---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 10:11:41 +1100 (EST) From: Matthew Townsend <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Pope lashes capitalists >Pope fires a salvo against consumerism > >John Hooper in Rome > >THE Pope lashed out at capitalism last week in his strongest renunciation to date of the global economy. He linked the financial crisis in the East Asia with the activities of market speculators, and put the impact of consumerism on a par with those of some of the most odious doctrines of history, including Nazism. >The strictures were contained in a special message issued before World Peace Day, on January 1. His 22-page homily, presented at the Vatican, focused on human rights. >"When human rights are ignored or scorned, and when the pursuit of individual interests unjustly prevails over the common good, then the seeds of instability, rebellion and violence are inevitably sown," he said. >While inveighing against a range of targets, from abortion to small arms proliferation, he left no doubt that he regarded the global economic order as one of the main sources of human rights violations. >"The history of our time has shown in a tragic way the danger which results from forgetting the truth about the human person. Before our eyes we have the results of ideologies such as Marxism, Nazism and fascism, and also of myths like racial superiority, nationalism and ethnic exclusivism. >"No less pernicious, though not always as obvious, are the effects of materialistic consumerism, in which the exultation of the individual and the selfish satisfaction of personal aspirations become the ultimate goal of life." >Since the fall of communism the Pope has increasingly concentrated his fire on the shortcomings of capitalism and the free market. But he has never gone so far in deploring its consequences. >He writes: "The rapid advance towards the globalisation of economic and financial systems also illustrates the urgent need to establish who is responsible for guaranteeing the global common good and the exercise of economic and social rights. The free market by itself cannot do this, because in fact there are many human needs which have no place in the market." >He adds: "The effects of the recent economic and financial crises have had heavy consequences for countless people, reduced to conditions of extreme poverty. >"Many of them had only just reached a position which allowed them to look to the future with optimism. Through no fault of their own, they have seen these hopes cruelly dashed, with tragic results for themselves and their children. >"And how can we ignore the effects of fluctuations in the financial markets? We urgently need a new vision of global progress in solidarity, which will . . . enable all people to realise their potential." >The Guardian Weekly Volume 159 Issue 26 for week ending December 27, 1998, Page 6 > > > > > > > Matthew Townsend Barrister & Accredited Mediator Lecturer in Environmental Law, Victoria University of Technology ============================================================= Clerk: McNaught 205 William St, MELBOURNE 3000 Business: (03) 9608 7319 Fax: (03) 9608 8668 Home: (03) 9826 9662 Mobile: (04) 1122 0277 DX: 89 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================================= Please don't send unsolicited attachments. -- For MAI-not (un)subscription information, posting guidelines and links to other MAI sites please see http://mai.flora.org/
