A Papal Challenge to Globalization
While we await Pope Benedict’s first social encyclical, it has been interesting to note what he has been saying on globalization and other socio-economic issues affecting the world today. None of these amounts to a magisterial statement but there are nonetheless clues to his social thought.
So that makes his address to the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation noteworthy. The Pope spoke about the current state of globalization, reminding the audience that the aim of economic development must serve the progress of man.
Benedict stressed that commercial interests must never become so exclusive that they damage human dignity. He expressed the hope that the process of globalization which has so far affected finance, culture and politics should in the future also lead to a “globalization of solidarity” and respect for all parts of society. This would be necessary in order to make sure that economic growth is never cut off from the search for the comprehensive development of man and society. The Pope pointed out that the principle of subsidiarity is vital in guiding globalization:
“In this respect, the social doctrine of the Church stresses the importance of intermediate bodies in accordance with the principle of solidarity. It allows people to freely contribute to give meaning to cultural and social changes and direct them towards the authentic progress of man and the community.”
The conference was entitled “Social Capital and Human Development” and the foundation’s name recalls John Paul II’s 1991 social encyclical of the same name, which drew together 100 years of history of the Church’s social doctrine.
What Benedict has said on globalization is very much in line with what John Paul II said before him. This may not seem like much, but when one considers the technical nature of economics and finance today, it is a humane and necessary message that supports the positive aspects of market economics.
UPDATE:
The journalist and author Will Hutton (described in his Wikipedia entry as “Britain’s foremost critic of capitalism”) was invited by the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation to address the conference. In an article for the Observer he shared his impressions. Interpreting Benedict within the framework of his own left-leaning ideas he failed to understand what the pontiff actually said.
According to Hutton, “the Catholic church is again alarmed by the way capitalism is developing” and has attacked “sweatshop call centres, declining trade unions” and “directors paid tens of millions”.
The Pope mentioned none of this and Hutton offers no evidence of why that should be Church teaching. Nor did John Paul II in his encyclical demand “stakeholder capitalism” as Hutton claims. Besides raising the obvious question why Hutton was invited to speak on a subject that he knows little about, this is a worrying example of how a defense of an ethical grounding of economics is misinterpreted as a call for socialistic solutions.
So that makes his address to the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation noteworthy. The Pope spoke about the current state of globalization, reminding the audience that the aim of economic development must serve the progress of man.
Benedict stressed that commercial interests must never become so exclusive that they damage human dignity. He expressed the hope that the process of globalization which has so far affected finance, culture and politics should in the future also lead to a “globalization of solidarity” and respect for all parts of society. This would be necessary in order to make sure that economic growth is never cut off from the search for the comprehensive development of man and society. The Pope pointed out that the principle of subsidiarity is vital in guiding globalization:
“In this respect, the social doctrine of the Church stresses the importance of intermediate bodies in accordance with the principle of solidarity. It allows people to freely contribute to give meaning to cultural and social changes and direct them towards the authentic progress of man and the community.”
The conference was entitled “Social Capital and Human Development” and the foundation’s name recalls John Paul II’s 1991 social encyclical of the same name, which drew together 100 years of history of the Church’s social doctrine.
What Benedict has said on globalization is very much in line with what John Paul II said before him. This may not seem like much, but when one considers the technical nature of economics and finance today, it is a humane and necessary message that supports the positive aspects of market economics.
UPDATE:
The journalist and author Will Hutton (described in his Wikipedia entry as “Britain’s foremost critic of capitalism”) was invited by the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation to address the conference. In an article for the Observer he shared his impressions. Interpreting Benedict within the framework of his own left-leaning ideas he failed to understand what the pontiff actually said.
According to Hutton, “the Catholic church is again alarmed by the way capitalism is developing” and has attacked “sweatshop call centres, declining trade unions” and “directors paid tens of millions”.
The Pope mentioned none of this and Hutton offers no evidence of why that should be Church teaching. Nor did John Paul II in his encyclical demand “stakeholder capitalism” as Hutton claims. Besides raising the obvious question why Hutton was invited to speak on a subject that he knows little about, this is a worrying example of how a defense of an ethical grounding of economics is misinterpreted as a call for socialistic solutions.
Comments
#1 2008-06-08 20:07 (Reply)
“knows little about” depends entirely on one’s definition of what “economics” is!!!
If, like Acton, capital is nothing more than a mercantilist accretion of the wealth of a nation, I wonder why the Founding Fathers bothered with the effort to revolt against their patria - the King’s Empire was pretty wealthy after all!
“Besides raising the obvious question why Hutton was invited to speak on a subject that he knows little about”
instead, if capital is a measure of the productive tools (land, machinery, transportation) at a person’s disposal and profit the metric of a corporation’s value-added paid willingly by customers for services rendered, then I why be so concerned about “social” solutions to problems not so-far satisfactorily solved by the subsidiary partners in healthcare commerce? Is a bank not a social solution? As soon as the government interferes with the setting of interest rates by privileged central banks, it becomes almost a communist institution!!!
Where’s the Acton outrage on that?
#2 2008-06-08 20:15 (Reply)
The Pope’s upcoming encyclical
http://blog.siena.org/2008/06/benedicts-new-encyclical.html
may give is more to chew on - so many who call themselves “economists” are not anthropocentric scientists but rather anthropolotrous ideologues - worshipping certain men who prosper as God’s gift to mankind, rather than pursuing flourishing for all men as God’s merciful plan for mankind.
#3 2008-06-11 14:37 (Reply)
Bernd,
Does anyone have full text of the Pope’s speech?
