Pope Francis Series
Excerpts
Just as the commandment
“Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of
human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and
inequality. Such an economy
kills. Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and
then discarded.
Some people continue to
defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in
bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion,
which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust
in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. The
culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us
something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of
opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.
No
to the new idolatry of money
We have created new
idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and
ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly
human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their
imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is
reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption.
While the earnings of a
minority are growing
exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity
enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which
defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. A
new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and
relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and the accumulation of interest make it
difficult for countries to realize the potential of their own economies and keep
citizens from enjoying their real purchasing power. To all this we can add
widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which have taken on
worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In
this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of
increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless
before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.
No
to a financial system which rules rather than serves
Money must serve, not
rule! The rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and to the
return of economics
and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings.
No
to the inequality which spawns violence
Today in many places we
hear a call for greater security. The poor and the poorer
peoples are accused of violence, yet without equal opportunities the different
forms of aggression and conflict will find a fertile terrain for growth and eventually
explode. No political programs or resources spent on law enforcement or surveillance
systems can indefinitely guarantee tranquility. The socioeconomic system is unjust
at its root, an evil embedded in the structures of a society has a constant
potential for disintegration and death. It is evil crystallized in unjust
social structures, which cannot be the basis of hope for a better future.
Today’s economic mechanisms
promote inordinate consumption, yet it is evident that unbridled consumerism
combined with inequality proves doubly damaging to the social fabric.
Inequality eventually engenders a violence which recourse to arms cannot and
never will be able to resolve. It serves only to offer false hopes to those
clamoring for heightened security, even though we know that weapons and
violence, rather than providing solutions, create new and more serious
conflicts. Some simply content themselves with blaming the poor and the poorer countries themselves
for their troubles; indulging in unwarranted generalizations, they claim that
the solution is an “education” that would tranquilize them, making them tame
and harmless. All this becomes even more exasperating for the marginalized in
the light of the widespread and deeply rooted corruption found in many
countries – in their governments, businesses and institutions – whatever the
political ideology of their leaders.
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