“Bailing out the banks at any cost has been made to pay for the population. Today we don't make peoples pay the price of growth at any cost, let's slow down the pace, and aim for a lifestyle that can be reconciled with the integral defense of the environment and the life of all peoples”. She wrote it Pope Francis in the Encyclical "Laudato Sì", released today. "The lesson of the global financial crisis has not been learned – added the Pontiff on economic issues – and the lesson of environmental deterioration is being learned very slowly".
Bergoglio therefore openly criticizes the laissez-faire which constitutes the cornerstone of economic liberalism when he labels as "relativism", the attitude of those who argue "let the invisible forces of the market regulate the economy. The financial crisis of 2007-2008 was an opportunity to develop a new economy more attentive to ethical principles, and for a new regulation of speculative financial activity and virtual wealth. But there hasn't been a reaction that has led to rethinking the obsolete criteria that continue to govern the world", writes Francis, who then returns to the subject: “Finance suffocates the real economy. The market alone does not guarantee integral human development and social inclusion”.
The Pope's recipe is that of the so-called "happy decrease", already theorized by some economists. “The time has come accept a certain decrease in some parts of the world providing resources to grow healthily elsewhere. We know that the behavior of those who consume and destroy more and more is unsustainable, while still others are unable to live in conformity with their human dignity. This is why the time has come to accept a certain decrease”, writes Francesco. “Benedict XVI said that it is necessary for technologically advanced societies to be willing to favor behaviors characterized by sobriety, reducing their own energy consumption and improving the conditions of its use”. The Pope explains: “Nobody wants to go back to the cave age, however, it is essential to slow down in order to look at reality in another way, to gather positive and sustainable developments, and at the same time recover the values and great goals destroyed by a megalomaniac unbridledness”.
The Pope also listed his "green commandments": a handbook to teach respect for the environment, another central theme of the encyclical, to which a chapter was dedicated. "Education in environmental responsibility - writes Bergoglio - can encourage various behaviors that have a direct and important impact on caring for the environment". Among the examples suggested by the Pope: “Avoid the use of plastic or paper, reduce water consumption, separate waste, cook only when it is reasonably possible to eat, treat other living beings with care, use public transport”. The Pope blesses car sharing: "sharing the same vehicle among several people". Among the environmental advice also that of "planting trees and turning off useless lights. All of this is part of a generous and dignified creativity, which shows the best of human beings”.
