How does the Church toward work? Lessons in Pedagogy of the work we have also addressed the change in labor with the birth of Christianity, (if anyone interested can do a summary) and made us read a part of the Pope's last encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate, I must say that it is very interesting, because it gives us a modern reading of the concept that the Church of work and enterprise that is closely linked.
For those who want to read the entire encyclical
can be found here for those who want something more direct this is the chapter: CHAPTER THREE
FRATERNITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
34. The truth in charity
places man before the astonishing experience of the gift. The gratuity is included in our lives in many ways, often go unrecognized because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life. The human being is made to the gift that expresses and makes the size of
transcendence. Sometimes modern man is mistakenly believed to be the sole author of himself, his life and society. This is a presumption, arising from the selfish end in themselves, that comes down - to put it in terms of faith - from original sin
. The wisdom of the Church has always pointed to the presence of original sin in social conditions and building society: "Ignore that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the field of ' education, politics, social action and morals "[85
]. List of areas where pernicious effects of sin, has also added a long time now the economy. We have clear evidence in these periods. The conviction of being self-sufficient and able to eliminate the evil present in history only by the their action has caused the man to bring the happiness and salvation with immanent forms of material wealth and social action. Then, the conviction of the need for economic independence, which must not accept "influences" of moral character, has led man to abuse the economic so thoroughly destructive. In the long run, these convictions have led to economic, social and political changes that trample upon the freedom of individuals and social bodies and which, because of this, have not been able to deliver the justice that they promise. As I said in my Encyclical Spe Salvi
, so the story takes off from hope
Christian [
86], which is of a powerful social resource in the service of integral human development, sought freedom and justice. Hope encourages reason and gives it the power to direct the will [
87]. It is already present in faith, indeed it is aroused. Charity in truth feeds and at the same time, manifests. Being absolutely free gift of God, burst into our lives as something that is not due, which transcends all laws of justice. Gift by its nature goes beyond the substance, its rule is the excess. It takes first place in our souls as a sign of God's presence in us and he expects us. The truth, which, like charity is a gift, it's bigger than us, as St. Augustine teaches [
88]. The truth about ourselves, our personal consciousness, there is first of all given. In any learning process, in fact, the truth is not manufactured by us, but always found, or better, received. It, like love, "not the result of thinking and the will but somehow imposes itself upon human beings" [89
]. Why
gift received by all the love in truth is a force that builds community, it brings all people together in a way where there are no barriers or boundaries. The human community can be formed by ourselves, but we can never with his own strength to be a community fully fraternal nor can it overcome every division and become a truly universal community the unity of humankind, a fellowship over each division, arises from the con-vocation of the word of God is Love. In addressing this key issue to clarify, first, that the logic of the gift does not exclude justice and not juxtaposed to it at a later time and outside and, secondly, that economic development, social and political needs, if it is to be truly human, to make room for the principle of free
as an expression of brotherhood.
35. The
market, if there is mutual trust and worldwide, is the economic institution that allows the encounter between people, as traders who use contracts to regulate their relations and exchange goods and services between fungible to meet their needs and desires. The market is subject to the principles of so-called
commutative justice, which regulates the relations of giving and receiving between parties. But the Church's social doctrine has continued to highlight the importance of
distributive justice and social justice
for the same economy market, not only because it belongs within a wider social and political context, but also for the network of relations within which it operates. In fact, the market is governed solely by the principle of equivalence of value of goods traded, fails to produce the social cohesion which also needs to function properly.
Without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market can not completely fulfill their economic function . And today is that this confidence is lacking, and the loss of trust is a grave loss. Appropriately
Paul VI in Populorum Progressio stressed the fact that the same system would benefit from economic practice of justice, as the first to benefit from the development of poor countries would be rich ones [90
]. It was not only of correcting dysfunction by means of assistance. The poor should not be considered a "burden" [
91], but a resource, even from a strictly economic point of view. However, it is believed to be mistaken is the view of those who think that the market economy has an inbuilt need for a share of poverty and underdevelopment in order to function at its best. It is market interest in promoting empowerment, but it really can not rely only on itself, because is able to produce for themselves what is beyond its capabilities. It must draw its moral energies from other entities that are capable of generating.
36. Economic activity can not solve all social problems through the simple application of market logic
. This is
towards the pursuit of common good , which must also take responsibility and political community in particular. Therefore, it should be borne in mind that causes serious imbalances are economic action, which would only create wealth by political action, which would be responsible for pursuing justice through redistribution.
