Pope Leo XIV - An Open Letter on Healing Capitalism
- Paul Knowlton
- 58 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Image Credit: Catholic Agency for Overseas Development
His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City, Europe
Re: Connecting Rerum Novarum and Laudato Si’ to You Helping Heal Capitalism
Most Holy Father:
Congratulations on your recent promotion! We join brethren across the globe in praying for your every success.
How pleased we are to understand that economic justice is high on your papal agenda.
Your namesake Pope Leo XIII insightfully introduced the pressing economic issues of his day by noting, “. . . actually there is no question which has taken deeper hold on the public mind” (Rerum Novarum §1). This remains the case this very day.
Your predecessor Pope Francis brilliantly observed, “The principle of the maximization of profits, frequently isolated from other considerations, reflects a misunderstanding of the very concept of the economy” (Laudato Si’ §197). Especially given the newly disordered political and economic landscape you have since inherited, this is even more so the case this very day.
With what hard economic questions do you wrestle and seek to address? Perhaps, “Why can’t our economic systems benefit primarily the common good?” Or, “What do we do to engineer better economic systems?” Maybe even, audaciously, “How do we redeem and heal capitalism?!” We too wonder, what might "on Earth as it is in Heaven" look like economically?
We conclude, as we suspect you do as well, that because capitalism is simply a human construct – an engineered system – of course it can be redeemed and healed to reflect God's love for all of Creation. But how? What are the practical steps? And how might you use your crucial new position of moral leadership to affect that redeeming and healing?
We respectfully answer with the following framework for your speedy application:
Remind us that capitalism is simply a system created by humans. It is not a law of nature or God, or man for that matter. Like any system, capitalism is engineered according to an ethic and we simply live with the ethic that we choose.
Remind us that most current forms of capitalism, particularly American style, are driven primarily by the ethic of “maximize profit.” This ethic was merely Milton Friedman’s opinion, but an ultimately damaging opinion that has been eroding humanity since the early 1970s. No blame but now it's time to re-engineer a better capitalism with a better ethic.
Teach and lead us in understanding capitalism can be redeemed and healed (re-engineered), for the benefit of all humanity, by replacing the ethic of maximize profit with the ethic of optimize profit. Optimize profit is itself composed of the principles of enough and mutuality, which are soundly supported, theologically and economically, in profitable companies around the world.
With respect for your time we kept this letter of encouragement as brief as possible. We invite you and your staff to explore the website BetterCapitalism.org for support of this framework, our underlying research and writing, and proof of concept.
How quickly might you be able to lead the Church to act on this framework and leverage your moral leadership to redeem and heal capitalism? How quickly might we see economics on Earth as it is in Heaven? Immediately, we pray, and we stand ready to further assist in all the ways possible. Godspeed!
Respectfully and prayerfully,
Paul Knowlton, JD, MDiv
Aaron Hedges, MBA, MDiv
Not sure? Let's schedule a call and talk.
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"This book merits close, sustained attention as a compelling move beyond both careless thinking and easy ideology."—Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
"Better Capitalism is a sincere search for a better world."—Cato Institute
