Polarization, Social Cohesion, and the Economy

Teresa Sullivan, Clemens Sedmak, James Heckman, Michael Hüther, and Joseph Kaboski on March 27th, 2025 at the University of Chicago. With polarization on the rise around the globe, scholars have pointed to a broader fragmentation of social cohesion. Economics, sociology, theology and philosophy offer different entry points for exploring these problems. How might we better understand this global moment? This marks the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’s social encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, which sought not only to diagnose these problems, but to also offer moral responses for all people of good will. How might principles derived from Catholic social teaching, such as solidarity, human dignity, and “the preferential option for the poor” operate within local and national economies to contribute towards a greater common good?