Whats the catholic teaching on wealth?

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Ragadash

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Do we have a right to it? Is it ordered to a proper end? What’s the social teaching of the Church on it
 
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Wealth is the tool, it is capital that enters into the Cobb-Douglas production function which determines the quantity of created goods and services. R&D investments are the noblest ones because they drive world forward. E.g. Google DeepMind, Musk OpenAI, Czech GoodAI are companies that invest heavily in research and creation of Artificial General Intelligence, the software and robots that are automating jobs, eradicating human an animal exploitation. These technologies are also the precondition of eradicating poverty and hunger forever assuming that citizens choose the appropriate social and political structures for taxation an redistribution.

I have no references to Teaching, but this is my view on wealth and capital and it is my sense that this is in accordance with Catholic Teaching. I am thinking like benevolent and creative businessman.
 
Ragadash said:
Do we have a right to it? Is it ordered to a proper end? What’s the social teaching of the Church on it
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Gaudium et spes
29. Since all men possess a rational soul and are created in God’s likeness, since they have the same nature and origin, have been redeemed by Christ and enjoy the same divine calling and destiny, the basic equality of all must receive increasingly greater recognition.

True, all men are not alike from the point of view of varying physical power and the diversity of intellectual and moral resources. Nevertheless, with respect to the fundamental rights of the person, every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent. For in truth it must still be regretted that fundamental personal rights are still not being universally honored. Such is the case of a woman who is denied the right to choose a husband freely, to embrace a state of life or to acquire an education or cultural benefits equal to those recognized for men.

Therefore, although rightful differences exist between men, the equal dignity of persons demands that a more humane and just condition of life be brought about. For excessive economic and social differences between the members of the one human family or population groups cause scandal, and militate against social justice, equity, the dignity of the human person, as well as social and international peace.

Human institutions, both private and public, must labor to minister to the dignity and purpose of man. At the same time let them put up a stubborn fight against any kind of slavery, whether social or political, and safeguard the basic rights of man under every political system. Indeed human institutions themselves must be accommodated by degrees to the highest of all realities, spiritual ones, even though meanwhile, a long enough time will be required before they arrive at the desired goal.
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Another example of good investments is all medical research of anti-aging, rejuvenation and elimination the deaths caused by age. Methuselah fund, Leafscience, SENS Reasearch foundations are examples. Aging is the cause of the secind greatest sufferings (directly beyond exploitative jobs) that is why investments of eradication of aging are so noble.
 
Big things require big investments, that is why accumulation is necessary. I prefer accumulation from many small investors e.g. shares and etfs, and not through dedicated “capitalists”. E.g. Microsoft invested in OpenAI AGI 1B$, the amount that whole EU invests in whole AI. But there are problems with small investors - they may think as crowd, as rude crowd. That is why visionaries are required. Not all the people are ready to invest in Third Wave AI/AGI or rejuvenation medicine, like telomeres.
 
I think the Church’s teaching on wealth can be summed up succinctly by one of Dorothy Day’s favorite quotes, “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” “Give till it hurts” is another saying that comes to mind.
 
We can donate money directly to the needy (e.g to educational, skills building programs) or we can invest capital in value creation and then donate the income, proceeds from our stock. This should be Catholic as well - according to each ones calling.
 
I know that I too easily tell myself that I’ve done enough, or all I can when it comes to helping the poor. I know that the Church is not asking me to shirk my familial responsibilities or to make myself a burden on society by giving to the point of becoming destitute myself. What the Church teaching on wealth does do is keep me from becoming complacent or thinking that the plight of the poor and suffering is someone else’s problem. It is our responsibility, collectively, and it is my responsibility, individually.
 
Wealth can be tricky because we too often point to the other guy, whether it’s a claim they don’t give their share, or saying their poverty is a result of poor decisions in life. While both may be true of some people, we shouldn’t be the judge. We need to look at our own situation and how we contribute to society. Charity is wonderful, but so is creating a business that allows others to earn a wage to support themselves and any dependents.
 
