Church and Its Problems with Liberalism and Capitalism

The article deals with the problem of relationships between those modes. It briefly outlines the historical development of the relationship of papal social teaching and Christian thought to capitalism and liberalism. This relationship is predominantly negative. On the other hand, the article discusses the permanent influence of socialism and Marxism on theology and social thought. The next step is an attempt to clarify the conceptual misunderstanding of the terms liberalism and capitalism. The neoconservative Michael Novak outlines the "Whig tradition" of catholic thinkers - not seeing the contradiction between the catholic concept of moral life and capitalism supported by the ideology of classical liberalism. Pope John Paul II, based on his social encyclicals, is one of those thinkers.

Keywords: Liberalism; Neoconservatism; Socialism; Capitalism; Christian social thought; Whiggery