Michael P. Krom - Justice and Charity: An Introduction to Aquinass Moral, Economic, and Political Thought

I have dedicated this book to my students because they both inspired this project and assisted me in its execution. Were it not for the opportunity to teach Thomistic Philosophy each fall, and for the kinds of discussions their interests generated, I would never have gone down this path. This book, then, is an attempt to charitably render a debt of gratitude, and I hope I have been successful in this. Many of them read earlier versions of this book; their critical feedback helped me to clarify my own thought as well as provide a clearer presentation to future readers. If my students are to be thanked for their assistance, it is only just that I take responsibility for any of this books shortcomings.

The monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey have provided me with the opportunity to teach the seminarians and collegians under their charge, and for this I thank them. In addition to their leadership roles in the college and the personal encouragement many of them have given me, their commitment to a life of prayer and work has been a witness and reminder to me of what academic life is all about. While I cannot thank them all, I should especially mention Archabbot Douglas Nowicki as chancellor of Saint Vincent College, Br. Norman Hipps as president, Fr. Rene Kollar as the dean who supported this project, Fr. Pat Cronauer as dean of Saint Vincent Seminary, and Fr. Andrew Campbell as my spiritual director. More importantly, the monks of Saint Vincent are to be thanked for reminding me that the purpose of writing is Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus (so that in all things God may be glorified).

I am blessed to work in a collegial environment, and with this in mind I should especially acknowledge the members of the philosophy department, George Leiner, Eric Mohr, Sr. Mary Veronica Sabelli, Gene Torisky, and Margaret Watkins. Sr. Mary Veronica is to be especially thanked for our many conversations over lunch on topics ranging from Thomistic metaphysics to Italian pronunciation. In addition, I should thank those who have helped me by patiently reading parts of the manuscript or at least hearing out some of the ideas: Jerome Foss, Jason Jividen, Matthew Minerd, John Martino, Stephen Little, Kody Cooper, Adam Tate, and the blind reviewers. Further thanks go to Jonathan Sanford, Monte Brown, Chris Edelman, Daniel Kempton, Steve Cortright, Graham McAleer, and Grattan Brown for inviting me to give lectures to students at their respective colleges and universities. Finally, the editorial staff at Baker Academic has been wonderful to work with; I should especially thank Dave Nelson for his support and advice along the way, and Eric Salo as well as the rest of the editorial team for helping to make this work presentable.

In all of this, I have tried to keep in mind that my primary vocation is to my family, and I thank them for letting me slip away more often than I would have liked to see this project to completion. My wife, Jessica, loves and supports me in spite of my tendency to unleash philosophical ramblings when I should be doing more important things like helping get kids to bed or putting the groceries away. My children are fortunately too unworldly to realize that it is not normal to engage in platonic dialogues while doing yardwork or playing Frisbee, and so James, Isaac, Henry, Margaret, Malcolm, and even little Evelyn have been great partners in pursuit of Wisdom.