For the month of November, the Pope’s prayer intention is For the proper use of wealth,“that not succumbing to the temptation of selfishness, it may always be put at the service the common good and solidarity of those who have less.”
In the face of obscene wealth held by individuals, a line in the sand is emerging, catching the eyes of many and voices are being raised. Midterm elections in the USA, not the least among the voices.
An economic climate, system or paradigm that allows for the creation of billionaires while the majority move further away from being able to provide for their own necessities, is under the fiercest scrutiny.
Many organisations, associations, groups, alliances and individuals across the world are pointing to a return to the common good, through a wellbeing economy, as the only viable and life-giving future for all creatures, for our common home and the common space around us.
Di Bowles, Director, Wellbeing Economy Alliance Australia outlines that:
“A key pillar of the wellbeing economy is predistribution. It changes the rules of the market so wealth is shared fairly from the start, rather than using taxes and government payments to repair the harm afterwards. Charity will always matter, but it shouldn’t have to carry the load of an unfair system. Predistribution restores the economy to its true purpose, the wellbeing of people and planet. It builds a fairer system through worker and community ownership, affordable housing and access to education. The result is shared prosperity and the dignity that comes from everyone sharing in what is created together.”
The Beyond GDP (Gross Domestic Product) movement has reached the United Nations who released a report this year responding to a global paradox: despite decades of GDP growth, people feel disenchanted with political and economic systems, and the planet faces mounting crises. (Beyond GDP: From Report to Reality)
Renowned economist Marianna Mazzucato’s and friend of Pope Francis, keeps ‘The Common Good Economy’ alive in her new book of the same name.
This of course is not a new concept. Pope Leo XIV’s petition, “May each economic, family, or community decision spring from a free heart able to recognise that every good is meant for all and that only by sharing we build the future,” contains the penetrating insight of St Augustine in the Exposition of Psalm 147: “The superfluities of the rich are the necessities of the poor. When you possess superfluities, you possess what belongs to others.”
The Augustinians believe where there is common concern there is a pathway to unity among people… since we brought nothing into the world, the goods of the Earth are a gift from God for the common good of all. (A Path to Unity in a Divided World)
Words from a wise Josephite Sister, ‘see where the Spirit is moving and go there with your Josephite hands and heart’ resonate with Pope Leo XIV’s calling on the Spirit to teach us to use what we have – money, time, talents, opportunities as instruments of fraternity.
In these unprecedented times of alarming disparity, disregard for planetary boundaries and unnecessary suffering, how are you responding to the nudging of the Spirit to use what you have as instruments of fraternity?
You may find the Explore, Embody and Embrace Urgent Hope Conversation Packages useful prompts to your reflection. View here.
Adrienne Gallie rsj