The Church has always held that the act statement should be viewed as antisocial. The market is not and must not become in itself the place of the strong overpowering the weak. The company does not have to protect itself from the market, as if the development of the latter would entail ipso facto
the death of authentic human relationships. It is certainly true that the market can be so negative, not because it is his nature, but because a certain ideology can do so. Do not forget that the market does not exist in pure form. It is shaped by the cultural configurations that define it and give it direction. In fact, the economy and finance, as these can be used badly when those at by purely selfish. So you may be able to make tools itself into harmful ones. But it is the right man's darkened produce these consequences, not the instrument for himself. So it is not the instrument that must be called to account, but man, his conscience and his personal and social responsibility.
The social doctrine of the Church that they may be lived authentically human relations, friendship and sociability, solidarity and reciprocity, even in economic activity and not only outside of it or "after" it. The economic sphere is neither ethically neutral nor inherently inhuman and antisocial. It is part of human activity and because human, it must be structured and governed in an ethical manner.
The great challenge before us, accentuated by the problems of development in this era of globalization and made even more urgent by the economic and financial crisis, is to show, both of thought and behavior, not only the traditional principles of social ethics, such as transparency, honesty and responsibility can not be ignored or attenuated, but also that in commercial relationships
the principle of free and the logic of the gift as an expression of brotherhood
can and must find their place within normal business . This is a human at the present time, but also demanded by economic logic. It is a requirement for a time of charity and truth.
37. The Church's social doctrine has always maintained that the
justice in all phases of economic , because this is always something to do with the man and his needs. The retrieval of resources, financing, production, consumption and all other phases of the economic cycle inevitably have moral implications.
So every economic decision has a moral consequence . All this is confirmed also in the social sciences and trends in the contemporary economy. Perhaps it was once unthinkable to entrust the first production of wealth for the economy then assign the task of distributing the policy. Today that would be more difficult, given that economic activities are not constrained by territorial boundaries, while the authority of governments continues to be primarily local. For this reason, the rules of justice must be respected from the outset, while the economic process unfolds, and not after, or sideways. In addition, the market should open up space for economic activity carried on by persons who freely choose their act on different principles than those of pure profit, without sacrificing the production of economic value. The many economic entities that are drawn from religious and lay initiatives demonstrate that this is feasible.
era of globalization the economy is influenced by competitive models linked to very different cultures together. The forms of economic enterprise to which they are derived mainly a point of encounter in commutative justice. The economic life
undoubtedly requires
contract to regulate the relations of exchange between equivalent values. But it also needs
just laws and forms of redistribution
guided by politics, and also works redolent of the spirit of giving
. The global economy seems to favor the former logic, that of contractual exchange, but directly or indirectly demonstrates its need for the other two, the political logic and rationale of the unconditional gift.
38. My predecessor John Paul II
had reported this issue, when in
Centesimus Annus noted the need for a system with three subjects: the
market, the State
and
civil society [92
]. He saw society calendar the most natural setting of a 'free economy
and fraternity, but did not mean to deny the other two settings. Today we can say that economic life must be understood as a multi-dimensional: in all, in varying degrees and in specific ways, must have the appearance of fraternal reciprocity. In the era of globalization, economic activity can not be separated from free of charge, which fosters and disseminates solidarity and responsibility for justice and the common good among the various stakeholders and actors. It is, ultimately, a specific and profound form of economic democracy. Solidarity is first to feel all responsible for all [
93], so it can not be merely delegated to the State. While yesterday it could be argued that first we must pursue justice and the free follow afterwards, as a complement, today it is clear that without the gratuity you can not be no justice. Is needed, therefore, a market in which they can operate freely, with equal opportunities, companies which pursue different institutional. Alongside the private profit-oriented, and various types of public enterprise, must be able to root and express those organizations which pursue mutual and productive society. It is from their mutual encounter in the marketplace that can be wait a hybrid forms of behavior emerge, and hence an attentiveness to the economy
civilization. Charity in truth, in this case, means that we must shape and structure to those economic initiatives that, without denying profit, aim to go beyond the logic of fair exchange of goods and profits for its own sake.
39.
