Post-Capitalist Pope Backpeddles

One commentator discusses the Pope's "damage control" on his criticism in his Evangelii Gaudium of the reliance on capitalism as a panacea for "social justice"; his quote of the Pope's interview are echoed below with his editorial comments are in red.  Reza Aslan and many other leftists jumped at the chance to enlist the Pope in their war against capitalism. 

Some passages in Evangelii gaudium attracted accusations from American ultra-conservatives.  [For an Italian journalist, even for this publication, not being a socialist makes you an ultra-conservative.]  What effect does it have on a Pope to hear himself called a “Marxist”? 

Marxist ideology is wrong.  In my life I have known many marxists who are good as people, and because of this I don’t take offense. 

The words that struck the most were those about an economy that “kills”…[And the Pope pounces. He was waiting for this question.] 

In the exhortation there is nothing that can’t be found in the social doctrine of the Church.  [This is called “damage control”. At least I think it is damage control.  Let’s find out…] I didn’t speak from a technical point of view, I sought to present a snapshot [una fotografia] of what is going on.  The only specific passage was on “trickle-down” theories, [le teorie della “ricaduta favorevole”] according to which every economic growth, favored by the free market, results in producing on its own  [di per sé] a greater equity and social inclusion in the world.  There was the promise that when the glass was full, it would be transferred over and the poor would benefit from it.  Instead what happens when it is full to the brim, the glass magically grows, and thus nothing comes forth for the poor.  [WHOA!  That doesn’t follow, does it.  What the Pope presents here is a picture of the pie growing, or here a glass, but as the glass grows it contains the water within, and never allows the water to spill over the edge.  It doesn’t follow that the growing glass automatically contains all the water.  Leaving aside the problem of the term “trickle down”, which is a disparaging political label, is there a good alternative to “trickle down”? A free market which grows the pie, grows the glass, is preferable to a model wherein when I get something, you are therefore deprived of having it as well.  While this is a brief comment on the Pope’s part, it conveys to me a mistaken notion.  What’s the alternative?  A glass that doesn’t grow?  Bad situation, that.  Zero sum.] This was the sole reference to a specific theory.  I repeat, I didn’t speak as an expert on economy [da technico], but according to the social doctrine of the Church.  And this doesn’t mean being a Marxist.  [True, none of what he says here is Marxist.]