From the Introduction: Political problems have come to be the most fateful social problems. Three decades ago it seemed that economic problems were primary and Christian writers about society were generally preoccupied with them. Even then economic problems led to questions concerning the role of the state in economic life, which remains one of the most urgent of the political problems. Today, while there is not doubt about the significance of the interaction between economics and politics on many levels, it seems that the greater threats to man come from the conflict of political ideologies, from political instability within various countries and regions, and from the danger of nuclear war. There are issues of economic justice and well-being involved in all of these threats, but we can no longer assume that all political ideas and forces and decisions are merely reflections of what happens in economic life.