The document ranges widely, treating some of the faults of Catholic cultures, the evil of sex trafficking, the church’s recognition of God’s unbroken covenant with the Jews and how pastors should preach. The most famous passage of it, though, is an attack on “trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.” He continues: “This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

This is a caricature, as many advocates of free markets have pointed out (and even allowing for some issues that have been raised about how these words were translated from Spanish). Consider, for a moment, the view of someone who believes that the U.S. has a crying need for lower marginal tax rates on the highest earners, the better to motivate them to work, save and invest, which will benefit the poor by helping the economy expand. That’s not my view. But it also isn’t a view that rests on trust in the goodness of rich people. It rests on the expectation that their self-interest can yield unintended benefits for others.