Folia Theologica 11. (2000)
Eugene Csocsan de Váralja: The Just Income Distribution
118 E. CSOCSAN de Váralja the land owner himself cultivates the land, he has to sell the produce of the land on the markets. In capitalistic system wages develop on the labour market and the independent producer similarly has to produce for the market, just as the real value of his income will depend on the price formations. The gains of the enterprises are defined by the price differences between the means of production and the selling prices, therefore the gains also stem from the price differentials between the two (or more) markets in question. Monopolies might influence prices, but in such a case the monopoly will constitute the supply or the demand (in the case of monopsony) and therefore this does not changes the fact, that even in such cases the market defines the income. It has been pointed out by Oswald von Nell-Bre- uning, that a monopoly could overcome the laws of economics only in the sense in which an aeroplane could overcome the laws of aerodynam99 ics, which however could not be neglected by any aircraft. If the prices are officially fixed, the parties remain free to abstain or participate in the transaction at such fixed prices and the realised income will depend on this. In any case the officially fixed prices easily develop black markets, which also produces black incomes. The introduction of social security system naturally modifies the income distribution, but it must be realised, that the real value of the incomes after the income redistribution will still depend on the price formation in the markets. * * * 2. Teleological value system. We exchange quite different things on the market, which are not even in equivocation, and the appearance of money on the market only increases the number of species dealt with on there. The exchange justice however prescribes mathematical equality between the exchanged goods or services, therefore the question is: how could the different goods of different types obtain equality or parity? The Genesis explains, that God made the goods of the earth for the use of men.24 According to the analysis of Saint Thomas Aquinas the 22 23 22 NELL-BREUNING S. J„ Oswald von, und Hermann SACHER, Zur Wirtschaftsordnung, (Wörterbuch der Politik Volume IV,) Freiburg im Breisgau 1953, page 20. 23 IIa IIae qu 61 a.2,
