Table Of ContentContributions to Economics
Valentina Rotondi
Paolo Santori Editors
Rethinking
Economics Starting
from the Commons
Towards an Economics of Francesco
Contributions to Economics
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(cid:129)
Valentina Rotondi Paolo Santori
Editors
Rethinking Economics
Starting from the Commons
Towards an Economics of Francesco
Editors
ValentinaRotondi PaoloSantori
SUPSI SchoolofHumanityandDigitalScience,
Lugano,Switzerland DepartmentofPhilosophy
TilburgUniversity
DepartmentofSociology
Tilburg,TheNetherlands
NuffieldCollege,UniversityofOxford
Oxford,UK
EOF
Assisi,Italy
ISSN1431-1933 ISSN2197-7178 (electronic)
ContributionstoEconomics
ISBN978-3-031-23323-4 ISBN978-3-031-23324-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23324-1
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Introduction
What would happen if the economics courses taught in universities focused on the
topicofthecommonsratherthanofprivate goods?Whatiftheformer becamethe
mainsubjectofstudyandthelattertheexceptioninthestudyofeconomicscience?
What if social business, rather than being considered a hybrid form, became the
typicalapproach,withethicalandgreenfinancetakingoverthefinancialsector?Isit
possibletomoveawayfromtheprimacyofconsumerstothepreeminenceofethical
consumers who express their daily preferences for an inclusive, sustainable, and
worker-friendly economic system? These and other questions are the basis of this
book, which aims to systematize the academic contribution to the development of
theEconomyofFrancesco(henceforthEOF).
EOFisaglobalmovementofyoung(under35years)economists,entrepreneurs,
andchangemakerswho,in2019,answeredPopeFrancis’calltogatherinAssisito
rethink and change the global economy. The three pillars of the EOF are Pope
Francis, with his social and economic magisterium; the Franciscan economic
thought of the late Middle Ages, which is a source of precious knowledge with
which to imagine a new economy; and the ideas of the young people thinking,
working,andlivinganeweconomy.EOFisalsoaforumforyouth-driveninclusive
dialogue, stimulating a vibrant global change toward a new economic system, one
that should serve everyone, regardless of income, gender, race, class, family, or
background,andoneinwhicheveryonecanthriveandfeelincluded.Toachievethis
goal,EOFhasbeenstructuredsincetheverybeginningalong12thematic“villages,”
i.e., working sessions rooted in topics critical for today’s economy. Each thematic
village contains a tension in its title, representing the already contemporary eco-
nomic systems and the not-yet economy for which the movement advocates (i.e.,
AgricultureandJustice,WorkandCare,Co2ofInequalities,WomenforEconomy,
PoliciesandHappiness,andmanymore).
The villages’ work has produced an in-depth analysis of the biggest problems
facingthecurrenteconomicsystem,whichcanbesummarizedinaprovocativebut
clear statement: when it comes to the safeguarding and stewarding of the Earth, as
wellastothecommonsandrelationalgoods,capitalismdoesnotwork;itscareless
v
vi Introduction
exploitationofresourcesandshort-sightedpoliciesthatlooktoimmediatesuccess/
profit without prospects for the long term, as well as its rationality based on the
search for individual well-being, lead to a lack of care for the planet and the
commons and a misunderstanding of how to allow human flourishing. If we con-
stantly feel we are owners and masters of the Earth, we will continually destroy
it.Conversely,thesoonerwelearnhowtousethecommonswithoutowningthem,
thebetterwebecomecustodiansofouronlyplanet.
With this book, we want to offer the reader a relatively novel view of the
commons based on the expertise built within EOF. To do so, we will present our
analysis along three pillars: Franciscan economic thought and institutions, Pope
Francis’ teachings, and some of the topics grounded in the works of the EOF
villages.Thebookshouldbereadwhilekeepinginmindthemethodologicalchoice
made by the editors. We know that the common good is not the sum of individual
goods.Accordingly,theknowledgewearesharingthroughthisbookisnotsimply
thesumoftheabstractsofthechaptersoftheoutstandingscholarsincludedhere.In
an attempt to build an international and intergenerational research community of
scholarsthatcangrowovertime,andbecausewetakeseriouslytheassumptionthat
acommunitymustbegreaterthanthesumofitsmanyindividuals,webelievethere
isnoknowledgewithoutdialogue.Forthisreason,thisbookhasapeculiarstructure:
it includes the contributions of prominent and internationally recognized scholars,
whichareintegratedanddiscussedbyyoungcolleaguesandwhichprovideafresh
analysis,alongwithaglimmerofhope(concreteandrigoroushope)forthefuture.
