Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 445.

YOUCAT Question n. 445 - What is meant by the principle “labor before capital”?

(Youcat answer) The Church has always taught “the principle of the priority of labor over capital” (Pope John Paul II, LE). Man owns money or capital as a thing. Labor, in contrast, is inseparable from the person who performs it. That is why the basic needs of laborers have priority over the interests of capital.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2438) Various causes of a religious, political, economic, and financial nature today give "the social question a worldwide dimension" (SRS 9). There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent. It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the "perverse mechanisms" that impede the development of the less advanced countries (Cf. SRS 17; 45). In place of abusive if not usurious financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development, "redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values" (CA 28; Cf. 35).      

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) The owners of capital and investors have legitimate interests, too, which must be protected. It is a serious injustice, however, when entrepreneurs and investors try to increase their own profits at the expense of the basic rights of their laborers and employees.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2436) It is unjust not to pay the social security contributions required by legitimate authority. Unemployment almost always wounds its victim's dignity and threatens the equilibrium of his life. Besides the harm done to him personally, it entails many risks for his family (Cf. LE 18).

(The next question is: What does the Church say about globalization?)