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December II, 2013
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Thou Shalt Not Tolerate Inequality
Pope Francis
riles Wall Street
BY S am P izzigati
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
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S o m e tim e s y o u
d o n ’t h a v e to say
a n y th in g “n e w ” to
m ake new s. C onsider
th e “apostolic ex h o r­
tatio n ” the V atican
recently released.
This statem ent from Pope Francis,
observers note, d id n ’t really break
new th eological ground. B ut the
P o p e ’s exhortation, his first since
he stepped onto the w orld stage,
still m ade front page new s the w orld
o v er — and fully d eserv ed that a t­
ten tio n .
W hat m akes this new papal state­
m ent so significant? N o global reli­
gious figure has e v er b efo re d e ­
nounced econom ic inequality w ith
an assault as w id e-ranging — and
accessib le.
Just w hat insights can w e take
from w hat Pope Francis has to say
about inequality? T h ese five ju m p
out.
First, inequality has no red eem ­
ing social value.
A pologists fo r inequality like to
argue that grand private co n cen tra­
tions o f w ealth serve as an incentive
for the rest o f us and supply the
investments that keep economies
thriving.
P ope Francis, in clear language
that dem onstrates his co m m and o f
the v ern acu lar, blow s aw ay these
claims.
“S om e people continue to
d efend trickle-dow n theories
w hich assum e that econom ic
grow th, en co u rag ed b y a free
m arket, w ill inevitably succeed
in brin g in g about g reater ju s ­
tice and inclusiveness in the
w o rld ,” F rancis w rites.
T his rich-people-friendly take on
the w orld, he points out, “has never
been co n firm ed b y the facts.”
Second, m arkets dem and our criti­
cal attention.
A ny serious attem p t to undo the
inequality that m arkets engender,
o u r w o rld ’s d eep pockets insist,
risks upsettin g the natural o rd er that
m arkets in th eir inherent w isdom
create.
B ut, in real life, m arkets follow
rules. A nd these rules reflect the
eco n o m ic p o w er o f those w ho set
them , not any d eep er w isdom o r
d iv in e pro v id en ce. Pope F rancis
sees no reaso n to au to m atically
accep t the v erd icts that m arkets
deliver. H e sees ev ery reason to
exam ine how m arkets actually oper­
ate — and to ch allen g e those o p era­
tio n s that leav e us stag g e rin g ly
u nequal.
W e need to reject “the absolute
au tonom y o f m arkets” and confront
“the structural causes o f in eq u al­
ity ,” he w rites. U ntil w e take these
essential steps, “ no solution w ill be
found fo r the w o rld ’s p ro b lem s.”
T hird, w ealth w orks best w hen
w e share it.
A previous w orld-fam ous Francis
— th e E n g lish p h ilo s o p h e r S ir
F rancis B aco n — advised us cen tu ­
ries ago that w ealth, like m anure,
only does good w hen w e spread it
around.
Pope F rancis agrees. H is ex h o r­
tation encourages those w ho sit at
o u r econom ic sum m its “to p o nder”
the teachings o f the an cien t sage
w ho told us that “not to share o n e ’s
w ealth w ith the p o o r is to steal from
th em .” W e m ust, he advises, “say
‘thou shalt n o t’ to an eco n o m y o f
exclu sio n and in eq u ality .”
A d d s th e P o p e : “ S u c h an
eco n o m y k ills.”
Fourth, inequality endangers us
all, no t ju s t the poor.
In an era w here “the thirst for
p o w er and possessions know s no
lim its,” the Pope rem in d s us, any­
thing that “ stands in the w ay o f
increased p ro fits” — “like the en v i­
ro n m en t” — stands “d efenseless
b efo re the interests o f a deified
m arket.”
T he security w e all seek in our
daily lives. Pope Francis notes, w ill
rem ain u n attain ab le so long as w e
rem ain p erilo u sly unequal. N o “law
enfo rcem en t o r su rv eillance sys­
tem s can indefinitely guarantee tran­
q u ility ,” he w rites, until w e reverse
“ex clu sio n and in eq u ality .”
“ J u s t as g o o d n e s s te n d s to
sp read ,” h e explains, “the toleration
o f evil, w hich is injustice, tends to
ex p an d its baneful in fluence and
q u ietly to u n d erm in e any political
and social sy stem .”
Fifth, social fabrics alw ays tear in
unequal societies.
In re la tiv e ly e q u a l so c ie tie s,
w here m o st p eople can afford the
sam e things, m aterial things in g en ­
eral tend no t to m atter that m uch.
B ut in unequal societies, everything
reverses. T h in g s — and the m oney
to buy th em — beco m e prim ary.
“T h e w o rsh ip o f th e a n cie n t
golden calf,” observes Pope Francis,
“has returned in a new an d ruthless
g u ise.”
Sum s up the Pope: “T h e culture
o f p rosperity deadens us; w e are
thrilled if the m arket offers us som e­
thing new to purchase; and in the
m eantim e all those lives stunted for
lack o f o p p o rtu n ity seem a m ere
spectacle; they fail to m ove u s.”
A nd Pope Francis clearly w ants
us m oving. A gainst inequality.
O th erW o rd s c o lu m n ist Sam
Pizzigati, an Institute fo r Policy
Studies associate fellow, edits the
inequality weekly Too Much.