to overcome them with his grace.
• Luke 4:1-14 —> Jesus is tempted by the Devil in the wilderness

Question 9

What are the four main benefits of private property?

Answer 9

1) The ability to own and therefore benefit means that property will be more plentiful
2) Property will be better cared for
3) Less controversy
4) When you own something, you have the possibility of giving to others

Question 10

What are the three main disadvantages of private property?

Answer 10

1) When combined with a free market for the price of labor, private ownership of the means of production can result in an unjust wage.
2) Private property can be hoarded (not given). A person can possess more than he needs, but be unwilling to give of his excess to the poor who really need it (and this causes the poor to suffer).
3) This hoarding can in turn negatively affect the owner of the property: turns to the spiritual problem of avarice (greed)

Question 11

What are the four main benefits of economic liberalism / the free market?

Answer 11

• Free Market = The freedom to exchange what one owns, including one’s labor.

1) Competitiveness of the market itself encourages efficiency
2) Factors of production will be used in the most efficient way (b/c the most efficient producer will win the competition)
3) Price system: Where you allow the market to operate, prices reflect demand and supply.
4) Free market respects preferences

Question 12

What is the Church’s proposed solution to address the limitations of the free market?

Answer 12

Allow people to own the means of production, but make their behavior in the labor market more just:
1) Force them to do what is right:
• State (i.e., minimum wage; child labor laws, federal agencies inspecting work conditions)
• Unions: 1) threatening to put them out of business (not come to work); 2) picket (don’t allow replacement workers to enter)
2) Persuade them to do what is right (change hearts)

Question 13

What is “consumerism,” as Pope John Paul II defines it?

Answer 13

When we appeal directly to the person’s instincts (while ignoring the reality of the person as intelligent and free)

Question 14

Give an example of a “structure of sin” involving the economy

Answer 14

• The Free Market: Consumerism is caused not by the free market itself, but by bad choices on the part of individuals (who misuse their freedom and transform the market into a ‘structure of sin’)
• Unjust wages

Question 15

What is the Principle of Subsidiarity?

Answer 15

Higher associations (i.e., government) should not do what lesser associations (i.e., businesses, unions, charities, churches, families) are capable of doing.

Question 16

What are the two main reasons why the Church likes the principle of Subsidiarity?

Answer 16

1) It prevents a heavy-handed state (i.e., excessive centralization, bureaucratization, and welfare assistance)
2) It better allows for the possibility of self-gift (i.e., give to the poor in person; more efficient)

Question 17

In regard to questions of international development, what is “dependency theory”?

Answer 17

According to dependency theory, economic underdevelopment is caused by the rich.
• —> The rich keep them poor by taking advantage of them.
• Kinds of Abuse:
1) Rich countries can manipulate the terms of trade for their own advantage (i.e., Government subsidies, companies subsidizing their own products (e.g., dumping))
2) Rich countries lend money to poor countries at too high of an interest rate (control capital)
3) Multi-National Companies abuse workers and the environment when they do come in (i.e., take advantage of workers’ rights and the environment)

Question 18

In regard to questions of international development, what is “economic liberalism”?

Answer 18

According to economic liberalism, economic underdevelopment is caused by the underdeveloped countries themselves.
• —> It’s their own fault. Rich countries are not to blame (at worst, the problem is neglect).
• Underdeveloped nations are poor because they have not stable, effective political systems to provide infrastructure and no security to attract capital investments.
• Investors are looking for Stability, Decent Work Force, and Infrastructure, and underdeveloped countries don’t have them

Question 19

What are the non-economic causes of underdevelopment, according to Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate?

Answer 19

• Non-Economic Causes:

1) “Lack of wisdom and reflection, a lack of thinking capable of formulating a guiding synthesis.”
2) Lack of human responsibility
3) Neglect of the duties of solidarity
4) Lack of deep thinking
5) Lack of brotherhood among individuals and peoples

Question 20

What are the characteristics of human rights?