Convert3 said:
Charity is wonderful, but so is creating a business that allows others to earn a wage to support themselves and any dependents.
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I had a priest tell a story about a businessman who was talking with Mother Teresa of Calcutta and asked her what he could do to help her. She said to create some jobs so that people could have an income and so they could have some dignity that comes from work. So that is what he did.

Pax
 
You simply don’t want to be like the rich man who was offered a chance to follow Jesus and turned it down because he was to attached to his materialism and he knew he couldn’t and went away weeping . It can own you.
 
We are not supposed to retain “superfluous” wealth. What is superfluous will vary from person to person. St. Robert Bellarmine in “The Art of Dying Well” (dying well meaning dying in the state of grace) notes “It may happen that to some men moderate riches may be superfluous; whilst to others great riches may be absolutely essential” so we need to make sure we really examine our consciences.

He then quotes the Fathers:
The passages from the Fathers are chiefly these: St. Basil, in his Sermon to the Rich, thus speaks: “And thou, art thou not a robber, because what thou hast received to be given away, thou supposest to be thy own?” And a little farther he continues: “Wherefore, as much as thou art able to give, so much dost thou injure the poor.” And St. Ambrose, in his 81st Sermon, says: “What injustice do I commit, if, whilst I do not steal the goods of others, I keep diligently what is my own? impudent word! Dost thou say thy own? What is this? It is no less a crime to steal than it is not to give to the poor out of thy abundance.” St. Jerome thus writes in his Epistle to Hedibias: “If you possess more than is necessary for your subsistence, give it away, and thus you will be a creditor.” St. John Chrysostom says in his 34th Homily to the people of Antioch: “Do you possess anything of your own? The interest of the poor is entrusted to you, whether the estate is yours by your own just labours, or you have acquired it by inheritance.” St. Augustine, in his Tract on the 147th Psalm: “Our superfluous wealth belongs to the poor; when it is not given to them, we possess what we have no right to retain.” St. Leo thus speaks: “Temporal goods are given to us by the liberality of God, and He will demand an account of them, for they were committed to us for disposal as well as possession.”

And St. Gregory, in the third part of his Pastoral Care: “Those are to be admonished, who, whilst they desire not the goods of others, do not distribute their own; that so they may carefully remember, that as the common origin of all men is from the earth, so also its produce is common to them all: in vain, then, they think themselves innocent, who appropriate to themselves the common gifts of God.” St. Bernard, in his Epistle to Henry, archbishop of Sens, saith: “It is ours, for the poor cry out for what you squander; you cruelly take away from us what you spend foolishly.” St. Thomas also writes: “The superfluous riches which many possess, by the natural law belong to the support of the poor”; and again: “The Lord requires us to give to the poor not only the tenth part, but all of our superfluous wealth.” In fine, the same author, in the fourth book of his “Sentences,” asserts that this is the common opinion of all theologians. I add also, that if one be inclined to contend that, taking the strict letter of the law, he is not bound to give his superfluous riches to the poor; he is obliged to do so, at least by the law of charity. It matters little whether we are condemned to hell through want of justice or of charity.
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All money flows back to others. It’s only a question of when. It might take a generation or two, but everything one has will ultimately go to others.
 
Gaining wealth is the problem; it’s what one does with that wealth that can be the issue. Like some have said, creating jobs with sustainable incomes is one way the wealthy can do their part, among others.
 
In today’s world the definitions of wealth, poor, superfluous and such varies widely by ones own situation and view. A poor person in the US may be considered wealthy in rural Honduras. Wealth can be defined by investments, real estate holdings, or a high income job. All three may not go together. If a person owns a business worth a billion dollars but it’s all tied up in capital to run the business, is it superfluous wealth? If a person has saved a few million dollars to live on when they retire, and to help their kids on life, is that money superfluous and should be given away? If money were given to a poor family that did not know how to manage an influx of funds, would they be able to use it without wasting it on material goods they don’t need.
It’s a complex problem without any easy answers. The best answer is a quality education in my opinion. If we can educate all people, we will raise more people out of poverty than we could by simply spreading money around.
 
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