For a new economy

“A crisis is basically a moment of truth, the possibility of finding answers to the deepest questions brought to the fore by the crisis. What is truly worthwhile? What kind of relations do we have in society? How can we ensure a sustainable future for everyone, not only here but also abroad?” It is the perspective of “Called to sharing”, a reflection on economy-related issues that the Conference of Religious men and women in The Netherlands (KNR) published in the framework of a debate between representatives of the political world, social forces and volunteering. The letter is being released a few days before elections for the renewal of the European Parliament in the Country, scheduled for May 22, while according to surveys, 20% intend to go to the polls. For KNR, the message that should be drawn from the crisis and the path to be followed is “sharing”: sharing ideas of “good life”; the “service of general wellbeing”, the “long religious tradition” and “the words of Jesus of Nazareth”. On quicksand. Despite the complexity of the economic crisis “one thing is clear: a system that only seeks to maximize profit without considering the consequences for man and the environment, is built on quicksand”. Moreover, “if nothing fundamental in the system changes, another crisis will ensue shortly after”. Figures confirm a malfunction in the system. According to a survey conducted by Oxfam, the 85 richest people in the world have as much as 3.5 billion poor. 1% of the world population owns 65 times more than the poorest half of the world. For the religious of The Netherlands “a society in which the living conditions of the most vulnerable people are continually eroded, is not a good society”. A central role to the poor. The perspective is changed by the words of Jesus, in a period of “bank bailouts and turbulence in the financial sectors” they reverberate with “surprising topical relevance”, to become “bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens”, to seek a “kingdom” where “the poor are treated with care and respect”. The proposal is clear: “In these times when we seem unable to hold on firmly to any message on improvement or prospects of economic recovery” there is a word of Jesus that brings “good news: if we build our lives in communion with God and with others we have nothing to fear”. Indeed, this “challenges the way of thinking of the rich and poor together”, because it is based on the evidence that profit and wealth are always at risk, and that they can always be stolen, corroded, destroyed. The Pope’s teaching. The vision is the one outlined by Pope Francis in his recent Letter “Evangelii Gaudium”, in which he condemns “the economy of exclusion and inequality” that “kills”, or that of true richness that Jesuit Fr Pedro Arrupe described as “the inner law of love”, as opposed to the “self-interest, greed or ambition of our individual and collective existence that dominate our politics, our social structures and our choices”. But the key to “reorganizing society” is to act “all together”. In fact, it is not enough to help “the less skilled, migrants, people with disabilities and the elderly”; we need to “listen to them, to recognize their strengths and allow them to change”. To share talents. The point is “whether to continue believing in a form of social engineering in which we are at the centre along with our successes that must be implemented often to the detriment of others” or instead “to accept to be called to give to others, not only our possessions but also to share with others our talents”. In the answer to this challenge lies the possibility of overcoming the various crises: of the economy, social, environmental. The final suggestion of the document is “to keep our eyes open to see” the “many initiatives in society in which are experienced eco-compatible ways of living and working together” and of sustaining – as civil society, politicians and individual citizens – these initiatives that “create a positive future”.