Towards a Global Common Good
(Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the keynote address given by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin at Villanova University on Sept. 25, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the encyclical Laborem Exercens. Excerpts…
A truly global and inclusive economy
A distinguishing characteristic of the market today is that it is global. One could dedicate the rest of the evening to discussing the nature of a global economy and the advantages and disadvantages that it brings. I wish however to stress one simple point: a global economy must be truly global. Global must be made synonymous with inclusive. An economic system which leaves on its margins huge sectors of the population or entire regions of a nation or of the world will always remain fragile. The inclusion of the widest possible number of people or nations as protagonists is a primary interest of the global economy. A global economy which produces massive exclusion will be neither global nor stable.
One of the major problems with the current economic situation is the existence of glaring inequalities and of a lack of models — and perhaps political will — to resolve the question. There have always been winners and losers in any economic model: In today’s global economy there are extraordinary winners and disastrous losers.
One possible positive result from globalization, however, may be a restoration of the concept of the common good and a realization that today there exists a “global common good” which urgently needs to be protected. This applies to the protection of human rights, the protection of the environment but also the protection of the dignity of work. It is becoming more and more obvious that what happens in one part of the world inevitably has repercussions elsewhere. No nation, not even the most powerful, can go it alone.
Respecting the global common good, however, cannot be limited to enforcing certain negotiated economic, financial and commercial norms and standards. Liberalization of trade and finances, for example, is not an end in itself. Liberalization will only lead to growth when certain other conditions are met. But neither is growth in itself is the ultimate value. Growth with equity and inclusion is better than growth which generates great inequalities and exclusion. Growth with stability is better than a growth accompanied by volatility and precariousness.
Conclusion
My rather disordered reflections on this anniversary of the encyclical “Laborem Exercens” have led me to stress — perhaps with too much optimism — that the nature of a modern economy may provide new openings for dialogue between Christian social reflection and the world of work and the economy today. A modern economy recognizes that it is not the market which is its driving force. The market is only a means which can more efficiently ensure that the fruits of human creativity can flourish and be distributed.
We should not overlook the fact that “Laborem Exercens” looks on human work not just as the work of an isolated individual. Human work has an intrinsic social dimension. A person’s work, in fact, is naturally connected with that of other people. Pope John Paul notes that “more than ever, work is work with others and work for others.”[29]
Human work can build solidarity. But it can do so only if the world of work is structured and oriented towards solidarity and enables all to participate through their work in the building up of a world where all can realize themselves in God’s image.
Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” has noted that with the Jesus’ teaching “the concept of ‘neighbor’ is now universalized.”[30] True neighborliness embraces all. The Good Samaritan responds in love to an unidentified person on the road, just because he is a person, for no other reason than that he is a fellow human being suffering. But if “neighbor” is universalized, it is also not reduced to a generic, abstract expression. Neighbor is not an abstract concept: but a concrete person.
The teaching of Jesus, who came to reveal to us that God is love, is a teaching which is the opposite of the dominant consumer mentality. The consumer mentality tends to utilize or to use for personal satisfaction. Through work the person can give of his or her talents to ensure that all can realize fully the image of God that is within them. In that way work can witness also that “love of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor, also blinds us to God.”[31]