YOUCAT Lesson 447 A
YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic
youth
447 Is globalization exclusively a matter of
politics and economics?
There used to be the idea of a division of labor: economics
should be concerned about increasing wealth, and politics should be concerned
about distributing it justly. In the age
of globalization, however, profits are obtained globally, while politics to a
great extent is still limited within national boundaries. Therefore, what is needed today is not just
the strengthening of transnational political institutions, but also the
initiatives of individuals and social groups that are active economically in
the poorer regions of the world, not primarily for the sake of profit, but
rather out of a spirit of solidarity and love.
The market and the State are necessary, but so is a strong civil
society.
Wealth inequality. Catholic
News Agency photo ….. 447
A study by the World
Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University
reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the
year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world
total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned 1% of global wealth. Moreover,
another study found that the richest 2% own more than half of global
household assets.
In a market, products and services are exchanged for goods
having the same value. In many regions
of this world, however, the people are so poor that they cannot offer anything
in exchange and therefore continue to be left behind. So there is a need for economic initiatives
that are defined, not by the “logic of exchange”, but rather by the “logic of
the unconditional gift” (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate). This means, not merely giving alms to the
poor, but rather helping them to help themselves by opening up paths to
economic freedom. There are Christian
initiatives, for instance the “Economy of Communion” project of the Focolare
Movement, which today involves more than 750 businesses worldwide. There are also non-Christian social
entrepreneurs who, though profit-oriented, nevertheless work in the spirit of a
“culture of giving” with the goal of alleviating poverty and marginalization.
“As society becomes ever more globalized, it makes us neighbors
but does not make us brothers. Reason,
by itself, is capable of grasping the equality between men and of giving
stability to their civic coexistence, but it cannot establish fraternity.” Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate
“The economy in the
global era seems to privilege the former logic, that of contractual exchange,
but directly or indirectly it also demonstrates its need for the other two:
political logic and the logic of the unconditional gift.” Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate
In a market, products and services are exchanged for goods
having the same value. In many regions
of this world, however, the people are so poor that they cannot offer anything
in exchange and therefore continue to be left behind. So there is a need for economic initiatives
that are defined, not by the “logic of exchange”, but rather by the “logic of
the unconditional gift” (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate).
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