An Apologetical Explanation of the

Universal Destination of Goods

What is the “universal destination of goods”?

God blessed [Adam and Eve], and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it’ and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.  and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”  and it was so.  (Gn 1:28-30)

The company of those who believed were of the one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.  (Acts 4:32)

The universal destination of goods refers to the Church teaching that the earth, its resources, and the fruit of human labor is meant to provide for individual needs of all people as well as for the common good.

God created the earth and gave humanity dominion over all its creatures and resources (cf. Gn 1:28-30).  This delegation was not intended as a form of domination but rather of stewardship so the earth would continue to serve the needs of men and women through all generations.  The earth, its resources, and that which human work produces from the earth is meant to provide for individual needs and for the common good, as the inherent dignity of all human persons requires that their fundamental needs for such values as food, shelter, and clothing are met.  This proper purpose for the earth’s resources is referred to as the universal destination of goods.  (Cf. CCC 2401-2402)

Although the moral law recognizes the right to private ownership of goods, the universal destination of goods (that is, the demand of the common good) takes precedence.  “In using [earthly goods], therefore, man should regard the external things that he legitimately possesses not only as his own but also as common in the sense that they should be able to benefit not only him but also others”  (GS 69).  These two positive moral principles find their balance and proper order when all human persons regard their own private property as destined to benefit not only themselves and their family but also all others.  All of creation ultimately belongs to God, and so our ownership is provisional; like Adam and Eve, we also are called to act as good stewards of the goods and resource we possess so that we might promote the good of all by their use.  (Cf. CCC 2403-2405)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 2404.

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