Pope Francis and the political economy of exclusion

ALAI, América Latina en Movimiento

One who hears the various interventions of the Bishop of Rome and present Pope can feel at home in Latin America. He is not Eurocentric, nor Rome-centric, and much less Vatican-centric. He is himself, a pastor who "sees from the end of the world", from the periphery of the hold European Christianity, now decadent and dying (only 24% of Catholics are European); he comes from a new Christianity that has been elaborated over 500 years in Latin America, with his own face and his own theology.

Pope Francis never knew the triumphant and central capitalism of Europe, but a peripherical,subalternate capitalism, attached to big world capitalism as a little brother. The big danger was never Marxism but the savagery of uncivilized capitalism. This kind of capitalism generated, in our Latin American Continent, a scandalous accumulation of a few at the cost of poverty and exclusion on the part of the great majority of people.

His discourse is direct, explicit, without murky metaphors, as is the habit with official and balanced Vatican discourse, which puts an accent on assurance and equidistance from the truth and the clarity of its own position.

The position of Pope Francis is most clear: beginning with the poor and the excluded: there should be do doubts in the explanations that would weaken them", this option involves "that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them." (exhortation, n. 48)." today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape" (n. 53).

Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a “throw away” culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers” (ibid.)

He is quite clear in this denunciation of "a social and economic system that is unjust in its roots (n. 53).

Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”. (n. 53).

It cannot be denied that this kind of formulation of Pope Francisco reflects the magisterium of Latin American bishopsin Medellin (1968, Puebla (1979) and Aparecida (2009), as with the common current of liberation theology. This has at the heart the option for the poor, against poverty and in favour of life and of social justice.

There is a perceptible affinity with the economist Karl Polanyi, who led with a denunciation of the "Great Transformation" (title of his 1944 book), that made the market economy a market society. In this all turns into merchandize, the most sacred things and the most vital. Everything is an object of lucrative activity. Such a society is ruled strictly by competition, by individualism and by the absence of any limits. Because of this nothing is respected and it gives rise to a culture of violence, intrinsic to the way in which it is constructed and functions, and is severely criticized by Pope Francis (n. 53). It gave rise to an atrocious impact. In the words of the Pope,"To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own" (n.54) In a word, we live in times of great inhumanity, impiety and cruelty. Can we consider ourselves really civilized if by civilization we understand the humanization of human beings? In truth, we move back to primitive forms of barbarism.

Thelast conclusion that the Pontiff takes from this:We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market."(n. 204). This is an attack on the ideology and false heart of the ruling system.

Where must we seek alternatives?Perhaps not in the hoped-for social doctrine of the Church. We can respect it, but he observes:yet we cannot help but be concrete – without presuming to enter into details – lest the great social principles remain mere generalities which challenge no one. There is a need to draw practical conclusions, so that they “will have greater impact on the complexities of current situations”.[148]The "we cannot avoid being concrete so that the great social principles do not remain as mere generalities that never question anything (n. 182). Look for humanitarian practicewith the historical Jesus. Do not understand his message as something buried in he past, but as an inspirationthat is opened for an ever-changing history. Yet we cannot help but be concrete – without presuming to enter into details – lest the great social principles remain mere generalities which challenge no one. There is a need to draw practical conclusions, so that they “will have greater impact on the complexities of current situations”.[148]The Church’s pastors, taking into account the contributions of the different sciences, have the right to offer opinions on all that affects people’s lives, since the task of evangelization implies and demands the integral promotion of each human being. It is no longer possible to claim that religion should be restricted to the private sphere and that it exists only to prepare souls for heaven. We know that God wants his children to be happy in this world too, even though they are called to fulfilment in eternity, for he has created all things “for our enjoyment” Jesus is someone who teaches us to recognize the other, cure their wounds, build bridges, tighten ties and help us to carry the burdens of one another (n. 67). Personalizing hisproposal he says: "whatinterests me isthat those who live in slavery to an individualist, indifferent and egoist mentality, can free themselves from these chains and reach a style of life and of thought that is more human, more noble, more fecund and the gives dignity to their passage through this earth.(n. 208). This intention is similar to that of a Charter for Earth that brings values and principles for new humanity that lives with love and care of the planet Earth.

The Pope's dream brings alive the dream of Jesus, of the Kingdom of justice, love and peace. Jesus did not intend to create a new religion,but that people who love, demonstrate solidarity, show mercy, see everyone as brothers and sisters because all are sons and daughters in the Son.

This kind of christianity has nothing of proselytism, but conquers with the attaction of his beauty and profound humanity. These are values that can save humanity.

--Leonardo Boff