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The Pontiff Speaks - Who Will Listen?

burnt

Well-known member
The CFFO Commentary
Title: Fixing the Economy by Focusing on Ethics
By John Clement
July 10, 2009

The Catholic Church has a long history of issuing position papers on issues of the day. Called “encyclical letters,” the papers are penned by the Pope of the day and often discuss the overall role of the economy and the structure of society. This week, on the eve of the G8 meeting in Italy, the church issued a new encyclical that I believe deserves careful consideration. In essence, it calls for a new business order governed by ethics and the common good.

In the encyclical letter, entitled “Charity in Truth,” Pope Benedict XVI’s main message is that various “malfunctions” have taken place in the economy which are threatening human development in all its various forms. He points out that the current turmoil in world economies is being caused by a blind pursuit of profit and that our various social institutions, like government, have shifted their focus away from protecting people towards the narrower focus of profit.

The solution, according to Pope Benedict, is the creation of a business culture that has a keen eye on ethics and is dedicated to the common good. Along the way, he calls for our various social institutions to be retooled back to their purpose of supporting true human development. At 144 pages, it’s a long read --- but there are some particularly good bits of text:
• On Increased Global Competition in Markets. “..the market has prompted new forms of competition between States as they seek to attract foreign businesses to set up production centres, by means of a variety of instruments, including favourable fiscal regimes and deregulation of the labour market. These processes have led to a downsizing of social security systems as the price to be paid for seeking greater competitive advantage in the global market…Systems of social security can lose the capacity to carry out their task…”
• On Justice in Economic Affairs. “In fact, if the market is governed solely by the principle of the equivalence in value of exchanged goods, it cannot produce the social cohesion that it requires to function well. Without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market cannot completely fulfil its proper economic function. And today it is this trust which has ceased to exist, and the loss of trust is a grave loss.”
• On Food Security. “The problem of food insecurity needs to be addressed within a long-term perspective, eliminating the structural causes that give rise to it and promoting the agricultural development of poorer countries. This can be done through investing in rural infrastructures, irrigation systems, transport, organization of markets, and in the development and dissemination of agricultural technology that can make the best use of the human, natural and socio-economic resources that are more readily available at the local level, while guaranteeing their sustainability over the long term as well.”
In a time of tumbling markets, employment insecurity and trade-related problems, Pope Benedict’s call to re-examine the role of the economy and its structures needs to be carefully considered. After all, the economy exists to collectively serve us, not the other way around. Farmers, some of whom are struggling greatly with challenges brought on by changing markets and social support, may find much that they can agree with in the encyclical’s analysis and recommendations.
 
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