By: Mark A. Sargent
Mark Sargent focuses the lens of “Catholic jurisprudence” on a
topic less obviously connected to Catholicism: law and economics.
Sargent joins issue with Stephen Bainbridge, a noted Catholic law
and economics scholar, who has argued that law and economics
“possesses a deep affinity, or at least consistency with the
Catholic world view.” In contrast to Bainbridge, Sargent argues
that the value-neutrality at the core of law and economics limits
its prescriptive worth. Sargent proposes an alternative
Catholic-inspired vision of the law that focuses less on maximizing
individual choice and more on the relational virtues that can build
the common good and provide a richer conception of “happiness.”