ic
development. Methods of production may improve, hand may give place to
machine industry, and mechanical inventions may revolutionise all our
conceptions of transport and communication; but there is one element
in economic activity that remains a fixed and immutable factor
throughout the ages, and that element is man. The desires and the
conscience of man remain the same, whatever the mechanical environment
with which he is encompassed. One reason which suggests the view that
the mediaeval teaching is still perfectly applicable to economic life
is that it was designed to operate upon the only factor of economic
activity that has not changed since the Middle Ages--namely, the
desires and conscience of man.

It is important also to draw attention to the fact that the acceptance
of the economic teaching of the mediaeval theologians does not
necessarily imply acceptance of their teaching on other matters. There
is at the present day a growing body of thinking men in every country
who are full of admiration for the ethical teaching of Christianity,
but are unable or unwilling to believe in the Christian religion. The
fact of such unbelief or doubt is no reason for refusing to adopt the
Christian code of social justice, which is founded upon reason rather
than upon revelation, and which has its roots in Greek philosophy and
Roman law rather than in the Bible and the writings of the Fathers.
It has been said that Christianity is the only religion which combines
religion and ethics in one system of teaching; but although Christian
religious and ethical teaching are combined in the teaching of the
Catholic Church, they are not inseparable. Those who are willing to
discuss the adoption of the Socialist ethic, which is not combined
with any spiritual dogmas, should not refuse to consider the Christian
ethic, which might equally be adopted without subscribing to the
Christian dogma.

As we said above, it is no part of our intention to estimate the
relative merits of the solutions of our social evils proposed by
socialists and by Catholic economists. One thing, however, we feel
bound to emphasise, and that is that these two solutions are not
identical. It is a favourite device of socialists, especially in
Catholic countries, to contend that their programme is nothing more
than a restatement of the economic ideals of the Catholic Church as
exhibited in the writings of the mediaeval scholastics. We hope that
the foregoing pages a