Today we focus on Part 1, Chapter 4, III (The Universal Destination of Goods) of the Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church.

a) Origin and meaning

“Among the numerous implications of the common good, immediate significance is taken on by the principle of the universal destination of goods. ‘God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity' ( Gaudium et Spes ).

“This principle is based on the fact that ‘the original source of all that is good is the very act of God, who created both the earth and man, and who gave the earth to man so that he might have dominion over it by his work and enjoy its fruits (Gen 1:28-29).

God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favouring anyone. This is the foundation of the universal destination of the earth's goods. The earth, by reason of its fruitfulness and its capacity to satisfy human needs, is God's first gift for the sustenance of human life' ( Centesimus Annus ).

“The human person cannot do without the material goods that correspond to his primary needs and constitute the basic conditions for his existence; these goods are absolutely indispensable if he is to feed himself, grow, communicate, associate with others, and attain the highest purposes to which he is called (Pope Pius XII).

“The universal right to use the goods of the earth is based on the principle of the universal destination of goods. Each person must have access to the level of well-being necessary for his full development.

The right to the common use of goods is the ‘first principle of the whole ethical and social order' ( Laborem Exercens ) and ‘the characteristic principle of Christian social doctrine' ( Sollicitudo Rei Socialis ).

“For this reason the Church feels bound in duty to specify the nature and characteristics of this principle. It is first of all a natural right, inscribed in human nature and not merely a positive right connected with changing historical circumstances; moreover it is an ‘inherent' (Pope Pius XII) right.

“It is innate in individual persons, in every person, and has priority with regard to any human intervention concerning goods, to any legal system concerning the same, to any economic or social system or method: ‘All other rights, whatever they are, including property rights and the right of free trade must be subordinated to this norm (the universal destination of goods) they must not hinder it, but must rather expedite its application.

It must be considered a serious and urgent social obligation to refer these rights to their original purpose' (Populorum Progressio ).

“Putting the principal of the universal destination of goods into concrete practice, according to the different cultural and social contexts, means that methods, limits and objects must be precisely defined. Universal destination and utilisation of goods do not mean that everything is at the disposal of each person or of all people, or that the same object may be useful or belong to each person or all people.

“If it is true that everyone is born with the right to use the goods of the earth, it is likewise true that in order to ensure that this right is exercised in an equitable and orderly fashion, regulated interventions are necessary, interventions that are the result of national and international agreements, and a juridical order that adjudicates and specifies the exercise of this right.

“The principle of the universal destination of goods is an invitation to develop an economic vision inspired by moral values that permit people not to lose sight of the origin or purpose of these goods, so as to bring about a world of fairness and solidarity, in which the creation of wealth can take on a positive function.

“Wealth, in effect, presents this possibility in the many forms in which it can find expression as a result of a process of production that works with the available technological and economic resources, both natural and derived.

This result is guided by resourcefulness, planning and labour, and used as a means for promoting the well-being of all men and all peoples and for preventing their exclusion and exploitation.

“The universal destination of goods requires a common effort to obtain for every person and for all peoples the conditions necessary for integral development, so that everyone can contribute to making a more humane world, ‘in which each individual can give and receive, and in which the progress of some will no longer be an obstacle to the development of others, nor a pretext for their enslavement' ( Libertatis Conscientia ).

“This principle corresponds to the call made unceasingly by the Gospel to people and societies of all times, tempted as they always are by the desire to possess, temptations which the Lord Jesus chose to undergo (Mk 1:12-13; Mt 4:1-11; Lk 4:1-13) in order to teach us how to overcome them with his grace.”