Economic Morals

Protestants, Catholics and Jews united last week to assert the place of God's moral law in Caesar's world. In a "Declaration on Economic Justice," 122 religious men--clerics and laymen--agreed on common moral sanctions of their varied faiths. Their declaration was not calculated to please men accustomed to keeping God and Caesar well apart. Excerpts: P: "The material resources of life are entrusted to man by God for the benefit of all. . . . It follows, therefore, that the right to private property is limited by moral obligations and is subject to social restrictions for the common good. Certain types of property, because of their importance to the community, ought properly to be under state or other forms of public ownership. . . . P: "The moral purpose of economic life is social justice. . . . The purposes of economic life, therefore, are: 1) To develop natural resources and human skills for the benefit of mankind. 2) To distribute God's gifts equitably. 3) To provide useful employment for everyone according to his abilities and needs under conditions that are in accord with his human dignity as a child of God. 4) To develop human personality through cooperation with others in work and ownership. P: "The profit motive must be subordinated to the moral law. . . . "The common good necessitates the organization of men into free associations of their own choosing. . . . P: "Organized cooperation of the functional econonic groups among themselves and with the Government must be substituted for the rule of competition. . . . P: "It is the duty of the state to intervene in economic life whenever necessary to protect the rights of individuals and groups and to aid in the advancement of the general economic welfare. . . . P: "International economic life is likewise subject to the moral law. . . ."

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