Pope Francis added his voice to the capitalism debate with his Apostolic Exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium" published in November of 2013. It is based on "the church's primary mission of evangelization in the modern world." In this slamming rebuke against capitalism he describes this as being the "new tyranny," and asks for better politicians who can heal the scars that capitalism has made on society. Capitalism promotes inequality in a way that if left unchecked allows the rich to become increasingly wealthy without benefitting society and only increases the gap between the rich and the poor. Many of the issues Francis brings up portray the current happenings of our society and most of these have been inspired by issues surrounding the ideas
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This is the concept that the money the rich spend will eventually end up in the pockets of the lower class. "Francis describes this as, "there was the promise that once the glass had become full it would overflow and the poor would benefit. But what happens is that when it's full to the brim, the glass magically grows, and thus nothing ever comes out for the poor." Through the capitalist ideas of our society and the widening of the gap between the haves and the have nots, it shows that perhaps this theory is not working. In New Zealand specifically, the rich only seem to be getting richer, and the poor only seem to be getting poorer. In his work, Francis mentions that the trickle down theory, "has never been confirmed by the facts, (and) expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power". He also states that these "economies grounded on the relentless, selfish pursuit of wealth lead to the marginalization of the poor." This can be related back to the bible reading Matthew 6:19-21, 24. "No man can serve to masters... Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money)." And this shows, that it appears to not be possible to be focused around money without being unfair. The rich have their cars and uptown apartments, and can be described as 'having it all' whereas the people with a low income can be stuck choosing between bread and milk at the supermarket. Is this fair? No. But this hands off …show more content…
These issues include both income inequality and the trickle down theory. These are both topics in discussion in New Zealand, and Francis' thoughts feed directly into this with his Apostolic Exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium", published in November of 2013. In his efforts of targeting the issues surrounding capitalism, as he has called for a renewal of the church he has said, "I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security." And this is exactly the state that our society is currently in, in terms of capitalism and these issues surrounding wealth and greed in our country. The response made regarding Capitalism by Pope Francis, in the Catholic religious tradition is one in which the argument will be dually noted for many years to
This is the concept that the money the rich spend will eventually end up in the pockets of the lower class. "Francis describes this as, "there was the promise that once the glass had become full it would overflow and the poor would benefit. But what happens is that when it's full to the brim, the glass magically grows, and thus nothing ever comes out for the poor." Through the capitalist ideas of our society and the widening of the gap between the haves and the have nots, it shows that perhaps this theory is not working. In New Zealand specifically, the rich only seem to be getting richer, and the poor only seem to be getting poorer. In his work, Francis mentions that the trickle down theory, "has never been confirmed by the facts, (and) expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power". He also states that these "economies grounded on the relentless, selfish pursuit of wealth lead to the marginalization of the poor." This can be related back to the bible reading Matthew 6:19-21, 24. "No man can serve to masters... Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money)." And this shows, that it appears to not be possible to be focused around money without being unfair. The rich have their cars and uptown apartments, and can be described as 'having it all' whereas the people with a low income can be stuck choosing between bread and milk at the supermarket. Is this fair? No. But this hands off …show more content…
These issues include both income inequality and the trickle down theory. These are both topics in discussion in New Zealand, and Francis' thoughts feed directly into this with his Apostolic Exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium", published in November of 2013. In his efforts of targeting the issues surrounding capitalism, as he has called for a renewal of the church he has said, "I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security." And this is exactly the state that our society is currently in, in terms of capitalism and these issues surrounding wealth and greed in our country. The response made regarding Capitalism by Pope Francis, in the Catholic religious tradition is one in which the argument will be dually noted for many years to