Folia Theologica 11. (2000)

Eugene Csocsan de Váralja: The Just Income Distribution

THE JUST INCOME DISTRIBUTION

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abilities and power the individuals differ from each other. Thirdly the power derives from the topography of the relationships among social aims as well as from the topography in the hierarchy of human provisions.

As the result of the diversity of the individuals, they obtain different incomes, and we may represent this on a statistical pyramid. The steepness as well as the curvature of this pyramid's sides shows the unevenness of the income distribution, which might differ within the same system of law, and therefore it belongs to its existential, and not to its essential components, and in fact it corresponds to the economic power.

According to the Divini Redemptoris the economic power could be used to the infringement of the workers' lawful wages and their social rights.14 Economic power could be changed by nationalisation or by static or dynamic property reforms depending on the systems of law. Dynamic property reform means such an income policy, which allows the propertyless to save and acquire property.

Land reforms might be mentioned among the static property reforms. Land reforms are not new phenomena in the history of the mankind, as there were land reforms in South-East Asia under the influence of Buddhism since the VIth century A.D.15 and in China under the Sung dynasty (A.D. 961-1280)16 and the jubilees of the Jews17 18 could be also classified as a kind of land reform. It has been pointed out by Count Paul Teleki, that a landreform must not create too small farms, which are not

i o

viable economically.

14 “Nonne deplorandum est, ius mancipii ab Ecclesia sancitum idcirco usurpatum esse, ut opifices mercede sua suoque sociali iure defraudarentur.” Divini Redemptoris, AAS 1937, (a. XXIX) page 92.

15 Imaoka DZSUICSIRO, Új Nippon, Budapest 1929, page 28

16 Új Idők Lexikona, Budapest 1939, Volume 15, page 3831

17 Lev 258-16, cf.:Num 364

18 “A földreformok hatása kétségtelenül az, hogy az emberek eladnak földet, mások vesznek és természetszerűen kialakulnak a létminimumok, amelyeket a zöldasztalnál rosszul állapítanak meg. Ilyen rossz megállapítás például a 4- 5-6 hold. Ez a legszerencsétlenebb csoport, melyet teremteni lehet, pedig nagyjából és általában mindenfelé ezt a csoportot teremtették meg a földreformok. Ezt a német úgy mondja, hogy “zu weing zum Leben, zu viel zum Sterben”. Ennek az embernek annyi földje van, hogy a magáéval is foglalkoznia kell, de ebből megélnie nem lehet.

(The effect of the landreforms is that some people will sell land, while others will buy from it, and naturally they will develop a badly established mini