Accordingly,ifsomecontributionsaremoreacademicallyoriented,othersaremore
orientedtowardscientificdivulgation.
Let us get to the contents of this book. Why do we want to rethink economics
startingfromthecommons?
The commons, explains Bruni, have gradually become scarce and crucial, and
they are still too absent from the culture and practices of economics and politics.
Common goods made their first appearance in economics in 1911. After a long
eclipse,theyreturnedtotheforeattheendofthepastcenturythankstotheworkof
Nobel Prize Laureate Elinor Ostrom. Commons can be conceptualized as relation-
shipsbetweenpeople,asmediatedbygoods.Acapitalisteconomymustworkhard
to understand commons because, generally speaking, it has so far not addressed
problems from a historical or geographical perspective; rather, it has seen distinct
individualsinsteadofrelationships,andithasdefineditsboundariesentirelywithin
theregisterofmalerationality.Therefore,withoutattentiontotherelationaldimen-
sion of life and the economy and without relationships that transcend time and
generations,thecommonscannotbeseenandunderstood,andultimatelyperish.
Whyiscapitalismnotenoughifwewanttosafeguardthecommons?
According to Nelson, Rotondi, and Santori, contemporary capitalist economies
are intrinsically based on greed, private property, and competition. To save life on
the planet from extinction, we may think we need to shift to a radically different
economyofpurealtruism,sharing,andcooperation.Yet,perhapsthewaywehave
beentrainedtothinkabouteconomicsblindsustoopportunitiesthatarenotapparent
in the two poles of pure self-interest and pure altruism. Indeed, the biased dogmas
Introduction vii
favoredbymainstreameconomicsmighthavedistortedourthinking.Theneglectof
nature,thecareprovidedtovulnerablehumans(mostly,todate,bywomen),andthe
commonsinneoclassical“chalkboardeconomics”havebeendeliberate.However,if
we study real-world economies, we find they are complex social, political, and
environmentallyembeddedsystems,andnonecouldlastadaywithouttheelements
ofcareandtrust.Ourfirststeptowardbuildingeconomiesthatsustainablyprovide
for the survival and flourishing of life must involve a re-examination of how we
thinkabout“economicactors”andthekindofbehaviorsuitableforthe“economic
sphere.”
Where can we find a source of inspiration to enlighten this new economic
paradigm?
Avaluablesource of inspirationforEOF—andone ofits pillars—isSt.Francis
and the Franciscan economy. There is a deep and mysterious link between
St. Francis’ choice of voluntary poverty and the development of economic ideas
and institutions by the Franciscans. Todeschini has contributed to this book by
bringing to light the role played by the Franciscans between the twelfth and
thirteenthcenturies.Todeschini’scontribution,ontheonehand,portraysthealliance
between Franciscan thinkers and merchants (Franciscan wealth) and, on the other,
demonstrates the moral costs of the market economy, such as the exclusion of the
poor,Jews,andheretics(tomentionafew)fromthecommunityofmerchants.
The book continues by presenting two examples where the tragedy of the
commons and the opportunities for a change of paradigm are highly evident: the
world of finance (contribution by Edmans) and the cities in which we live (contri-
bution by Granata). Edmans critically examines the case for purposeful business,
using rigorous evidence and real-life examples to show what works—and, impor-
tantly, what does not—while also uncovering practical ways for businesses of all
sizestoputpurposeintopractice,aswellashowinvestorsandcitizenscanplaytheir
part. In the same vein, Granata offers examples of cities (commons that house
commons) as places of rebirth and social, cultural, and economic biodiversity,
whereeverycrisiscanbeturnedintoachanceforchange.
However,a questionremains:rethinking economics starting from the commons
means initiating a process that goes from theory to practice and vice versa—how
shouldthisprocessbestructured?
