Foreword

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, few subjects arouse more passions that the topic of globalization. This is especially true among the different Christian churches and confessions across the globe. Oddly enough, many Christians do not approach the question of globalization through a theological lens. Instead, many of the debates among Christians about the nature and effects of globalization are often pale versions of discussions already occurring among very secular-minded intellectuals and scholars, and sometimes are indistinguishable in tone and emphasis from the anti-globalization rhetoric emanating from much of the political left and political right. Many search in vain for distinctly Christian reflections upon globalization, especially insights that do not rely implicitly or otherwise upon concepts and paradigms often derived from the now-defunct liberation theologies of the 1970s and 1980s. Other Christians, recognizing the concrete benefits flowing from globalization, see the essential incoherence of the utilitarian arguments more-than-often employed to provide moral justification for the trends and processes associated with globalization, and ask themselves how an approach to globalization that recognizes its undoubted benefits might be integrated into orthodox Christian moral reasoning about the social order. On October 19, 2006, Lord Brian Griffiths sought to address these and associated matters in a lecture delivered at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. The setting of the lecture was especially appropriate, given that the vast majority of the seminarians and clergy studying at this university are citizens of developing nations. In his address, Griffiths integrated Christian theological insights with his academic training as a free-market-orientated economist as well as his practical experience as a senior policy advisor to former British Prime Minister, Lady Margaret Thatcher, and his work as vice chairman of one of the worlds largest private equity firms, Goldman Sachs International. Few Christians are as well equipped to explore the subject of globalization. Griffiths lecture was one of several delivered by a range of speakers at a series of conferences organized by the Acton Institute, thanks to the generous support of the John M. Templeton Foundation, to commemorate the late John Paul the Greats 1991 social encyclical Centesimus Annus. This monograph contains the subsequent lecture delivered by Griffiths as well as responses from Professor Humberto Belli, President of Nicaraguas Ave Maria College of the Americas, and Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations and Specialized Organizations in Geneva and to the World Trade Organization. Readers of the lecture and the responses will immediately recognize that Griffiths refuses to adopt a simplistic approach to what is, after all, a multidimensional and deeply complex subject. He calls upon Christians and Christian communities to recognize the benefits proceeding from globalization, especially for those countries seemingly mired in poverty and economic underdevelopment. There is much about globalization, he contends, that is entirely consistent with the vision of man articulated by the Christian anthropology outlined in Centesimus Annus. It is time, he notes, for Christians to recognize how many millions of people have been lifted out of poverty by their integration into the global economy.

Griffiths also maintains, however, that there are winners and losers from globalization, and that Christians have concrete obligations to those whose dignity risks being undermined in an everglobalizing world. These are, he states, not grounds for Christians to agitate to somehow stop globalization or to lobby for new forms of state intervention, let alone new international institutions. Rather, his primary emphasis is upon the need for Christians to seek to ensure that globalization is underpinned by Christian principles rather than pseudo-evolutionist or utilitarian approaches to the moral life. The responses to Griffiths lecture by Belli and Tomasi are equally sophisticated and nuanced. Bringing to bear his own academic training and his experience of living in one of Latin Americas poorest countries, Belli urges Christiansespecially Catholic bishopsto pay attention to the evidence concerning how integration into the global market economy is the most effective remedy for poverty in the developing world. Underlying Bellis comments is an evident concern that many Catholic clergy risk being swept along by a tide of antiglobalization rhetoric and populist sentiment that translates into the isolationist and protectionist policies that stifle and suppress entrepreneurial activity, foster corruption, and retard the economic growth that is the most effective way of taking people out of poverty. Belli also insists, however, that such integration presupposes that developing countries have sufficient resources of human capital. The growth of this form of capital, Belli stresses, is the biggest challenge facing the leastdeveloped countries. Archbishop Tomasis concerns are somewhat different. Having first outlined some criteria for Christians to think through the phenomena associated with globalization, he turns his attention to the place and role of international institutions in these processes. Agreeing with Griffiths that there is little need for more international organizations and institutions, Tomasi outlines how he believes such existing institutions might be able to perform their role better. In this connection, Catholic social teaching, Christian ethics, and Christian anthropology have potentially powerful parts to play, not least in terms of helping to ensure that such organizations do not pursue goals that are inconsistent with any meaningful commitment to the intrinsic dignity of all human persons. The debate about globalization within the Christian community will be a complex, and at times difficult discussion. It will also last for some time. For these reasons, it is hoped that this monograph will contribute to bringing some clarity to a conversation too often locked into established rhetorical patterns and which fails to recognize globalizations multidimensional character and implications. Globalization is not an antidote to all of humanitys problems; nor is it the source of all the worlds contemporary difficulties. Moreover, as Griffiths and his responders indicate, it holds open the promise of much good for humanitya good that we squander at the peril of those most in material need.
Samuel Gregg, D.Phil. (Oxon.), FRHisS Director of Research Acton Institute

