Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has a great roundup of discussions about Pope Francis's latest work, and what it has to say about economic matters. It includes observations from Ross Douthat, Matt Lewis, Peter Ingmeni, and George Weigel. The common assessment is that the Pope's overall message is an exhortation for Catholic faith to be visceral, to pertain to the three-dimensional, space-time existence of human beings.
Not having read Evangelii Gaudium, I'm not in a position to speak as conclusively as the above writers, but I thought something was haywire when gloating FHers started posting cherry-picked snippets on Facebook. I'll keep my eye out for more commentary on it.
Pope John Paul II was no fan of either capitalism or socialism, calling them 2 sides of the same coin. Still, capitalism remains the proven victor in the struggle to allocate goods and services for the greatest good of all. This is not a reason for pridefully ramming the flag of free markets up our collective behinds, but an opportunity and a duty to reform what is wrong with capitalism. This Harvard Business Review (I know, evil Hahvahd) article and video interview with the author of "Runaway Capitalism" defends capitalism but has an eyes-wide-open approach to recognizing its abuses.
ReplyDelete"The whole system has been indicted, not only because of the financial crisis but particularly since that event, as inherently unworkable. It isn’t true. Capitalism—broadly, private ownership and resources allocated by markets—remains the most powerful, flexible, and robust system for driving society’s prosperity and enhancing quality of life. But keeping it on track will depend on our ability to rethink the priorities that guide everyone in the system, from entrepreneurs to regulators to investors. Together the practitioners of capitalism will need to throttle back the headlong pursuits of ROE (Return on Equity) and competition, and that process begins with recognizing those ideas for what they are. They are runaways."
Read more at http://hbr.org/2012/01/runaway-capitalism/ar/1
One of those main differences between conservatives and libertarians. Free-market economics is essential to a workable society and a decent human life, but so is the Judeo-Christian moral code.
ReplyDeleteAm reading Evangelii Gaudium now. Pretty simple understandable stuff from the heart, like all great spiritual writing. Il Papa's been there, he has had a spiritual awakening in Jesus Christ and is spreading the word big time. Observations at p. 10 of 224 only
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