A recent Oxfam report said that the richest 85 people in the world now have as much wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population, or some 3.5 billion people. This statistic tells us that our economy is not working for those of us who are not already on the top. Pope Francis, spiritual leader of 1.2 billion people, created quite a stir within the privileged ranks of the über wealthy with the publication of the papal exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). Pope Francis condemned “Trickle Down” economics and called capitalism an “idolatry of money” that excludes the poor. Capitalism protects the tiny minority of the wealthy from the poor who suffer the social ills of poverty, violence, crime, low education, and poor health and it privileges the wealthy by giving them nearly all the fruits of the labor of the poor.
New School economics professor Richard D. Wolff states that no matter how long you work, no matter how skilled you are at what you do, you will not get wealthy by working. The data seems to bear this out: The top 1% captured 121% of all the income gains between 2009 and 2011. At the same time that corporations made record profits, workers’ wages hit a new low. As the numbers of millionaires living in San Jose skyrocketed up to 90,700 the city’s homeless population exploded to over 8,000 – not including the thousands who live 2-3 families crammed together in one house as they do in my Mayfair neighborhood. These workers make only $17,000 a year with full-time employment. They toil long hours in low paying jobs just to put bread and milk on the table for their children. They are giving the best years of their lives to this economy, yet they have very little to show for it.
Pope Francis, well aware that the economic model of capitalism does not serve the poor, calls for a new “economics of inclusion.” In Evangelii Gaudium he wrote, “Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world…This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”
No wonder the Pope has come under fire from disciples of Ludwig von Mises and devotees of Ayn Rand. Silicon Valley billionaire Tom Perkins declared that America is facing a “progressive Kristallnacht” against the rich and billionaire Kenneth Lagone said that he and others will stop supporting the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral if the Pope doesn’t stop alienating the rich. Rush Limbaugh said, “(T)his pope makes it very clear he doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to capitalism and socialism and so forth.” Is Pope Francis’ critique about capitalism a naive knee jerk reaction or has Pope Francis tapped into the Zeitgeist of an emerging consciousness of economic injustice?
Addressing more than 2,500 bankers and leaders in industry attending the World Economic Forum, the Pope said, “I ask you to ensure humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it.” He urged these participants to promote prosperity for all and not just think about their own wealth and well-being. Can we depend upon those who created (and perpetuate) this profoundly disordered economic system to come up with a solution? No! Addressing systemic poverty requires disassembling the policies that sustain injustice and assemble new structures that work for all people. This cannot be done by those invested in the status quo. We, at the bottom, must work together to develop a more inclusive economic model that benefits all people. This work requires world leaders and industry moguls to consider the perspectives of the workers; that policy makers consider how their decisions impact families; and that neighborhoods and workplaces welcome organizers. Pope Francis has opened the conversation and now is the time for all of us to engage in dialog, planning and mobilization.
Father Jon Pedigo is a community activist and Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose
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