Since the turn of the century, humanity has found itself repeatedly engulfed in crises that have revealed the true extent of its interconnectedness and fragility. The human suffering caused by the 2008 financial crisis, increasing ecological crisis, and the current COVID-19 pandemic, impels us to question the institutional roots of these recurring crises, among which the following can be mentioned: (i) an extractivist and technocratic mentality that conceives people and planet as mere sources of economic value readily available to exploit for profit and self-interest, and then proposes techno-fix solutions to the inconveniences of “externalities” (cf. Laudato Si’, 115-118); (ii) a throwaway culture that drives endless consumption and waste (cf. Laudato Si’, 22. 43); and (iii) globalized indifference that prevents us from acknowledging the sufferings of others (cf. Laudato Si’, 52. 92). These paradigmatic viruses have sickened our institutions, infusing them with individualism and giving rise to unhealthy phenomena such as neoliberalism – a distortion of human liberty that accelerates inequalities and fosters “new forms of violence threatening the fabric of society” (Fratelli Tutti, 142) – and unhealthy populism – the distortion of the innately social dimension of people, in favour of power by the exploitation of individuals and cultures and the usurpation of institutions and laws (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 159).
Today we have a chance to build a brighter future; one of abundance in which the last become the first and in which we can live as brothers and sisters of the same flesh, sharing a common home and a common destiny. This is Pope Francis’ dream, as laid out in Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti. Religious organizations and communities have an important role to play in preparing this future by supporting already-existing agreements with similar objectives and advancing a new economy based on a culture of care, value-creation and solidarity, so as to counter the globalised culture of domination-extraction, throwaway and indifference.
On the one hand, we must support accords like the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, that have been built on universal consensus and rest on common principles like People (preferential option for the poor: ensuring social justice and human dignity), Prosperity (integral human development: human flourishing in harmony with the environment), Partnership (social friendship: new relations between governments and people), Planet (caring for our common home: sustainable development), and Peace (culture of love and a new universal solidarity). On the other hand, we can contribute to the design of a new and inclusive economy with Pope Francis’ framework based on three pillars (tierra, techo y trabajo): Land (contrast environmental degradation with a culture of care for our common home), Labour (reduce unemployment and promote human fulfilment), and Livelihood (ensure human dignity). By advancing new indicators for measuring economic development related to these three pillars, religious organizations can contribute to guiding the new economy towards the common good and the integral development of the human family. But above all, religions are best equipped to promote the necessary spiritual conversion to cure the human family from the viruses of individualism and indifference, and guide it towards a value-creating and appreciative mentality that prompts contemplation and care for all of Creation.
The reformulation of the global economy on the basis of integral development is a moral imperative to achieve social justice, protect human dignity and ensure a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future. This way, we will we be able to face the post-pandemic future as a united human family with healthy and harmonious institutions, peoples and planet.