[lbo-talk] Zizek mentioned

C. G. Estabrook galliher at illinois.edu
Thu Jan 7 14:43:41 PST 2010


The last pope publicly opposed the invasion of Iraq, and the most recent statement from the current bishop of Rome on economic matters (called Caritas in Veritate from its Latin opening) includes the following observations:

"...grave imbalances are produced when economic action, conceived merely as an engine for wealth creation, is detached from political action, conceived as a means for pursuing justice through redistribution."

"...globalization ... could cause unprecedented damage..."

"The development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side."

"Both the regulation of the financial sector, so as to safeguard weaker parties and discourage scandalous speculation, and experimentation with new forms of finance, designed to support development projects, are positive experiences that should be further explored and encouraged, highlighting the responsibility of the investor."

"In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance ... and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity."

"To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority..."

"Questions linked to the care and preservation of the environment today need to give due consideration to the energy problem. The fact that some States, power groups and companies hoard non-renewable energy resources represents a grave obstacle to development in poor countries. Those countries lack the economic means either to gain access to existing sources of non-renewable energy or to finance research into new alternatives. The stockpiling of natural resources, which in many cases are found in the poor countries themselves, gives rise to exploitation and frequent conflicts between and within nations. These conflicts are often fought on the soil of those same countries, with a heavy toll of death, destruction and further decay. The international community has an urgent duty to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of non-renewable resources, involving poor countries in the process, in order to plan together for the future."

Dennis Claxton wrote:
> At 01:01 PM 1/7/2010, c b wrote:
>
>
>> As to wars, the Vatican hasn't denounced imperialism and
>> colonialism , has it ?
>
>
> Oh hell no. It's about converting hearts. The structures will follow.
>
> And if anyone can find specifics from the church concerning "the desired
> structural changes" mentioned here, I'll eat your zucchetto:
>
>
>> "There will be no peace on earth while the oppression of peoples,
>> injustices and economic imbalances, which still exist, endure." He
>> insisted that changes in structures, economic and otherwise, must come
>> from conversion of hearts: "But for the desired structural changes to
>> take place, external initiatives and interventions are not enough;
>> what is needed above all is a joint conversion of hearts to love."
>
>
> PJP II, Ash Wednesday 2003
>
> http://www.cjd.org/paper/jp2war.html
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