The True Meaning of ‘Social Justice’: A Catholic View of Hayek |
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| Authors: | Martin Rhonheimer |
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| Affiliation: | Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, RomeAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the Towards a Free and Virtuous Society Conference, Seebenstein, Austria, 11–14 September 2014. |
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| Abstract: | Hayek's well‐known dismissal of the concept of ‘social justice’ is examined and questioned. While basically agreeing with Hayek's critique, the author argues that we should not entirely reject this concept, although it is often used in a vague and emotional way – ‘social justice talk’. Drawing on the tradition of classical liberalism and Catholic social teaching, he makes the case for the true meaning of social justice, which applies to the basic legal and institutional framework of a society rather than the distributional outcomes of market processes. |
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| Keywords: | B53 K40 Z12 capitalism Catholic social doctrine F A Hayek market outcomes redistribution social justice |
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