Answer 20

1) Indivisible: All are important
2) Universal: Present in ALL human beings
3) Inviolable: Inherent in Human Dignity
4) Inalienable: One cannot be deprived of their rights

Question 21

What are the disadvantages of economic liberalism / free market?

Answer 21

1) It doesn’t respond to all human needs
2) Threats to the natural environment.
3) Threats to the human environment
4) Can encourage consumerism
5) It does not prevent the errors of economism (considering human labor solely according to its economic purpose) and materialism (the belief that the material reality is primary)

Question 22

According to Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae, how does the culture of death understand “nature”?

Answer 22

Nature is now reduced to matter, and is subjected to every kind of manipulation

Question 23

According to Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae, how does the culture of death understand “freedom”?

Answer 23

Freedom is the ‘freedom of the strong’ against the weak who have no choice but to submit

Question 24

According to Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae, how does the culture of death understand “suffering”?

Answer 24

Suffering is the epitome of evil and should be eliminated at all costs

Question 25

Regarding the death penalty, do governments have a right to it: for self-defense, in principle? Why or why not?

Answer 25

Yes, but only in order to protect the common good as a last means

Question 26

Regarding the death penalty, do governments have a right to it: for self-defense, in present circumstances in the U.S? Why or why not?

Answer 26

No, because in the U.S. there is always the capability to protect the society via imprisonment

Question 27

Regarding the death penalty, do governments have a right to it: for punishment, for the sake of deterrence? Why or why not?

Answer 27

No, it cannot be used for this means because there is never the option for repentence and it is not necessary for deterrence because that is the point of prison

Question 28

Regarding the death penalty, do governments have a right to it: for punishment, for the sake of retribution? Why or why not?

Answer 28

No, a government cannot use it as a sake of retribution because the evil of the crime is not undone or balanced out via the death penalty

Question 29

Regarding the death penalty, do governments have a right to it: for punishment, for the sake of reform? Why or why not?

Answer 29

No, because if they are dead then that cannot be reformed

Question 30

How is non-violence justified theologically?

Answer 30

Because we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves (turn the other cheek), and Christ himself acted non-violently as he was charged falsely and crucified

Question 31

What, in Scripture, points to the right to self-defense?

Answer 31

Matt 7:12. We must love ourselves and being temples of the Holy Spirit and made in the image of God we have the right to protect God’s temple and to value our own life

Question 32

When can the right to self-defense be renounced?

Answer 32

Martydom

Question 33

When does the right to self-defense become a duty?

Answer 33

When someone is faced with an imminent attack against the innocent

Question 34

When is killing intrinsically evil (always wrong)?

Answer 34

What it is a direct attack on an innocent life

Question 35

In just war theory, what is the purpose of jus ad bellum criteria?

Answer 35

To know when it is justifiable to go to war

Question 36

Write the names and definitions of the seven (7) jus ad bellum criteria

Answer 36

a. Just cause- war is permissible only to confront a real and certain danger
b. Legitimate Authority- war must be declared by those with responsibility for the public order.
c. Comparative Justice- Must compare the justness of your cause (your reasons for going to war) with that of your enemy (their reasons for fighting).
d. Right Intention- war can be legitimately intended only for the reasons set forth in just cause
e. Last Resort- For resort to war to be justified all peaceful alternatives must have been exhausted.
f. Reasonable Change of Success- to go to war, must have reasonable chance at success.
g. Proportionality (ad bellum)- by going to war, you will bring about more good then evil.

Question 37

In just war theory, what is the purpose of jus in bello criteria?

Answer 37

To know how to conduct the war morally

Question 38

Write the names and definitions of the two (2) jus in bello criteria

Answer 38

a. Proportionality (in bello)- how much force is used in the war.
i. -don’t use more force than is absolutely necessary.
ii. -Goal= avoid unncessary death and destruction
b. Discrimination (who gets targeted)- direct targeting of innocent civilians= intrinsically evil (always wrong)
i. -issues- who is combatant and non-combatant
ii. -combatant is direct threat
iii. -never elderly, school children, farmers, hospitals, etc…

Question 39

Which moral principle is applicable to the question of collateral damage?

Answer 39

Double effect