The practical wisdom of the Catholic social teachings

Abstract

International audience<B>Purpose</B> - This paper aims to focus on business education, which should not exclude strains of religious ethical traditions, e.g. Catholic social thought, and the practical wisdom embodied in them. <B>Design/methodology/approach</B> - Recent traditions of social Catholicism starting from the Papal Social Message Rerum Novarum (1891) are summarized. Consequences for management development are drawn. <B>Findings</B> - The recent tradition of social Catholicism developed as a result of a broad cultural process of adaptation of Christians to the emerging social context of a modern society. New types of ethical orientation have been developed, sometimes in strong opposition to contemporary ideological concepts such as socialism, materialism, or elitist capitalism. Even in the globalized environment of the twenty-first century these orientations are of continuing relevance, e.g. in organizational behavior, in business and society relations, and in basic concepts of corporate responsibility. <B>Practical implications</B> - Religious ethical traditions embody elements of "practical wisdom" that are threatened by extinction in the global practice of management development. The current financial and economic crisis - also addressed in a recent document of Pope Benedict XVI - should also be perceived in that perspective. <B>Originality/value</B> - A business ethics evaluation of Social Catholicism and its practical wisdom is executed

Thomas Aquinas on Justice as a Global Virtue in Business

“…By their very example such organizations can exert a beneficial influence on conventional business: making visible markets of unmet needs, highlighting alternative (more socially sustainable) business models, and underscoring overall the heuristic benefits of a human-centered hermeneutics of economic behavior. Yet their primary value lies in the fact that in subsidiary forms they are expressive of the essentially human quest for solidarity and aim to realize social justice in and through business (Cornuel, Habisch, and Kletz 2010).…”

Traditions: Radical or Peace-Building

“…A study conducted by Eric et al about Catholic social teaching uses practical wisdom. They found that in business education, the ethical-religious traditions practically making it happen should not be excluded [7].…”

Spiritual capital

“…Compared to Weber (2001), Smith (1759) offers a deeper understanding of human morality as systems of approbation where the sentiment upon which justice or approval is founded is most important. Further, Cornuel et al (2010) assert personalism is intimately linked to practical wisdom and Malloch's (2010) definition of spiritual capital recognises humans as moral and spiritual beings. In this respect, an Islamic perspective of personal virtues exists (Azami, 2005a, Al-Bukhari, No.…”