Pope Leo XIV Cuts Off the Invisible Hand |
Pope Leo XIV Cuts Off the Invisible Hand
John L. Smith | June 7, 2026
Pope Leo XIV, in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, compressed here from Paragraphs 163-168, asserts that:
“More than ever, in the age of AI and robotics, it is no longer possible to rely solely on the ‘invisible hand’ of the market. Politics has the task of orientating economies and technologies to the common good ... to ensure equity: taxation, social protection and industrial policies must correct the imbalances created by the concentration of wealth and power” (emphasis mine).
“More than ever, in the age of AI and robotics, it is no longer possible to rely solely on the ‘invisible hand’ of the market. Politics has the task of orientating economies and technologies to the common good ... to ensure equity: taxation, social protection and industrial policies must correct the imbalances created by the concentration of wealth and power” (emphasis mine).
Can the Pope reasonably hope to achieve these aims by relegating Adam Smith’s invisible hand illustration to the dust bin of history?
Pope Francis, Pope Leo’s predecessor, was also skeptical of Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" concept in his Apostolic Letter Evangelii Gaudium, despite ample real-world examples that the freer the economy, the less hunger versus less free economies where government edicts allocate goods instead of widespread competition.
“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
asked the Apostle James (Chapter 2, 15-16).
Should it be, however, by government command, which takes away from people the choice about a voluntary action of mercy and charity? In Matthew Chapter 19:21, Matthew writes:
“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you........