Putting faith in economics

Putting faith in economics to help the poor:

The free enterprise system is the greatest generator of human well-being for all classes in society, Sirico says. Yet, when comparing wealth creation by entrepreneurs to the welfare state, the "moral high ground" is occupied entirely by "defenders of welfare redistribution" on the questionable "premise that Christian charity and coercive wealth transfers are morally identical," he writes in "The Moral Basis for Economic Liberty."

As a priest, Sirico has met many entrepreneurs "who are disenfranchised and alienated from their churches," with often little understanding by church leaders of the "vocation called entrepreneurship, of what it requires in the way of personal sacrifice, and of what it contributes to society."

This lack of understanding, he believes, is due to the collection basket economic model which "tends to foster a view of the economic world as a pie that needs to be divided." The entrepreneur, instead, engages in producing wealth, not redistributing it.

"Entrepreneurs create jobs, reduce human suffering, discover and apply new cures, bring food to those without, and help dreams become realities," he says.

In contrast, "the welfare state is too often thought of in morally favorable terms, but its social consequences, however well-intended, can be largely damaging."