Cardinal Turkson discusses capitalism and Pope’s encyclical on creation
September 30, 2015
In a Newsweek interview devoted to Pope Francis’s encyclical on the care of creation, Cardinal Peter Turkson addressed the question, “Is capitalism a good idea?”
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Cardinal Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, answered:
This is not the first time an encyclical talks about an economic system that doesn’t promote the well-being of everybody in an equal and sustainable manner. But it doesn’t quite identify or call it by the name of capitalism. I suppose that’s kind of intentional. The basic affirmation is that economics… should try to promote the flourishing of all in an equal manner, if possible….
The Pope isn’t the only one to observe this. At the meeting of Davos last January, it was also observed by Oxfam that this was still going to get worse, with the few getting richer and richer and the bulk of the human population getting poorer and poorer. This is the type of thing the Holy Father is observing, and inviting us to switch gears. Change of paradigm, so that the world’s resources can really be enjoyed by all of humanity in a way.
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Posted by: Dennis Olden -
Oct. 02, 2015 5:39 PM ET USA
The material success of the West is founded on a heritage of certain values. Where those values or some other unknown equally formative values are lacking, that material success cannot happen. All value systems are not equal, although political correctness wants us to think otherwise. If there are systemic biases against the poorer nations, perhaps those biases can be addressed at some level above the average person's pay grade, but the material success of the West cannot be carried over en bloc
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Posted by: the.dymeks9646 -
Sep. 30, 2015 6:48 AM ET USA
The bulk of the human population getting poorer and poorer- really? Speaking of material well being, the opposite is true. Speaking of moral well being, that may be true because of the lack of moral teaching and truthfull teachers.
