In a humane economy, happiness matters. So do people.
1.13 | June 14, 2020 | Faith, Hope and Love in the Time of Corona
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Cor 13:13
IMAGE: Omotayo Tajudeen
It’s the economy, stupid! — so they say. The economy has become the alibi of our times as elections, wars and markets are governed in its name. Yet, in its relentless drive for profits, those who remain short-changed are its very agents — people. The ongoing pandemic has brutally exposed this chasm not only for the people but for the economy itself.
Clive Spash’s analysis (long read, but recommended) highlights the inherent weaknesses of our dominant capitalist economies and how they have failed in the midst of a crisis. When the growth of the economy is prioritised for its financial returns, it is set into motion through a continuous cycle of demand and supply that resists any break in its operations. Thus ‘protecting the economy’ has become a priority, even at the peak of the pandemic when people’s lives are at stake. Such prioritisation of the economy is now visible in the pre-pandemic austerity measures that had cut funding to public infrastructure and services like the healthcare — which should have augured us well during this health emergency. On the other hand, a current drop in pollution levels exposes how unsustainable such an economy could be!
If money and capital become the sole objective of an economy — with profit-making as its accompanying virtue — where do people fit in? And what would the impact of such an economy be on the economically disadvantaged? According to a UNU-WIDER paper published last week, close to 395 million people globally — with more than half of these in South Asia — could be added to extreme poverty, taking the global figure to over 1 billion people. That the location of global poverty could now shift back to South Asia and East Asia is ironic, considering that India’s pandemic recovery package of $260 billion (10 percent of its GDP) is larger than some richer OECD countries. While this stimulus package is seen as an aid to economic self-reliance, it doesn’t seem to add up for India’s poor. This fits with Spash’s analysis as in a crisis “nations turn inwards and act unilaterally.” Furthermore, such economic disruptions have political implications that give rise to “extreme right wing nationalism, authoritarianism, securitisation and militarisation.”
As the economy continues to sideline vulnerable people even during the pandemic — for example, listen to global voices of informal workers in the podcast below — do we have alternatives? Solidarity, yes. But a capitalist economy requires a much larger rethink of our financial models. Jane Mosbacher Morris’ second-hand business model that is sustainable while also empowering women in developing countries is a quest for an alternate economic model.
Much of our desire for an alternate economic model can begin by reflecting on our own consumerist tendencies. Our consumption patterns could provide us some insight. Probably, a study of inequality can be a starting point. That study can also be an act of faith.
Mary Hirschfeld, an economist and theologian, engages with Thomistic economic thought and metaphysics in order to reflect on the economy and one’s attitude towards it. In her book, Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy (check the link for more resources), Hirschfeld dwells on the nature of happiness which is ultimately found in God. Similarly, human beings have free will to discern and creatively order (work) the material things in this world in a manner that not only helps her or him realise happiness here on earth, but also participate in that eternal happiness found in God. Participating in this happiness, even through our economic activity with our own people, can be a way of knowing and loving God. It makes for a more humane economy. And in this humane economy, it is people that matter more than profits.
Wishing you faith, hope and love,
Rinald D’Souza SJ
HISTORIA DOMUS
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Readings
FAITH
Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy
Michael Baranowski with Mary Hirschfeld | The Politics Guys | 23 January 2019
Mike talks with theologian and economist Mary Hirschfeld about her book Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy. Topics that Mike and Professor Hirschfeld discuss include:
what theology can bring to a discussion of economics
what Thomas Aquinas – a medieval Dominican friar – can contribute to our understanding of 21st century economics
why economics isn’t as value-neutral as many people think
money, desire, and happiness
‘maximizing your utility’ vs. ‘ordering your life’
why private property is a good thing
inequality and economic justice
HOPE
‘The economy’ as if people mattered: revisiting critiques of economic growth in a time of crisis
Clive L Spash | Globalizations | 20 May 2020
DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2020.1761612
The fear created by a crisis getting out of control raises the political danger of extreme right wing nationalism, authoritarianism, securitisation and militarisation. Nations turn inwards and act unilaterally. The hope is that the experience of a devastating global crisis will put the necessity of systems change high on the public agenda and create general awareness that ‘the economy’ cannot be allowed to go on as before, creating social division and gross inequalities while leaving humanity at the mercy of corporations, billionaires, speculators and profiteers. A global human health crisis has tested the system and shown its failings and should be taken as a warning in the face of the impending ecological crisis. As a fundamental starting point, economies are required that address those failings by providing robust democratic systems for basic social provisioning for all via socially and ecologically ethical means of production.
LOVE
Staying Sustainable and Leading In The Time of Corona
Meredith Fineman with Jane Mosbacher Morris | It Never Gets Old | 20 May 2020
Meredith does a special interview with friend Jane Mosbacher Morris and her company To The Market, which has quickly become a go-to for sustainable suppliers during the corona crisis. Jane talks about her company, her obsession with secondhand and vintage resort wear, and how she was able to pivot quickly and manufacture PPE sustainably in a time of crisis.
Postscript
Postscript
Impact of the Global Pandemic on Informal Workers
Cyrus Afshar | Informal Economy Podast: Social Protection | 2 May 2020
In this second episode of the mini-series, we will hear the concrete impact on the lives of informal workers in cities around the world, with brief updates from the ground from WIEGO team members who work closely with informal workers. We also bring the account from two workers leaders themselves, on how the lockdown is affecting their lives and those of their comrades.
I talked to 11 people from 9 cities around the world. From Delhi, India, to Portland, United States, passing through Dakar, Johannesburg, Accra, Belo Horizonte, Bogota, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.
We will hear how local and national governments are responding to the crisis to protect informal workers health and livelihoods, as the cities try to face a global crisis. We will learn how workers are organizing to pressure authorities, but also how some of them are taking direct action to support vulnerable workers through these difficult times.
REFLECT
For it is not so much knowledge that fills and satisfies the soul,
but the intimate understanding and relish of the truth.
The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, #2
LINKS
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