Unveiling the Economic Potential of Universal Destination of Goods

Abstract

When Pope Francis sharply criticized the dominant economic model, he opened a wide public debate on justice, sustainability, and human dignity. This debate, though now more moderate, can help us recognize the narrative capital, as described by Luigino Bruni, that the Church offers to enrich economic thought. This narrative is the principle of the universal destination of goods, one of the key foundations of Catholic social teaching. This principle highlights that the legitimate right to private ownership is not absolute but always oriented toward the common good. Within this transcendent framework, ownership, private or collective, finds its true meaning and purpose in service to all. In recent decades, the economy itself has been seeking new, more just and sustainable structures. Among them, impact entrepreneurship and steward ownership can be understood, through the theology of the signs of the times, as concrete applications of the principle of the universal destination of goods. This article therefore outlines Pope Francis’s critique of contemporary capitalism, traces the continuity of Catholic social teaching, and explores how these emerging economic models embody its ethical insights. The purpose of the economy, ultimately, is not the accumulation of wealth but the fair and life-giving circulation of capital, goods, and services in the service of the common good.