Pope Francis: inequalities resulting from a sick economy

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23 September 2020

A recent OECD economic forecast for our country reveals a worsening at various levels, especially in the world of work, recording an increase in unemployment of about 12.4%. In addition, the unexpected pandemic has pushed several countries into recession. For many the future is uncertain and with no way out; existing problems come to the surface and worsen; a social breach of inequality is opened, with the risk for many people of losing the hope of living.

“We can no longer go on like this -

tirelessly repeats

on several occasions - These symptoms of inequality reveal a social disease; it's a virus that comes from a sick economy. And we have to say it simply: the economy is sick! ”. A strong message to an economy that has been shaking for some time, now an old system, which has reached its last stages, the result of an inequitable economic growth that has not taken into account fundamental human values, with serious and irreversible consequences for the common home ". 

The pandemic, Francis exhorts, in addition to having put our certainties in crisis, invites us to an integral conversion, to embrace a different lifestyle, which contemplates caring for the other in all fields: a golden rule that leads with him health and hope. The pontiff admonishes: “From a crisis we cannot come out the same, or we come out better, or we come out worse. This is our option ”.

Statistics regarding the distribution of wealth in the world still confirm that it is in the hands of very few rich people. For Francis it is a cry of injustice that reaches heaven! But at the same time a question arises: after the crisis, will we continue with this economic system of social injustice and contempt for the care of the environment?

In the last 125 years (FAO data) we have witnessed the loss of 70% of the biodiversity present on the planet. It is a completely sick thought, which will lead us to collapse sooner or later. 

The global dimension of integral ecology requires a new approach to the problems of human survival, as well as a new form of thought: a new epistème, a rigorous and comprehensive type of knowledge. Only in this way can the globalization process be governed under the sign of ethics and wisdom.

Laudato Sì states that social inequalities and environmental degradation, in addition to going at the same speed, have the same root: that of sin. Wanting to possess and control brothers and sisters, as well as wanting to dominate nature and God himself, are not part of that supernatural design of creation; they are facts and attitudes of everyday life that dig like the drop that slowly falls on the hardest rock. We feel powerless in the face of the truth, even though we know we are co-responsible for the crisis we are experiencing.

We met

, founder of Slow Food, who recently published a book in dialogue with Pope Francis "TerraFutura"

At the base of everything there is a concept of economics that has become pervasive, almost as if it were an absolute dogma, which has put only profit as the only element of comparison and evaluation. This message has not only spread, but has permeated the lives of billions of people. This is why the idea that natural resources must be constantly plundered by virtue of making a profit as if they were infinite has consolidated around this fetish. Today we have reached a point of no return where the finiteness of resources is evident, the disaster perpetrated by this economy must be stopped, and this cannot happen except through new paradigms that deliver us a different economy.

First of all, no longer placing profit at the center, but for example working to distinguish and enhance common goods and relational goods. These two concepts often do not find space in the development prospects of a company. If we want to change this paradigm of an economy that kills, we need to invent new forms of economic approach that privilege the dignity of the human being. Also be aware that the relationship we must have with the economy cannot only be determined exclusively by consumption. We are in a historical phase in which it is necessary to foster relationships and, in relationships, to have at heart what are also the needs of the communities.

Today we are in the presence of a transversal youth movement. The young people of the world tell us that the time has come to pay attention to the fate of our planet, because the future is theirs. It is clear that the future we are giving them represents a disaster of biblical proportions that will put them in a situation of great suffering. Starting from these young people, there is a regeneration not only of the economy but also of social relations, business management, attention to institutional spaces. This is already happening: relocating the perspectives of companies on a dimension of sustainable economy.

Starting for example from the management of water, waste, air, environment, soil, etc. They are not only companies to be entrusted to large companies and institutions, but they are perspectives that we can also achieve on an individual level. Let's take as an example the education that we all can operate on the front of reducing waste, producing our C02, reducing the consumption of unnecessary food ... all these little things are acts of daily life that we can put into practice starting from our individual consumption. It is a great message inherent in Laudato Sì that makes everyone protagonists in the care of the common home. It is a huge, exciting work project that can change the way we work at its roots.  

We are in a moment of profound transformation also in the world of work. There is no doubt that our behaviors will have to change and that the proposition to return to what we were before the pandemic can only mean increasing the disaster on the environmental front and beyond. Now is the time not to cry about lost jobs, but to study new forms of employment, and to make them credible. For example, in my sector I say that agriculture can be regenerated with a new occupation, connected to the territory, with good practices, with the possibility of interacting with local communities. We have to think about the hypothesis of a return to the land but not to make the life of our old ones wretched, but to study new forms of employment, and therefore of personal fulfillment.

If they are not, they will have to become! The request that comes from outside the state of things is that continuing to pretend nothing is leading us only towards an announced abyss. We will have to become aware of this, and then work, because we are facing a dramatic situation. Among other things, we are in the presence of three crises that are not resolved at all: the economic crisis, the climate crisis and the pandemic. Now, you can't respond to a disaster like this by giving a coat of paint to the facade of the house. It is absolutely necessary to review the main walls and foundations. The house must be rebuilt and it must be functional to the times that are coming, if we don't do this, mala tempora!

I was first of all impressed by this extraordinary document which is Laudato Sì, which speaks to the world. After that, becoming more intimate, not only with Pope Francis, but also with a certain Church committed to the voluntary sector, to the defense of the weakest, I had the honor of participating in the Pan-Amazon Synod and I saw a political reality and wonderful culture of bishops, of people on the front line to defend the indigenous people. Here, these are the things that fascinate me about this Church, which fully fulfills its duty to be compassionate, but at the same time strongly affirms the rights of the weakest. And he takes their side. This is the charm of the Church of Bergoglio. Cataloging Francis with the right and left schemes makes no sense.Here we are faced with behaviors that are borrowed from the Gospel message.

Today it is worth living to find goals for change that can foster social justice and the dignity of people.

This is one reason why it is worth living.

It is also a reason behind which there is and can be happiness.

We can achieve our own dimension of happiness to the extent that we feel we are protagonists for change and our ideas can be realized with the help of others but in a tangible way to carry out an objective of dignity of the human person.

This is a reason for joy, not a reason for suffering.

It is a goal of full human fulfillment.