The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development published a much-needed document calling for an ethical discernment regarding aspects of the present economic-financial system.
Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones follows a long tradition of Vatican pronouncements on matters concerning the economy. The first Church document dealing directly with economic activity was the encyclical Rerum Novarum, promulgated by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. Issues such as the right to a just wage, working conditions, the limits of state interference and property rights are as valid today as they were when the encyclical was first published.
The encyclicals which followed built on these themes and highlighted other economic concerns such as economic inequality, social exclusion, the challenges of post-colonial economic policy, the instruments of the market, environmental degradation and rising consumerism.
Earlier writings, while not dealing specifically with the economy, espouse certain guiding principles.
St Paul warns Timothy that “the love of money is the root of all evil”. People who covet money “pierced themselves through with many sorrows”. This emphasis on the ‘love’ of money implies that both rich and poor can have an unhealthy obsession with wealth while money, when considered in its proper way, enables individuals to provide for themselves and their families.
St Augustine speaks of the necessity of justice. This depends on fostering right relationships; of man within himself, of man with society and of man and God. The task of justice, according to Augustine, is to “see that to each is given what belongs to each”. This is relevant to our contemporary world. Without this cardinal principle, social relations and economic activity flounder since relationships built on trust have no hope of flourishing. It also implies that no state has the authority to dispense resources indiscriminately, but rather to ensure that what is due is assigned justly.
St Thomas Aquinas writes that “man should not consider his outward possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without difficulty when others are in need”. What this essentially means is that, while fixed and current assets may be privately owned, their use always has a social dimension and a social function.
These two concepts form the backbone of ideas relating to the common good and social justice. Unfortunately, these two phrases are often hijacked by ideological sources and their meaning has been distorted beyond recognition. Papal writings have often revived the true worth of these vital concepts.
Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones is an excellent addition to this rich body of thought. It opens with a rallying call to reason when dealing with all aspects of human activity. The document seeks to address economic and financial issues in the wake of the last financial crisis.
It notes that, despite the attempts to create an economy attentive to ethical principles, “the response seems at times like a return to the heights of myopic egoism, limited by an inadequate framework that, excluding the common good, also excludes from its horizons the concern to create and spread wealth, and to eliminate the inequality so pronounced today”.
To address any ethical deficit, one must have an appropriate vision of the human person. Human persons are not mere consumers but individuals who possess “a uniquely relational nature” with “a sense for the perennial search for gains and well-being that may be more comprehensive, and not reducible either to a logic of consumption or the economic aspects of life”.
It recognises that money is not bad in itself; however, when it becomes the end rather than the means to an end, it may promote a “reckless and amoral culture of waste”. Similarly, it is not profit which is wrong, but rather, to avail of inequality for one’s advantage or “to make oneself rich through harming and disrupting the collective common good”.
It is precisely this which is needed for the common good to be strengthened – awareness that private action inevitably has social consequences
It calls for the introduction of legislation reflecting the “supranational dimension of the economic system” which made it easier for many to “bypass the regulations established by individual countries”. In the wake of the financial crisis, it argues for “stable, clear and effective coordination” of policies despite the possible difficulties in reaching such agreements.
Similarly, it raises concerns about the proliferation of public debt which burdens several economies and renders them unable to cope with the payment of interest. It identifies the “incautious, if not fraudulent, management of the public administrative system” as one of the leading causes of unmanageable public debts.
It reserves its greatest criticism for offshore financial systems which may offer legitimate services but which can also thrive by providing a safe space for tax avoidance. Such systems make it easier for criminal activity to flourish thus contributing to “an additional impoverishment of the normal system of production and of the distribution of goods and services”.
The document argues that it is hard to ignore the fact that such jurisdictions “have become usual places of recycling dirty money, which is the fruit of illicit income (thefts, frauds, corruption, criminal associations, mafia, war booties etc)”.
Tax havens also aggravate the public debt of less developed countries. The document observes how “at the origin of that debt there are often economic losses created by private persons and unloaded on the shoulders of the public system”.
Undoubtedly, this document will have its critics. However, there are some factors which we must consider to help us engage more openly with this document.
Firstly, it offers a challenging analysis which demonstrates that the Church desires to be both an active participant in society and a contributor to the discussion on matters concerning human dignity and the common good. This dialogue between the world of faith and culture, based on reason and respect, should be encouraged rather than discouraged.
Secondly, this is neither a policy document nor a plan for action. It is a think-piece which should test our thoughts, convictions and actions. While one may disagree on some of its subtler points, it is nonetheless a groundbreaking document which deserves to be given due attention.
Thirdly, it is a rallying call for individuals to overcome cynicism. In its conclusion, the document states that before the “pervasiveness of today’s economic-financial systems, we could be tempted to abandon ourselves to cynicism and to think that with our poor forces we can do very little. In reality, every one of us can do so much, especially if one does not remain alone”.
It is precisely this which is needed for the common good to be strengthened – awareness that private action inevitably has social consequences.
André DeBattista is an independent researcher in politics and international relations.