The Economy Of Nature 6th Edition.pdf _BEST_

The Economy Of Nature 6th Edition.pdf

156. man has a vocation to work. as a creature, he is dependent on the bounty of nature, not just for his life, but also for his dignity and his power. as an animal, he is bound to the world as a reflection of god and as a living reflection of god. the fruit of labor is the material and spiritual growth of the worker. material growth, in turn, is an expression of the work of god on the physical universe, in which human beings have their being. the spiritual growth of the worker is an expression of his openness to god, and is a process of purification. thus the human body is a temple in which god is present and in which the spirit works. therefore, the work of man should be seen as a reflection of his vocation as a creature, and as a source of dignity and sanctification. we should seek to realize our dignity as human beings in our relationship with the created world. yet we should not presume to impose a model of human development on the rest of creation. even if the problem of a degraded environment were to be solved, it would not solve the social or spiritual problems that lie at the root of ecological problems. we would still have our own ecological problems to address.

167. secondly, the economy has created a false model of growth that is out of harmony with ecological limits. the new economy is about markets and financial speculation, and it is based on the infinite expansion of the consumer market. the underlying logic is that growth is desirable on its own, even if it leads to a degradation of the environment. this consumerist model can only survive if it is given sufficient institutional support, which enables it to reduce taxes and impose higher prices on all necessities. to survive, this model has thus turned the economy into a political instrument, a means of capturing the state and using it for financial and consumerist gain.

96. today, our world has been turned upside down, and we no longer understand life as a gift, a mystery of the creator. we have turned nature into a thing, into something we can use for our own purposes, and we have turned god into a creator who can be used by us. we have reduced everything to a commodity: the universe is reduced to a market, the divinity to a religion, and man to a consumer. [82] this has led to a hyper-accumulation of goods, to a collapse of the conditions for life and the livelihood of people, to the spread of unjust activities and excessive inequalities, to the ever-increasing pollution of the environment, and to the reduction of the number of men and women of goodwill. it is perhaps not surprising that the social and spiritual crisis of our time is increasingly connected with the crisis of the environment.
105. it is in the economy that the fundamental questions of social justice can be addressed. but this is so only if the economy is conceived in its proper sense, understood in terms of human need, with a view to meeting the essential needs of men and women: the needs of food, shelter, clothing, health, education, information, and a sense of the beauty of the world. the economy is not merely an instrument for the production and distribution of goods, but also a means of satisfying human needs. this is the only way to ensure that the economy does not lead to widespread misery, poverty, and inequality, which now threaten the human species. the economy has a social and spiritual dimension. [103]
92. it is as if there were a law of nature which binds the supernatural power of god to the natural universe, so that this universe, in its totality, can be attributed to the one who sustains it. we can say that, for the creator, there is a law which holds all creation in balance, which maintains the order of creation and of its use and distribution. the human person, by accepting the supremacy of the law of love, may discover what this law is, but he cannot escape its demands and the law of the creator. [52]
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