Catholic social teaching has a vision of the economy that is very closely aligned with the tradition of civil humanism, dating at least from the Italian Renaissance. In the course of contemporary discussion of economic concerns, Catholic social teaching often asserts human rights in and related to the economic sphere. However, it regards these economic imperatives not in terms of an autonomous, rights-bearing individualism, but rather within the thick web of relationships characterized by civil virtues, including reciprocity and gratuitousness.

Thus the Church conceptualizes the economy as part of a larger social ambit that includes fundamental social virtues. This vision leads to alternative prescriptions when rights are violated.