how would you write an invitation to a global practice of peace

Funda Oral fundaoral at ttnet.net.tr
Sun Jul 10 08:25:44 PDT 2005


Should economics manage human needs or human needs manage economics ?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Macrae" <Wcbn009 at aol.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2005 2:09 PM
Subject: how would you write an invitation to a global practice of peace


For me, I'd like to see a coming together of people who have at least one
historic certainty of economics that they want to question. Background to my
persepctive can be explained in many ways, but this email from London and
friends of www.simpol.org is as clear as any I would need:
Greetings, Now the 6/7 Olympic jubilation that swept London turns to a
shuddering horror, 7/7 should remind us of the true nature of Jubilee,
restoring structures of justice that work for everyone and protect the
earth. We should all be eager to hear of, and to propagate, positive
initiatives in this regard.This neat letter ( I've put the quote in front!)
in the G today is neat is apposite too : “Terrorism is the war of the
poor;and war is the terrorism of the rich”

There can be no solution while we continue to proclaim that "our" violence
against “them" is always a just war; while "their" violence against us" is
terrorism. It is all evil and wrong and our common humanity must come to
acknowledge this if we are to begin to live together in peace on this
planet.
Rev. Brian Matthews Wrexham
 Further,  I have just dug out these two pertinent references to our
engagement with justice. Peter
------------------------------------
>From COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
Liberia Editrice Vaticana – 2004     isbn 88-209-7716-8  [552 pages £19.99]
CHAPTER SEVEN ECONOMIC LIFE   [ pp 185 – 212]
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS a. Man, poverty and riches

323. In the Old Testament a twofold attitude towards economic goods and
riches is found. On one hand, an attitude of appreciation sees the
availability of material goods as necessary for life. Abundance - not wealth
or luxury - is sometimes seen as a blessing from God. In Wisdom Literature
poverty is described as a negative consequence of idleness and of a lack of
industriousness (cf. Prov 10:4), but also as a natural fact (cf. Prov 22.2).
On the other hand, economic goods and riches are not in themselves condemned
so much as their misuse. The prophetic tradition condemns fraud, usury,
exploitation and gross injustice, especially when directed at the poor (cf.
Is 58:3-11; Jer 7:4-7; Hos 4:1-2; Am 2:6-7; Mic 2:1-2). This tradition,
however, although looking upon the poverty of the oppressed, the weak and
the indigent as an evil, also sees in the condition of' poverty a symbol of
the human situation before God, from whom comes every good as a gift to be
administered and shared.

and

341. Although the quest for equitable profit is acceptable in economic and
financial activity, recourse to usury is to be morally condemned: "Those
whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and death of their
brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide, which is imputable
to them". 714  This condemnation extends also to international economic
relations, especially with regard to the situation in less advanced
countries, which must never be made to suffer "abusive if not usurious
financial systems". 715  More recently, the Magisterium _used strong and
clear words against this practice, which is still tragically wide-spread,
describing usury as "a scourge that is also a reality in our time and that
has a stranglehold on many peoples' lives".716

714 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2269
715 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2438.
716 JOHN PAUL II, Catechesis at General Audience (4 February: L'Osservatore
Romano, English Edition, 11 Feb 2004, p.11

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>From  Sun Jul 10 12:42:13 2005
Message-Id: <SUN.10.JUL.2005.124213.0400.>
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 12:42:13 -0400
Reply-To: chris at got2change.com
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Chris Kloth <chris at got2change.com>
Organization: ChangeWorks of the Heartland
Subject: Re: how would you write an invitation to a global practice of
 peace
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Funda Oral wrote:

>Should economics manage human needs or human needs manage economics ?
>


Please tolerate a bit of uncharacteristic literalism with me as I 
respond to the question.   While I suspect I know what you are really 
intending to ask and support the impulse to ask the question, I feel a 
need to clarify the terminology so that it places more of the 
responsibility on us instead of the ubiquitous "them" implicitly 
referred to in the way I read the question.


My understanding is that, at its most basic level, economics refers to 
the study and practices related to how human needs and wants are (or are 
not) met.  My understanding is that it emerged as a named focus 
discipline from philosophy.  In addition to financial/monetary resource 
allocation, it refers to how all goods and services are allocated and 
the terms of exchange...including purchase by controlled or uncontrolled 
price setting, mandatory or voluntary government spending, use of funds 
donated to institutions representing faith communities, advocacy groups 
or other philanthropic voluntarily or be obligation, bartering, gifting, 
etc.  On a deeper level it includes organizing our economic policies and 
practices around visions, values and principles.



In that context, each of us makes personal economic decisions daily that 
influence the larger world incrementally as individuals but 
significantly in the aggregate.  We choose to invest in financial 
markets, or have others manage our investment, (anyone have a retirement 
plan of some kind?), or not.  We can choose to direct our finances 
toward socially responsible businesses, or initiate or vote on 
shareholder issues in other companies to try to influence their 
behavior, etc.   If we have the resources to do so we can also choose 
the extent to which we will allocate our personal time, money or other 
resources to influencing what is going on in our world locally or 
globally.  These are economic decisions we have 100% control of. 


We also choose to (or not to) make our voices heard in ways that make a 
difference (different than simply making our voices heard) with respect 
to local, regional, national and international issues. We can become 
active in influencing public policy on many levels.  We can work hard to 
make sure the voices of those with whom we believe we disagree are 
authentically invited to participate in Open Space meetings we are a 
part of sponsoring or facilitating.   We can work on our own abilities 
to discover any values that we may share with people who advocate 
strategies that we oppose and learn from their perspectives before we 
demonize them.  If we work together we can increase the power of out 
individual voices....a choice that is ours to make.



So, for me the question is what vision, values and principles out to 
drive our individual and collective economic behavior...locally and 
globally?


Shalom


Chris Kloth


Think globally, act locally

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