In this CIS Occasional Paper, Robert Sirico defends the institutions of the free and open society from a Christian standpoint. He argues that a rigorous concern for the life, liberty and dignity of the human person leads to the flourishing of the institutions of free exchange, free association, enterprise private property, the price system and profits, voluntary charity and welfare provision, and a limited role for the state. ‘Along with the dignity that He gives to every person, God also gives a rightful expectation that their liberties will be respected and that justice will be pursued on their behalf, so that they may work for their own personal and familial fulfilment as a means for achieving the common good.’