For an Economy Capable of Gratuitousness

A re-reading of the market in the light of "Caritas in Veritate"

Abstract

The article proposes a reinterpretation of the market in the light of Caritas in Veritate, challenging the traditional separation between economic activity and the logic of gift. Gratuitousness, reciprocity and fraternity are not external ethical correctives to the market but essential dimensions of an authentically human economy oriented to the common good. Drawing on the perspective of the civil economy tradition, the article shows how the encyclical provides innovative criteria for rethinking enterprise, market exchange and economic development, thereby overcoming the opposition between economic efficiency and solidarity.