The Pope vs. Capitalism
Posted on June 19, 2015 by Brad Hoppmann
Pope Francis just declared war on capitalism.
More specifically, the controversial pontiff just issued his highly anticipated encyclical on, among other environmental issues, climate change.
He wrote about what we must do to correct what he sees as a dire situation — one where the global market economy plunders the earth at the expense of the poor and future generations.
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I’m a strident proponent of free markets, capitalism and the incredible wealth-creation and increase in global living standards that it has fostered. But some of the Pope’s comments gave me pause.
Now, my objections here have nothing to do with his spiritual beliefs, the Catholic Church or Christianity as a whole.
My grandfather was a Christian minister, and I also was raised to be a good Christian.
I say that here at the outset, because I want you to know that my objection to the Papal encyclical has nothing to do with saving souls. Rather, it has everything to do with how to make the world a better, more-prosperous place for humanity.
In broad strokes, the Pope’s general argument is that global warming is occurring at an alarming rate. Human activity by industrialized countries is the primary cause.
In other words, greedy capitalism is the greatest source of the planet’s ills.
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To see where I think the Pope is most mistaken, I am going to take a few quotes directly from the encyclical letter, “On Care For Our Common Home.”
Economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain. … As a result, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of the deified market, which become the only rule.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a religious leader charges those who pursue financial gain as “deifying” the market. Yet, I am certainly not deifying anything in my advocacy of capitalism.
My views of capitalism and markets are much more practical.
When it comes to …
•The real source of life-enhancing technology
•The creation of a global economy
•The harnessing of energy; the growing of food
•The building of shelter, and
•The manufacture and sale of daily living essentials available to nearly the entire Earth’s population …
There is nothing more-responsible than capitalism.
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Capitalism is just the non-coercive, free exchange of goods and services in the pursuit of profits between parties of all sorts.
That is what creates markets. It’s the engine that’s allowed civilization to flourish, particularly over the past 200-plus years.
It’s not a coincidence that the freest country on Earth, the U.S., also has the greatest capitalist engine powering civilization’s blossoming.
Yet, instead of congratulations for making the world the most-prosperous it’s ever been, Pope Francis chooses to use his lofty position to indict global markets as planet-destroyers.
“A sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly.”
Here I assume the pontiff includes consumer goods such as the essentials of food, clothing and shelter.
If that is the case, then these things don’t rain down from heaven.
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The raw materials that make up the food we consume, the clothing we wear and the shelter that protects us might have been here long before man.
But it took man’s mind to discover how to engineer them for our own use.
And it took free markets and capitalism to bring them to consumers worldwide.
Finally, here is what the Pope says about the specific problem, and the source thereof, of global warming.
A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system.
In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon.
Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it.
The claim of consensus indicating a disturbing warming of the climate can be argued. That aside, trying to curtail production, consumption and quality of life in order to correct the problem is not the right answer.
If there is global warming, and if problems arise from climate change, the only solution to the problem will come from technological innovation.
And, technological innovation is only possible when there are free minds working on a problem — free minds in pursuit of profit.
In other words, the only solution to major global resources problems is capitalism.
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So, do you think Pope Francis is right on this issue? Is capitalism the root of global warming evil, or is it the savior that can deliver us from global-scale problems?
Tell me what you think by leaving a comment on our website or send me an e-mail.
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U.S. stocks sold off Friday, as the deadlock in Greek debt talks turned and the “quadruple-witching,” concurrent expiration of index options and futures options drove trading.
• China stocks fell sharply this week, sending the benchmark Shanghai Composite index to its steepest weekly loss since 2008. Concern that the government will clamp down on margin trading and valuations helped fuel the selling.
• Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) shares surged more than 9% Friday following reports that the global lifestyle company is nearing a deal to be acquired by Sequential Brands (SQBG). Check out my April article on Martha and the Federal Reserve.
• Oil futures slid Friday, and for the week, as traders bet on a further rise in Saudi crude output. The Greek debt drama and negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program also weighed on crude futures.
• Gold futures held at the $1,200 an ounce level Friday with gains for the week. Uncertainty over Greece, the value of the dollar, and the Fed combined to push the safe-haven asset slightly higher.
Poster Comment:
I met the Catholic Bishop here in Southern Missouri recently. Nice guy, but just a handshake was all it took for me.