Pope Benedict has issued his Third Encyclical - Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth) - which addresses the global economy and its inequalities. It is a long, dense piece and can be read in English on the Vatican's Web site. The encyclical is sure to generate a great deal of controversy, since the pope is calling for nothing less than a new economic order based on economic justice and a more equitable distribution of wealth.
I have read through the encyclical once, and want to highlight just a few passages.
Economics, Pope Benedict writes, is not just the pursuit of profits, but must be based on an ethical pursuit of the "common good".
Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end that provides a sense both of how to produce it and how to make good use of it. Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.
He decries the "corruption" of the political class (not just in the wealthy countries) and the unethical behavior of financiers and their institutions as well as the exploitation of workers by multinational corporations.
Corruption and illegality are unfortunately evident in the conduct of the economic and political class in rich countries, both old and new, as well as in poor ones. Among those who sometimes fail to respect the human rights of workers are large multinational companies as well as local producers. International aid has often been diverted from its proper ends, through irresponsible actions both within the chain of donors and within that of the beneficiaries. Similarly, in the context of immaterial or cultural causes of development and underdevelopment, we find these same patterns of responsibility reproduced. 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 health care. At the same time, in some poor countries, cultural models and social norms of behaviour persist which hinder the process of development.
In a passage sure to displease the editors of the Wall Street Journal, the Pope calls for an equitable distribution of wealth and protection of workers' rights in every nation:
Lowering the level of protection accorded to the rights of workers, or abandoning mechanisms of wealth redistribution in order to increase the country's international competitiveness, hinder the achievement of lasting development.
It is important to emphasize that Pope Benedict is not calling for a wholesale socialization of the world economy: he recognizes the power of markets in wealth creation. But he is highly critical of the neo-liberal ideal of the unfettered markets. Markets must be regulated in a "God-centered" economy for the common good. Benedict even goes so far as to advocate a new supranational governing body to oversee and enforce a more just global distribution of wealth and protect poorer nations.
This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority
Pope Benedict has written a very provocative piece with his Third Encyclical. I don't agree with everything here, but the central argument strikes me as correct and just - far more radical than any "solutions" put forward by US politicians - Republican OR Democrat (who would dare speak openly about wealth redistribution?) Whatever your views are about the pope or the Catholic Church (I myself am not Catholic) I hope you might consider reading it. Much food for thought!