Centesimus Annus, Globalization and International Development

It is a privilege and a pleasure to be invited to participate in this fifteenth anniversary celebration of the publication of John Paul IIs papal encyclical, Centesimus Annus. For this, I must express my sincere thanks to Samuel Gregg. I should also mention how honored I am that Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, and the Honorable Humberto Belli, President of Ave Maria College of the Americas, Nicaragua, have agreed to comment on my lecture. Centesimus Annus is a magisterial document and a milestone in the development of Catholic social teaching. Much as Rerum Novarum (1891) was a critical reflection on the issues raised by industrialization in the nineteenth century, so Centesimus Annus is a critical reflection on the great twentieth-century experiment of Marxist socialism. It also contains trenchant analysis of the part played by religion, especially Christianity, in the collapse of Communism in CentralEast Europe in 1989. Moreover, Centesimus Annus is a clear statement of those biblical principles that have formed the basis of the Churchs social teaching: the dignity of the human person, the created world as Gods gift to the whole of humanity, the nature of economic justice, the creation mandate and the duty to work, and the special concern for the poor. This makes the encyclical a powerful affirmation of what John Paul calls a Christian vision of reality. The first copy of the encyclical that I purchased was subtitled On the Person at the Center of Human Society. This is important, because the encyclical demonstrates the way in which Christian anthropologyprecisely because of its distinct view of the human personhas farreaching implications for social and economic life. Socialisms fundamental error was and is its lack of understanding of the human person. It ultimately views individuals as simply a mechanical materialist element within a vast socioeconomic system, without any reference to their humanity, their responsibility to each other, or their understanding of God. This in turn leads to a denial of basic virtues such as truthfulness, trustworthiness and hard work and is accompanied by a corresponding failure to realize the importance of human creativity, private property or the value of the market economy. By contrast, a Christian anthropology recognizes the innate dignity and creativity of the person created in the image of God whose well-being depends not simply on the satisfaction of material but also of moral and spiritual needs which can only ultimately be realized through the knowledge of God Himself. In the economic sphere, Christian anthropology teaches us that people can realize their potential only if they are given the freedom to choose and accept responsibilitysomething which the market economy, unlike socialism, provides and encourages. Although critical of the atheistic basis of Communism and socialisms emaciated vision of man, Centesimus Annus is not a eulogy of capitalism. The encyclical recognizes that there are many human needs which find no place in the market, that many people in our world are marginalized or excluded from playing a part in the market economy, and that the very success of the market means that there is a risk of an idolatry of the market. Centesimus Annus also indicates that if markets are grounded in a libertarian culture of the type that emphasizes personal freedom as its supreme end, independent of any concept of revelation, reason, truth, law and morality (let alone the common good and solidarity), the result will be a profound alienation of human persons and the growth of lives lived without any ultimate meaning.

I chose the title of this lecture for two reasons. First, I believe that globalization and a concern for global poverty are two of the most important new things to have emerged over the past fifteen years. Second, although Centesimus Annus contains only one reference to globalization, it contains numerous references to the problems facing developing countries and the plight of the millions of marginalized poor who cannot take advantage of globalization. In the first section of this address, I explore globalization and world poverty in more detail. This is followed by some consideration of the criticisms of globalization. Finally, I examine five perspectives into globalization that arise from the Christian faith. At each point, insights from Centesimus Annus are incorporated into the text, thereby underlining the perennial importance of this great encyclical.

Globalization and World Poverty

When the subject of globalization and world poverty arises, globalization invariably becomes a contentious issue. Its supporters tend to be those who benefit, and its detractors those who have either been bypassed by it, such as numerous sub-Saharan African countries, or those who lose out, such as service workers and farm lobbies in America and the European Union. Many who take part in the debate have an ideological axe to grind, while others are clearly defending vested interests. If, however, the debate is to be rational, it is surely necessary to establish common ground regarding the facts. This is complicated by the fact that attempts at a definition of globalization tend to be fuzzy although the basic idea is fairly straightforward. Globalization is the increasing integration or connectedness of nations through increased trade, investment and the migration of labor. While the economic dimension is critical to understanding globalization, the process is not limited to the economic realm. In the social sciences, globalization is commonly regarded as multidimensional, crossing cultural, political, military, social, and ecological spheres. At the same time, globalization has led to the emergence of a global consciousness, which is linked to the growth of movements concerned with eradicating poverty and disease, preserving the environment and maintaining peace. We should also remember that globalization is not a new phenomenon. The growth of trade in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries following the voyages of Columbus and Vasco da Gama and the growth in the world economy following the Napoleonic Wars associated with the growth of railroads, steam power, and the telegraph were all instances of globalization. Perhaps the belle poque of globalization was the quarter century before World War I. The fact that the two decades following 1918 saw the reemergence and growth of protectionism, economic isolationism, and populism ought to remind us that there is nothing inevitable about globalization.

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