Alkire and Richie identify five strategies that were used by free marketeers that
offer lessons to those of us who know to develop and promote the “economics of
Francesco,” the theoretical basis on which EOF will be built. This new economics
and economy, Comim and Sachs suggest, should promote a new global ethics
wherein moral sentiments and virtues are the building blocks. The book ends with
thecontributionofPizzaballa,outliningthecurrentcontextofglobalizationandthe
related challenges, while also introducing the themes of faith, peace, universal
fraternity, and the urgency—invoked by Pope Francis—of a new economy based
ona“newman.”Itdoessowithaspecialfocusonthe“warm”contextoftheMiddle
East, where the need for interreligious and intercultural dialogue is particularly
salient.
viii Introduction
Wehavejustdescribed halfofthecontributionsofthisbook.Theotherhalf,as
clarified, consists of the commentaries of some of the young economists who
comprise the EOF community. Each chapter is the collective work of two or three
people who have in common mostly a belonging to EOF and what this belonging
entails.Theywroteadditions,critiques,andreflectionsonthepapersandtopicswe
brieflysummarized.Eachoftheircontributionsisalso,implicitly,aresponsetothe
letterthroughwhichPopeFranciscalledthemtocreatetheEOFcommunity:
Dearyoungpeople,Iknowthatyoucanhearinyourheartstheevermoreanguishedpleaof
the earth and its poor, who cry out for help and for responsibility, for people who will
respondandnotturnaway[...]Youruniversities,yourbusinesses,andyourorganizations
areworkshopsofhopeforcreatingnewwaysofunderstandingtheeconomyandprogress,
for combating the culture of waste, for giving voice to those who have none, and for
proposingnewstylesoflife.Onlywhenoureconomicandsocialsystemnolongerproduces
even a single victim, a single person cast aside, will we be able to celebrate the feast of
universal fraternity [...]. With you, and through you, I will appeal to some of our best
economists and entrepreneurs, who are already working on the global level to create an
economy consistent with these ideals. I am confident that they will respond, and I am
confident, above all, in you young people, who are capable of dreaming and who are
preparedtobuild—withthehelpofGod—amorejustandbeautifulworld.
Torethinktheeconomy,wemustrethinkeconomicsbyplacingthecommonsat
the center. In addition, to deal with the commons, we must begin listening to and
hearingthevoicesandideasoftheyoungpeoplewhosefuturesareindangerdueto
the current economic and environmental situation. In line with the Pope, we invite
the reader to offer the same attention to the contributions of distinguished scholars
andthoseoftheyoungEOFeconomists.TheeconomyofFrancescolivesandgrows
withinthisgenerativedialogue.
A basic EOF principle, born from the overlapping of Pope Francis’ ideas,
Franciscan economic thought, and young economists and entrepreneurs’ thoughts,
is that every economic system, practice, and theory should place those excluded
fromthecurrentglobaleconomicsystem atits center.Putit differently:theaimof
every economy, its telos, should be the social inclusion of the excluded. EOF was
bornfromaquestion:whoareexcludedfromcapitalism?Theanswersareglobally
applicable: poor people, the least advantaged, those marginalized from productive
and distributive processes, and the environment, seen as a sterile background or a
source to exploit. The list could go on. We can also mention women in the
workplace, as well as some topics from economic theory (we have, as mentioned,
thousands of courses in microeconomics focused on the private goods, but few, if
any,onthecommongood).Tothem,forthem,andwiththem,EOFwantstobuilda
fraternal economy where sustainable development and social and environmental
justicegohandinhand.FrancisofAssisi’slifefollowedtheverysamedirectionwith
hischoiceofvoluntarypoverty(aimedatfreeingothersfromnon-chosenpoverty).
Franciscan institutions, including the Monti di Pietà, proto forms of banks that
resemblecontemporarymicrocredit,aimeddirectlyatfreeingpeoplefromthetragic
dichotomybetween poverty andusury. EOFgatheredpeoplewho, inacademia,as
Introduction ix
well as in their enterprises and civil society, are already working so this different
economycanemergeandsubstitutecapitalism.Wehopereadingthisbookwillbring
the reader at least some of this spirit of renewal that blows through EOF and its
vibrantcommunity.