Paul VI in Populorum Progressio asked to configure a model of market economy capable of including within its range all peoples and not just the better . He called for efforts to build a world more human for all, a world in which "all have something to give and receive, without which the progress of some is an obstacle to the development of others" [94
]. He thus extended to the universal level the same demands and aspirations contained in
Rerum Novarum, written when for the first time, in consequence of the Industrial Revolution, the idea was - somewhat ahead of its time - that 's civil order needed to steady redistribution of the intervention of the state. Today this vision, as well as being placed in jeopardy by the process of opening markets and societies, it is evidently insufficient to meet the requirements of a fully human. As for the social doctrine of the Church has always maintained from his vision of man and society today is required by the dynamics of globalization.
When the logic of the market and the State shall agree among themselves to continue the monopoly for their own areas of influence in the long run are less solidarity in the relations between citizenship, participation and membership, free agency, which are contrast with the "give to get" just the logic of exchange, and to "give a sense of duty," the logic of public obligation, imposed by State law. Victory underdevelopment requires action not only on improving the exchange-based transactions, not only on transfers of public welfare facilities, but especially on
progressive opening up, in a world context, forms of economic activity characterized by free and share communion . The unique combination of market-state is corrosive of society, and economic forms of solidarity, which find their natural home in the civil society without being restricted to it, build up society. The free market does not exist and can not be established by law free attitudes. Yet both the market and the politics need people who are open to reciprocal gift.
40 . The current international economic scene, characterized by serious distortions and failures, requires
profoundly new way of understanding the company . Old models are not entrepreneurial, but other promising horizon. One of the biggest risks is no doubt that the company almost exclusively answerable to their investors and thereby limiting their social value. Fewer and fewer companies, thanks to growth in scale and the increasing need for capital, are owned by a businessman who feels responsible for stable long-term, not just the short term, the life and achievements of his business, and less depend on a single territory. In addition, the so-called outsourcing of production can weaken the sense of responsibility towards stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, consumers, the environment and the broader society, to the benefit of shareholders, that are not tied to a specific geographical area and therefore have an extraordinary mobility. The international capital market, in fact, offers great freedom of action. But it is also true that there is increasing awareness of the need for a broader "social responsibility" of the company. Even if the ethical debate that currently corporate social responsibility are not all acceptable from the perspective of the social doctrine of the Church, is a fact that is increasingly spreading its belief according to which the
management can not only take into account the interests of owners of the same but must also assume responsibility for all other categories of persons who contribute to the life of : employees, customers, suppliers of various inputs, the local community. In recent years he has noticed the growth of a cosmopolitan class of
managers, who often respond only to the shareholders generally consisting of anonymous funds that facto determine their remuneration. Even today, however, there are many far-sighted managers are increasingly aware of the profound links between their enterprise with the territory or territories in which it operates.
Paul VI called for serious attention to the damage that the transfer abroad of capital purely for personal gain can cause to their own nation [
95].
John Paul II warned that investment always has a moral significance , as well as economic [
96]. All this - it should be stressed - is still valid today, even though the capital market has been significantly liberalized, and the modern mentality Technology can suggest that investment is merely a technical matter, not a human and ethical. There is no reason to deny that a certain amount of capital can benefit, if invested abroad rather than at home. They must be subject to the requirements of justice, taking into account how that capital is and the harm to people who will lead his failure to use in places where it was generated [97
]. We must avoid that the reason for the use of financial resources
is speculative and succumb to the temptation of seeking only short-term profit, and not the long-term sustainability of the enterprise, its benefit to the economy and real attention to the promotion, adequate and appropriate business activities in countries in need of development. There is also no reason to deny that the relocation of investments and skills can benefit the populations of the receiving country. Work and technical knowledge are a universal need. But it is not permissible to relocate just to enjoy advantageous conditions, or worse, for exploitation, without making a real contribution to local society for the emergence of a robust production system and social factor for stable development.
