New forms of solidarity in the light of John Paul II teachings

After specifying the sense in which it is necessary to talk of new forms of solidarity, the essay focuses on the fundamental contribution of Pope John Paul II to the updating and expansion of the reach of Catholic Social Teaching. Particular attention is then devoted to explicating the notion of humanistic management, whose main target is to overcome the shareholder value myth: profit maximisation is not the only purpose a corporation should aim at. The paper then proceeds to define the category of Common Good and to show the proper relation between it and the principle of solidarity. The final section deals with some of the most urgent changes that need to be implemented in the institutional set-up of present-day market economies if one wants to arrive at an economy that is inclusive and not excluding, humane and not dehumanising, caring for the environment and not despoiling it.