Money is a human invention. It is about promises and trust in human relationships. To make life easier people moved beyond bartering goods to exchange coins and notes of an agreed value. They are the symbols which we trust because they carry the promise of exchanging them for something of a set value – food, transport or even a house. Now shares and other investment instruments have made the use of money more complex and even lethal for many people as evidenced by the 2009 financial meltdown.
Scripture warns that collecting money and the power that goes with it carries the danger of greed, even calling it the root of all evil. The New Testament shows that Jesus did not have much time for the money lenders in the temple, and prophetically drove them out as a sign of his mission. We have the story of how Jesus was sad when the rich young man decided not to follow him when told to sell all he had a give the money to the poor.
Money has a central place in our lives. As individuals we - work and receive wages, sell and trade, borrow and save, spend or invest, give money away as charity. As a society we - pay taxes and receive benefits, elect governments to legislate on financial institutions like banks and credit unions, have agencies to pay for education and health, finance local infrastructure and give aid to poorer nations. The challenge for individuals and nations is to use money morally. We must ‘Stay Awake!’
Catholic moral teachings have grown over millennia to guide our use of money in complex situations. This teaching uses rational and logical arguments which provide a philosophical based ethical framework. This is usually called moral teaching when the light of Scripture and Church Tradition is added. The rational logic and religious experience go together in religious ethics and morals. Papal Encyclicals and Vatican II constantly update this teaching in a globalised trading world. The 2004 Social Teaching of the Catholic Church summarised that teaching and helps our ongoing church search to combine justice and generosity in the way be behave.
Australian history shows that since the time of Governors Philip and Macquarie there has been a struggle to create a just society which both respects individual freedom and creates opportunities for people. Opposition to this vision constantly arises from elite businesses, traders and bankers who think only of their own benefit. More than a hundred years ago Cardinal Moran demonstrated on the streets of Sydney with workers deprived of just wages and safe working conditions. Our bishops have written about a family wage and adequate housing for all. This active Catholic pursuit of justice continues today through bodies like Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) and Catholic Earthcare Australia. They add a spiritual and ethical reflection to triple-bottom-line financial, social and environmental measures.
Modern liberal capitalism needs to be closely monitored. It is not the sole way of preserving private property rights and has, in fact, destroyed them in many cases. Social equity principles have a solid base in Catholic ethical teaching so that socialism is not to be equated with communism. We try to grow fair systems. Michael Moore 2009 movie ‘Capitalism’ is a fun look at the dire impact of out-of-control liberal capitalist systems.
The capitalist trading system pervades the world through international trade-agreements under the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It often pushes nations into legislation that oppresses peoples and destroys the environment. AFTINET is a non-government organization (NGO) that monitors trade agreements and like Columban Mission is concerned about provisions in the proposed eight-nation Pacific Trade Pact.
Individuals and nations have become slaves to debt as one evil outcome of a globalised banking systems. Groups like ‘Jubilee Australia’ fight to implement just taxes systems in Australia and debt reduction for poor countries.
00:01:43 | Jun 03, 2011
One sad chapter is the way the Australian government’s overseas aid is distributed. Most government aid does not leave Australia’s shores but given to middle-men companies under contracts which skim off huge percentages. Large infrastructure projects that suit the donor nation often displace small-scale local needs proposed by the poor. The work is often done through bribing local elites in the recipient countries. These elites often choose infrastructure projects which are to their advantage and not to the benefit of the poor and are often environmentally destructive. The virtue of charity is debased. Pseudo concern for the poor of the world is evident even in bodies like the Pontifical Academy of Science.
At a personal level we need to reflect on the pull of consumerism. Maybe we have let greed into our inner soul and hearts, warping our judgments, stunting our imaginations and sapping our courage to fight for anything different.
Compiled by Rev. Charles Rue SSC
Related links
- Read more JPIC Articles on Trade, Debt and Aid
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