Full document: Read the full document, called the the Evangelii Gaudium (“Joy of the Gospel”), on the Vatican’s website.
No to an economy of exclusion
53. 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.
How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies
of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a
case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while
people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes
under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the
powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find
themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities,
without any means of escape.
Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and
then discarded. We have created a “disposable” culture which is now spreading.
It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new.
Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in
which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes
or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are
not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”.
54. In this context, 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. Meanwhile, the excluded
are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain
enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has
developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of
feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain,
and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s
responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are
thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and 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
55. One cause of this situation is found in our relationship with money,
since we calmly accept its dominion over ourselves and our societies. The
current financial crisis can make us overlook the fact that it originated in a
profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person! We have
created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf (cf. Ex
32:1-35) 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.
56. 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. Consequently, they reject the
right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any
form of control. 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 also 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
57. Behind this attitude lurks a rejection of ethics and a rejection of
God. Ethics has come to be viewed with a certain scornful derision. It is seen
as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power relative. It
is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and debasement of the
person. In effect, ethics leads to a God who calls for a committed response
which is outside of the categories of the marketplace. When these latter are
absolutized, God can only be seen as uncontrollable, unmanageable, even
dangerous, since he calls human beings to their full realization and to freedom
from all forms of enslavement. Ethics – a non-ideological ethics – would make
it possible to bring about balance and a more humane social order. With this in
mind, I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of
one of the sages of antiquity: “Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to
steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods
which we hold, but theirs”.[55]
58. A financial reform open to such ethical considerations would require a
vigorous change of approach on the part of political leaders. I urge them to
face this challenge with determination and an eye to the future, while not
ignoring, of course, the specifics of each case. Money must serve, not rule!
The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of
Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I
exhort you to generous solidarity and a return of economics and finance to an
ethical approach which favours human beings.
No to the inequality which spawns violence
59. Today in many places we hear a call for greater security. But until
exclusion and inequality in society and between peoples is reversed, it will be
impossible to eliminate violence. 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.
When a society – whether local, national or global – is willing to leave a part
of itself on the fringes, no political programmes or resources spent on law
enforcement or surveillance systems can indefinitely guarantee tranquility.
This is not the case simply because inequality provokes a violent reaction from
those excluded from the system, but because the socioeconomic system is unjust
at its root. Just as goodness tends to spread, the toleration of evil, which is
injustice, tends to expand its baneful influence and quietly to undermine any
political and social system, no matter how solid it may appear. If every action
has its consequences, 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.
We are far from the so-called “end of history”, since the conditions for a
sustainable and peaceful development have not yet been adequately articulated
and realized.
60. 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. This serves only to
offer false hopes to those clamouring for heightened security, even though
nowadays 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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