Many persons set up a business with the view of making profit, to eke out a living for themselves, and to make their lives more comfortable. There are usually a number of triggers that set off persons into setting up their own business.

One reason is the loss of a job. For some persons it is the realisation that if they do this on their own they can make more money for themselves and often without undergoing the stress of having a boss or poor salary and working conditions. And there are those, who must do what they like to do, and working for someone is not an option, at least not for long. 

None of these reasons take into consideration the entire community or the common good of the society. However the social doctrine of the Church tells us, “businesses should be characterised by their capacity to serve the common good of society through the production of useful goods and services.

In seeking to produce goods and services according to plans aimed at efficiency and at satisfying the interests of the different parties involved, businesses create wealth for all of society, not just for the owners but also for the other subjects involved in their activity.”

The businesses we invest in must produce useful goods for the society.  This is really something worth thinking seriously about. Our business ideas must seek to improve the human condition. If we assess some business initiatives, we may find that their products do not necessarily do so and may in fact contribute to a decline in the human condition.

This however can be a separate discussion. The important point is that while businesses seek to make a profit for the investors/owners, it must do so at the expense of others and/or the society, they must create at the very least an opportunity for a better life for those involved in the business venture. 

The Church even takes the role of businesses further by stating: “businesses also perform a social function, creating opportunities for meeting, cooperating and the enhancement the abilities of the people involved. In a business undertaking, therefore, the economic dimension is the condition for attaining not only economic goals, but also social and moral goals, which are all pursued together.”

“A business’ objective must be met in economic terms and according to economic criteria, but the authentic values that bring about the concrete development of the person and society must not be neglected. In this personalistic and community vision, a business cannot be considered only economic goals, but also a ‘society of persons’ in which people participate in different ways and with specific responsibilities, whether they supply the necessary capital for the company’s activities or take part in such activities through their labour.”

All those involved in a business venture must be mindful that the community with which they work represents a good for everyone and not a structure that permits the satisfaction of someone’s merely personal interests.

This awareness alone makes it possible to build an economy that is truly at the service of humankind and to create programmes of real cooperation among the different partners in labour.

“A very important and significant example in this regard is found in the activity of so-called cooperative enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, commercial undertakings featuring hand-made products and family-sized agricultural ventures. The Church’s social doctrine has emphasised the contribution that such activities make to enhance the value of work, to the growth of a sense of personal and social responsibility, a democratic life and the human values that are important for the progress of the market and of society.”

In the next article we look at how the Church views the manner in which firms make a profit. 

Interested in purchasing the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church? Please contact the Catholic Commission for Social Justice, Archbishop’s House – 622-6680.