The encyclical is concerned with the problems of global development and progress towards the common good, arguing that both Love and Truth are essential elements of an effective response.

The economic themes include an attack on free-market fundamentalism, though a simplistic polarization of the free market model versus interventionist big government solutions is rejected.

Other areas discussed include hunger, the environment, migration, sexual tourism, bioethics, cultural relativism, social solidarity, energy, and population issues.

[b] Benedict goes on to recognize he is echoing the principal theme of Populorum progressio in calling for people to strive for greater development with all their hearts and minds.

Chapter 1 continues the discussion of Populorum progressio, illustrating how it fits in both with Pope Paul VI's overall magisterium and with the broader tradition of Catholic teachings.

Benedict recounts how the earlier encyclical taught that institutions designed to hasten social development are not by themselves sufficient to ensure good outcomes.

He reminds us that Paul VI advised the chief causes of enduring poverty are not material in nature, but lie in failures of the will and "the lack of brotherhood among individuals and peoples".

[5] Addressing political leaders, Benedict says that "The primary capital to be safeguarded is man" and suggests that reducing prolonged unemployment should be a high priority as it causes "great psychological and spiritual suffering".

The Pope considers a number of trends harmful to development: the prevalence of corruption in both poor and rich countries, the existence of harmful speculative capital flows, the tendency for development aid to be "diverted from it proper ends due to irresponsible actions", the "unregulated exploitation of the earths resources", and "on the part of rich countries there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially in the field of healthcare".

While acknowledging that organized religion is not always an entirely positive influence, the Pope warns of the danger of state imposed atheism, which he says deprives citizens of the moral and spiritual strength needed for genuine development and to respond generously to divine love.

He emphasizes that successfully resolving the various global challenges will need Love as well as knowledge and quotes Populorum progressio: "the individual who is animated by true charity labours skilfully to discover the causes of misery, to find the means to combat it, to overcome it resolutely".

[6] The third chapter[citation needed] calls for an "economy of gratuitousness and fraternity",[7] discussing how giving and receiving gift reflects God's nature and how it helps builds communities.

The Pope turns to duties of governments, which should strive to look after the deep moral needs of their citizens and to promote ethical economic systems where actors look to maximize not just profits but also the common good.

[citation needed] He regrets the way "some states, power groups and companies hoard non–renewable energy resources" which he says "represents a grave obstacle to development in poor countries".

[11] While welcoming the role of different cultures and faiths in fostering cooperation for human development, the Pope advises discernment is needed so folk can avoid dangerous ideologies and religions that encourage people to cut themselves off from communion with others.

There is a discussion concerning an ethical response to international tourism and to the "epoch-making" phenomena of migration — Benedict reminds us that every migrant is a person possessing inalienable rights "that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance".

In the last part of the chapter, the Pope returns to poverty, discussing the great harm caused by unemployment, and how the issue can be responded to not just by government but by financiers, microfinance, labour unions and consumers.

The Pope praises the benefits of technology but warns that a purely technocrat mindset where decisions are made only on grounds of efficiency will not deliver true development.

The conclusion ends with a prayer to the Virgin Mary to intercede with God that all may be granted strength and generosity for the task of bringing about the "development of the whole man and of all men".

The encyclical was drafted during Benedict's July 2007 holiday at Lorenzago di Cadore in Italy's Dolomite mountains and was inspired in part by Paul VI's Populorum progressio.

Originally planned for 2007 to mark the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's landmark social encyclical Populorum Progressio, the new papal document suffered a succession of delays as the current global economic crisis unfolded.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had criticized the Pope earlier in the year due to the lifting of the excommunication against anti-Semitic bishop Richard Williamson, welcomed the work, saying "Pope Benedict has encouraged the state leaders to create rules so that this sort of worldwide economic crisis isn't repeated", and "I also saw this as an order to work toward a social market economy in the world".

But she went on to suggest the Catholic idealization of sexuality hinted at in the encyclical may be part of the cause of child abuse scandals that have recently gained much attention in Ireland.