“For we are as tree trunks in the snow. In appearance they lie smoothly and a little push should be enough to set them rolling. No, that’s not the case, for they are firmly wedded to the ground. But see, even that is only seemingly the case.”[1] This is from a story by Kafka that emphasizes the fragility of life. Simone de Beauvoir said that death puts the world in question. Today, according to some, talk about death has been...
What to do after Covid-19? “After Covid-19 it will all be different.” We often hear these words. However, people have different opinions about how it will be different, just as people evaluate differently how things were before. How will we act after Covid-19? The answer depends on our views about the pandemic. One can view the Covid-19 crisis simply as the consequence of a viral infectious disease. In this case, the countermeasures for “after” would be: better prevention of infection,...
Once again, in light of some widely reported decisions taken by the Holy Father, many people are questioning and discussing the economic resources available to Vatican institutions and their proper administration in the service of the Church’s mission.[1] This article intends to place recent events in a wider context, so that the Holy Father’s guidance and decisions may be better understood. The Lateran Treaty and the new Vatican City State The historical context will be useful. Without going back to...
Among the Enlightenment’s legacy there is an idea that spanned the centuries and penetrated deeply into the mentality of people in the West. It is the idea of progress, the idea of moving toward our cultural, moral and material best, especially thanks to the successes of science and technology. This idea shaped much of modern European history; it nourished hope and political ideologies; it spread trust in the future.[1] Then came the 20th century and that “magnificent fate and progress”...
The discomfort of fragmentation A peculiar characteristic of today’s so-called “Postmodern” era is the absence of global narratives. This is the basic hypothesis of the famous book by Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, published in 1979. Lyotard pointed out that, from a cultural point of view, the so-called “Modern” era, characterized by comprehensive narratives and great utopian projects (the last ones were Rationalism, the Enlightenment, Marxism), capable of providing unity and historical identity to a variety...
Pope Francis invited young economists from around the world to meet and reflect on how to “change the current economy and give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.” He invited to participate in this broad, shared discernment, all those who today are beginning to study and practice an economics that is different from the one he rejected in the first chapter of his encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. What is needed, he says, is “an economy that gives life and does...
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