THE DARK SIDE OF CAPITALISM
The author of this article is a Redemptorist priest and lecturer at the Yarra Theological Union, Box Hill, Vic.
The ‘dark side’ of capitalism: why the Pope is highlighting inequality
Pope Francis has emerged as one of the most important voices on the global stage about the need for a stronger moral dimension in economic policies. This has caused some upset in business and financial…
Bruce Duncan, The Conversation October 6, 2014
Pope Francis has urged the world to avoid the greed of unchecked capitalism.
Pope Francis has emerged as one of the most important voices on the global stage about the need for a stronger moral dimension in economic policies. This has caused some upset in business and financial circles.
Prominent US political commentator Keith Farrell responded by accusing Pope Francis of being overly influenced by Marxist ideas that ‘the rich have only gotten rich at the expense of the poor’.
Farrell argues that ‘the inequality gap simply doesn’t matter’. He wrote that ‘capitalism has produced unrivalled economic growth’ and is ‘chiefly responsible for halving of world poverty rates over the past 20 years’.
What Farrell fails to acknowledge is that most of the recent global improvement in living standards is occurring in communist China, hardly a model capitalist country; that the global financial system is fragile; and that globally two billion people still struggle in severe poverty.
Confronting the ‘dark side’ of capitalism
Pope Francis acknowledges the progress already made to improve living standards in many countries, but is urging that priority be given to lifting living standards for the rest of the world. He is highlighting the ‘dark side’ of our capitalist economic systems, and particularly how extreme economic inequality is harming millions of people.
Francis does not speak as an armchair philosopher, moralising from afar. He personally experienced the devastation in Argentina when it defaulted on its debts in 2001-02, driving half the population into poverty and crippling the country economically. Banks failed and many people lost their life savings.
Even in Italy Francis sees the prolonged economic depression, with unemployment at over 12%, but youth unemployment at 40%. In Europe as a whole, 25 million (11.5%) are unemployed, including 5.3 million young people (10.2%), while in Greece and Spain over 25% are unemployed, with over 55% for youth……….
Francis is appalled that so many people are still barely surviving in many countries when the world has such unprecedented wealth and could do much more to lift the living standards of poorer populations with better policies……….