Thanks,
JBP
#3.1 2008-06-12 05:33 (Reply)
Dear John,
this is a translation of the speech.
Bernd
Your Eminence,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with pleasure that today I meet with you and address my cordial welcome to you. I thank Count Lorenzo Rossi di Montelera, who as the President of the Foundation has interpreted your sentiments, also expounding on the lines of action taken during this year.
I greet Cardinal Attilio Nicora and Archbishops Claudio Maria Celli and Domenico Calcagno, as I do each one of you, and I renew the expression of my gratitude for the service that you render to the Church, offering a generous contribution to many of the Holy See’s initiatives at the service of the poor in many parts of the world.
In this sense I thank you in particular for the gift you have wished to offer me on the occasion of this meeting.
This year, for your customary gathering, you have chosen the theme: “Social capital and human development”. You have paused to reflect on the need, felt by many, to promote a global development aimed at the integral promotion of man, also highlighting the contribution that volunteer associations can give, such as non-profit foundations and other types of community entities that have been founded with the goal of making the social fabric ever more solid.
A harmonious development is possible if the economic and political choices take into account and put into practice those fundamental principles which make it accessible to all. I am referring, in particular, to the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. It is always necessary that the person, created in the image of God and willed by him to keep and administer the immense resources of creation, be at the centre of every economic programme, especially considering the vast and complex network of relations which characterize the post-modern epoch.
Only a shared culture of responsible and active participation can enable each human being to feel not as a consumer or a passive bystander, but an active collaborator in the process of world development.
Man, to whom, in Genesis, God entrusted the earth, has the duty to make all the earth’s goods fruitful, committing himself to use them to satisfy the multiple needs of each member of the human family.
One of the recurring metaphors of the Gospel is, in effect, exactly that of the steward. With the heart of a faithful administrator man must, therefore, administer the resources entrusted to him by God, putting them at the disposition of all.
In other words, one must avoid that the profit accrue only to the individual or that forms of collectivism oppress personal freedom.
Economic or commercial interests must never become exclusive, because, indeed, this would be to mortify human dignity. Since the process of globalization, taking place in the world, invests ever more in the field of culture, economics, finance and politics, the great challenge today is “to globalize” not only economic and commercial interests, but also the expectations of solidarity, with respect for and valuing the contribution of each component of society.
As you have opportunely confirmed, economic growth must never be separate from seeking integral human and social development. In this regard, the Church, in her social doctrine emphasizes the importance of the contribution of intermediate bodies according to the principle of subsidiarity, to freely contribute to orient cultural and social changes and to direct them to the authentic progress of the person and the community.
In the Encyclical Spe Salvi, I had purposely reaffirmed that “the best structures function only when the community is animated by convictions capable of motivating people to assent freely to the social order” (n. 24).
Dear friends, while I renew my gratitude for the generous support that you untiringly lend to charitable activites and to the human promotion of the Church, I invite you also to offer the contribution of your reflection to bring about a just economic world order.
In this regard, I am pleased to cite an eloquent affirmation of the Second Vatican Council: “Christians”, one reads in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes, “can yearn for nothing more ardently than to serve the men of this age with an ever growing generosity and success. Holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources, and joining forces with all who love and practice justice, they have shouldered a weighty task here on earth...” (n. 93). Continue your action in this spirit to help so many of our brothers and sisters.
On the Last Day, on the Day of the Universal Judgement, we will be asked if we have used what God has put at our disposition to meet the legitimate expectations and needs of our brethren, especially the smallest and neediest.
May the Virgin Mary, whom we contemplate today on her Visit to her cousin Elizabeth, obtain for each one of you an ever greater concern for your neighbour. I assure you of a remembrance in prayer and with affection I impart my Apostolic Blessing to you present here, to your families and to those who collaborate with you in your various professional activities.
#4 2008-06-12 10:49 (Reply)
Thanks Bernd,
I don’t think I am going out on a limb here to say that His Holiness speaks consistently with Centesimus Annus, reinforcing the encyclical, rather than staking out a specific activists agenda.
Hutton imagines a lightweight leftwing pronouncement here. After reading it a few times, it simply isn’t a call for friendly socialism. Rather it is a Catholic view of a complex issue-not a partisan bit of politics to make Mr. Hutton happy.
JBP
#5 2008-07-30 02:20 (Reply)
Of course everything is open to interpretation, but let me indicate what I guess Hutton may have been referring to in the speech:
Hutton: “the Catholic church is again alarmed by the way capitalism is developing”
Benedict: the great challenge today is “to globalize” not only economic and commercial interests, but also the expectations of solidarity...On the Last Day, on the Day of the Universal Judgement, we will be asked if we have used what God has put at our disposition to meet the legitimate expectations and needs of our brethren, especially the smallest and neediest.
Hutton: [The Pope] attacked “sweatshop call centres, declining trade unions” and “directors paid tens of millions”
Benedict: “Economic or commercial interests must never become exclusive, because, indeed, this would be to mortify human dignity...the importance of the contribution of intermediate bodies according to the principle of subsidiarity...one must avoid that the profit accrue only to the individual”
Hutton: [Church teaching] demands “stakeholder capitalism”
Benedict: Only a shared culture of responsible and active participation can enable each human being to feel not as a consumer or a passive bystander, but an active collaborator in the process of world development...with respect for and valuing the contribution of each component of society...I had purposely reaffirmed that “the best structures function only when the community is animated by convictions capable of motivating people to assent freely to the social order”