The Pope in Genoa. The feature of good economy is the dignity of work

In Genoa Pope Francis returned to address the issue of labour, with a reflection focused on the dignity of work. The starting point of the Holy Father’s analysis appears to be the suggestion whereby against the backdrop of increasing economic interdependence, fragmented production processes and technological developments, the new conflicts characterising the working environment rather than being caused by the conventional conflict between capital and labour, seem to be the result of a clash between those who promote the dignity of labour and those who “speculate” over it. That’s why, Francis said,

There is no good economy without a good entrepreneur.

That is, men capable of constantly questioning themselves on what is good and what is bad, pursuing the good of their business on the basis of strong values inspired by the truth on man. At the same time, they should establish quality relationships with all those who in different respects are connected with the business, ensuring a dynamic balance between the requirements of the economy and human necessities, with a far-reaching approach that is not confined to the short-term period, carried out with intelligence and creative entrepreneurship. Such quest for balance should lead to a business culture that combines necessary discipline resulting from internal regulations carried out via overarching initiatives, capable of promoting innovations needed by any organization that wishes to develop and preserve its vitality.

A bad entrepreneur is obviously the opposite of a good entrepreneur.

In fact the former is a “mercenary”, a “speculator”, according to the metaphor used by Francis. The demarcation line characterising these two opposite understandings of the role of the entrepreneur consists in the meaning ascribed to their job and to the gifts they received. While the paradigm of a good entrepreneur is based on the logic of service, that of the “speculator” is based on the instrumental use of everything and everyone, ultimately denying the reality whereby work is a good that is useful to and worthy of man, whose role is to express and increase his very dignity. The loss of the true meaning of work also affects businesses, with the result that those aspects that should be viewed as means (technology, finance, profit) become the goal of work and of business as a whole, ensnaring the human person inside a paradigm of development that triggers the disgregation of social bonds and poses a threat to the foundations of civil society, thereby causing mistrust, abuse, individualism, exclusion, inequalities. These very phenomena are at the centre of the economy of exclusion whereby “man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption”, which fuels the “throwaway culture” (Evangelii Gaudium, 53-55), and ignores the intimate relationship among the things of the world – a culture against which Francis has focused his pontificate.

One of the central points of the paradigm of business proposed by Francis consists in understanding work as a vocation, as an opportunity for service, for the improvement of the lives of those near us and of society as a whole.

In turn it contributes to triggering a change in paradigm also in the realm of businesses, transforming practices and behaviours, enabling the sense of mission to pervade the same organization, preserving a result-oriented approach without loosing sight of the long term fulfilment of the values of the business. Within this framework competition encompasses a larger set of values, marked by “cooperation”, “mutual assistance”, and “reciprocity.”

However, good economy requires, along with good entrepreneurs, also good institutions.

Work is not created by the State; it’s created by businesses. Institutions have the responsibility of creating an institutional framework that promotes productive entrepreneurship, discouraging unproductive entrepreneurship based on the quest for profit and speculation to the detriment of the workers. 
Moreover, Francis reminds us, “the political system seems to encourage those who speculate on work and not those who invest in and believe in the job.” Hence the Pope highlighted first of all the quality of institutions, since extracting economic institutions result in equally extracting political institutions, triggering a vicious cycle that causes poverty and exclusion. Institutions have the responsibility of defining a solid legal framework whereby conflicts involving the job environment must find an answer and must aspire to the common good, simultaneously promoting businesses that prompt development and job opportunities.
However, the role of institutions should not go so far as to transform the unemployed into “pensioners”, through the promotion of job policies that strip man of the possibility to work, thereby taking away his very dignity. In fact, Pope Francis reminds us that the true goal we must aim at is not “income for all” but “work for all”! which involves the commitment of institutions and of society as a whole, each according to their specific responsibilities. Hence the chosen path is the one leading to the rediscovery of the meaning of work, thereby contributing to reconnecting our culture – including economic and managerial culture – with the truth on man. It is the paradigm of a model of integral human development that requires virtuous leaderships, capable of expressing inner life through work, adjusting and rectifying the dangerous trends that lead to absolutize the interests at stake to the detriment of work and of the human person.