41. In the context of this discussion is useful to note that the '
Entrepreneurship has and should continue to play a wide range of values \u200b\u200b
. The continuing prevalence of the combination of market-state has accustomed us to think only in terms of the private capitalistic one hand and the State director on the other. In fact, business has to be understood in an articulated way. This results from a number of reasons metaeconomiche. Entrepreneurship, the first professional to have a meaning, has a human [
98]. It is written in every work, seen as "actus personae
[
99], so it is good that every worker should have the opportunity to make his contribution so that he "He is working" in house "[
100]. Not by chance
Paul VI taught that "every worker has a creator" [
101]. To respond to the needs and dignity of the worker and the needs of society, there are several types of business, well beyond the simple distinction between "private" and "public". Each requires and expresses a specific business capacity. In order to achieve an economy that will soon be in position to serve the common good, national and global levels, should take account of this extended meaning of entrepreneurship. This broader concept promotes the exchange and fertilization between the different types of business, with shifting of powers from the nonprofit world
that
profit and vice versa, from the public to the right of civil society from that of advanced economies to the countries development. Even
'
political authority has a wide range of values \u200b\u200b
, which can not be overlooked in the process of constructing a new economic-productive, socially responsible and humane. As well as cultivating entrepreneurship differentiated on the world, we must also promote a dispersed political authority, effective on plans. The integrated economy of today does not eliminate the role of states, rather it commits governments to strengthening the mutual cooperation. Both wisdom and prudence suggest not too hasty to proclaim the end of the state. In terms of the resolution of the current crisis, his role seems destined to grow, buying back many of its powers. There are Nations in which the construction or reconstruction of the State continues to be a key factor in their development
. International aid right inside a solidarity plan to resolve current economic problems should rather support the consolidation of constitutional, legal, administrative Countries that do not yet fully enjoy these goods. Besides the economic assistance, there needs to be aimed at strengthening the guarantees of the rule of law
, a system of public policy and effective imprisonment in respect of human rights, truly democratic institutions. It is not necessary that the State has everywhere the same features: support for strengthening weak constitutional system can easily be accompanied by the development of other political, cultural, social, territorial or religious, alongside the State. The articulation of policy at local, national and international, inter alia, one of the main ways to come to be able to steer economic globalization. It is also a way to avoid it actually undermine the foundations of democracy.
42. Sometimes towards the globalization
is viewed in fatalistic, as if the dynamics in place they were produced by anonymous impersonal forces and structures beyond the human [
102]. It is worth recalling here that globalization should certainly be understood as a socio-economic process, but this is not its only dimension. Under the process more visible the reality of humanity that is becoming increasingly interconnected, it is made up of individuals and peoples to whom this process should be useful and Development [
103], thanks to the assumption by both individuals and the community of their responsibilities. The overcoming of borders is not only a material fact, but also cultural in its causes and its effects. If globalization is deterministic, you lose the criteria to evaluate and direct. It is a human reality and can be of diverse cultural orientations on which we must exercise discernment. The truth of globalization as a process and its fundamental ethical criterion are given by the unity of the human family and its development into the well. It must therefore be a sustained commitment
to foster personal and community cultural orientation, open to transcendence, the process of global integration .
Despite some of its structural elements, which should neither be denied nor exaggerated, "globalization,
a priori, is neither good nor bad. It will be what people make of it "[104
]. We should not be victims, but its protagonists, acting reasonably, guided by charity and truth. Blindly oppose it would be a wrong attitude, bias, which would ultimately ignore a process also includes positive aspects, with the risk of losing a great opportunity to enter in the many development opportunities it offers. The processes of globalization, properly designed and managed, offer the possibility of large-scale redistribution of wealth on a global level as before had never happened, if mismanaged, may instead be an increase in poverty and inequality, and a crisis with the entire world. We must correct the malfunctions
, even serious ones, that introduce new divisions between nations and within nations and to ensure that the redistribution of wealth is not the case with a redistribution of poverty or even with his emphasis, as a mishandling of the situation current would make us afraid. For a long time is thought that poor people should remain at a fixed stage of development, and should be content with the philanthropy of developed nations. Against this mentality has taken a position
Paul VI in Populorum Progressio . Today the material available for rescuing those people from poverty are potentially greater than before, but they have ended up largely in the hands of people from developed countries, which have benefited more from the liberalization of capital movements and labor . The spread of forms of prosperity in the world should not therefore be held up by projects selfish, protectionist or special interests. Indeed the involvement of emerging or developing countries, now makes it possible to better manage the crisis. The transition inherent in the process of globalization presents great difficulties and dangers that can only be overcome if we are able to realize the soul of anthropology and ethics, from the depths that drives globalization to the humanizing goal of solidarity. Unfortunately this spirit and is often overwhelmed by ethical and cultural considerations of individualistic and utilitarian. Globalization is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon, which must be grasped in diversity and unity of all its dimensions, including the theological. This will
live and steer the globalization of humanity in terms of relationship, of communion and sharing .
