The assessment of capitalism in works of young Catholic intellectuals in Lithuania between two wars

Abstract

The article deals with the standpoint of the young generation Catholic intellectuals in Lithuania between two World Wars on capitalism as well as on the concequences of its functioning and influence upon a human spirit and possibilities of self-expression of an individual. Catholic intelectuals of young generation truly noticed and identified real economic processes of capitalism of that period, but they assessed the said processes basing themselves not on economic categories but on the moral norms. They concentrated their attention on its negative social consequences, tried to disclose their influence upon a human spirit and self-expression of an individual. Young Catholic intelectuals recognized that the principal law of capitalism – striving for profit and accumulation of it – inevitably provokes a social stress between employers (owners) and employees. It was thought that the said stress may be overcome in the only way: employers and emploees should voluntarily and consciously restrict their egoism and strive not for confrontation but for co-operation (partnership). A possibility of co-operation is attested by the circumstance that a “capitalistic spirit” is hidden in each human and it encourages
the human to act and strive for the benefit, taking care of him- / herself. It is important to form the conditions for realization of this aim in practical activities to everybody, interpreting an individual not as a measure for pursuing a fixed object but as a close person who needs not only a verbal compassion, but also a concrete assistance.