There’s a lot of talk about capitalism and socialism today. As we discussed in a recent blog, capitalism can be compatible with Catholicism in certain ways, although extreme capitalism leads to violations of human dignity.

What about socialism? Here we repeat the words of Pope Pius XI: “No one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist.”

Here’s what socialism is and the problem with it.

What is socialism?
The socialist system is characterized by the state owning the means of production and allocating goods and services to people based on their needs. This differs from capitalism since private entities, instead of the state, hold control in the capitalist system.

Some people say the difference between socialism and communism is that socialism is peaceful and communism relies on violence. But, there have been peaceful communists and authoritarian socialists. Violence or peace could be found in either system.

Why Catholics can’t be socialists.
Socialism contradicts important social teachings of the faith. Pope Leo XIII, Pius XI, and many other pontiffs have condemned the system.

Many Catholics are aware of the Church’s condemnation of socialism. But are there also issues with capitalism? While popes have praised many values often associated with capitalism, they have also warned against extreme forms of the system that undermine human rights.

Here are some problems with capitalism that we see in our world today.

Capitalism, like socialism, can lead to a concentration of power.
G.K. Chesterton famously remarked that, historically, the problem with capitalism is there are “too few capitalists.” As a result, power is taken from families and put in the hands of a small number in charge.

We see these problems when a few big businesses dominate certain industries. Not only is competition weakened, but these corporations end up having more political power and money and can more easily exploit their workforce.

Extreme forms of capitalism may ultimately lead to socialism.
When capitalism gets out of hand, the government has to enact regulations. That’s fine as long as these genuinely protect the legitimate rights of businesses, their workers, and their customers.

When big business continually undermines the rights of workers and the public at large, people more readily embrace extreme government intervention, as socialist and communist societies demonstrate.

There are many powerful arguments for God’s existence, such as St. Thomas Aquinas’ argument from contingency.

Then there are trickier ones, such as invoking our free will to prove that there must be a creator. This explanation can work, but it does have some pitfalls.

Here’s how to frame (and not frame) the argument from free will when you’re debating an atheist.

Don’t act like the existence of God automatically follows from the existence of free will.
For those who don’t accept God’s existence, it’s easy to account for free will by referencing natural causes through biological evolution. It’s a similar mindset to the scientist who — though witnessing the extraordinary order in creation — thinks that natural explanations suffice in lieu of a creator.

Many atheistic philosophers and scientists have written and lectured extensively on how free will could have arisen without divine guidance. Their arguments are faulty, but be wary of debating them without being able to refute these arguments.