I was directed, a while back, to an article that discussed Pope Benedict's views on economics. It touched on Catholic social teaching, and was interesting to read. What struck me, though, was a commenter's rather uninformed quip that equated Adam Smith with modern capitalism. This quip can be forgiven, though, because most school textbooks call Smith the father of capitalism, and summarize his famous Wealth of Nations as basically calling for capitalism.
As I was reading this, a thought came to my mind: how does the Catholic social teaching compare with the writing of Adam Smith? I decided to undertake a rather daunting task: read Wealth of Nations and compare it with Magesterial writings based on and including Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum.
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